What Is a Good Cost Per Lead for Manufacturers?
How to Handle B2B Leads with Personal Email Addresses
When you work in sales or marketing, brand new leads are exciting, but that initial excitement can quickly turn to frustration when your follow-up attempts go unrewarded. While some leads are destined to fail and others are destined to succeed, the responsiveness of the majority of your leads will depend on how you handle them. Today’s blog post takes a look at some practical ways to increase your chances of getting replies from your leads. Let’s jump in!
1) Improve how you reply to leads
Reply quickly
A well-known study published in the Harvard Business Review found that businesses contacting leads within one hour are 60 times more likely to turn the opportunity into a customer than if they waited 24 hours before following up. Newer studies find that replying within five minutes instead of 30 minutes makes it 100 times more likely you will reach leads.
Without a doubt, speed is key when it comes to qualifying leads and turning them into customers. Not surprising when you consider potential buyers typically seek quotes from multiple suppliers. So be among the first of those suppliers to reply in order to increase your chances of hearing back from them.
Be personable
Personable messages stand out among the crowd and help leads remember you. So call leads by their name, provide your own name, mention or ask something specific about their company or industry, approach them in their own language if you have the skills, and above all, be kind and approachable.
Call your leads
Speaking of being personable, what better way to do so than having a phone conversation with your lead? Calling leads that provide their phone numbers can remove the frustration of waiting around for them to reply to an email. And guess what? Your lead probably expects your call if he or she has provided a phone number. They will appreciate the personal touch, and you will be able to qualify the lead right away.
Keep your reply short and sweet
When email turns out to be the best way to reply, whether because the lead has not provided a phone number or you feel there may be a language barrier, be concise to avoid overwhelming your potential buyer. To keep the conversation going and gauge interest level, ask simple qualifying questions and avoid messages, attachments or links with lengthy descriptions unless leads have specifically asked for that.
Provide context
When replying to leads, make sure to refer to what they requested right away, whether it be an RFQ, demo request, technical question, etc. This will jog their memory, help break the ice, and remind them you are simply continuing a conversation they initiated, thus making it more likely for you to hear back from them.
Focus on their needs
Always put yourself in your buyers’ shoes and emphasize how your product or service can solve your leads’ problems or provide value to their business. By showing that you understand their needs and can offer a solution, leads are more likely to reply.
Use a clear call-to-action
To keep the conversation going, always end your conversation or message by clearly stating what action your leads should take next, whether it is answering a simple question, choosing a date and time for a follow-up meeting, clicking a link to a product demo, etc. The simpler your requirement, the better.
Provide contact details
Even if you are replying to your leads using XPRT’s or another third party’s messaging system, be sure to provide your direct contact details so leads have an alternative method of getting in touch with you. Also keep in mind buyers are likely to be more comfortable communicating in their own language, so consider letting your local rep or distributor handle the initial reply.
Try sending leads a direct email
If you initially reply to your leads using XPRT’s messaging system and don’t hear back, we recommend you try retrieving their email address from your XPRT Inbox and sending them a direct email. While message notifications sent to buyers through the XPRT platform have healthy delivery & open rates, like any email, they can occasionally fall victim to spam filters. While there is no foolproof way of avoiding spam filters, replying from your own email address may help.
Don’t ask the lead to submit the request again
There are few better ways to cool off leads than asking them to submit their requests again to a separate email address or web form. While your business may have its preferred channels of communication, the customer’s preferred method of communication should reign supreme.
Maybe the contact form on your website requires all the details you need from leads, but if leads contact you via a third party like XPRT, why not apply some of the techniques above and ask simple questions to complete the missing qualifiers rather than asking them to spend time submitting the same request a second time?
Follow up
If you don’t get replies from leads after one attempt, follow up using a different approach before giving up. Look up a phone number on the lead’s company website and give them a call, send them a direct email, ask simpler questions… Sometimes a gentle reminder can be enough to prompt a reply.
2) Ensure you are not missing replies
Check your spam folder
Spam filters are a reality when it comes to email communication. Before assuming your leads have not replied, make sure to check your own spam folder.
Add xprt.com to your safe senders list
If you are using XPRT’s messaging system, add the domain xprt.com to your safe senders list to ensure replies from leads sent through the XPRT platform don’t get caught by your spam filters. Do the same for leads from any other third parties.
Check your XPRT Inbox
When leads reply using XPRT’s messaging system, their replies automatically appear in your XPRT Inbox and remain there permanently.
Has the lead contacted you directly?
Many potential buyers find suppliers on XPRT, contact them via our platform, then find the supplier’s website and contact the supplier directly as well. If this is the case, it may be that your XPRT leads are already being handled by someone else at your company.
3) Manage your expectations
Don’t expect replies from everyone
If you are unable to get a reply from a lead using the above techniques, it may simply be that it wasn’t a serious lead to begin with or the lead has opted for another supplier. A few dead end leads can be expected no matter what the lead source.
Try out these tips with leads generated by XPRT!
XPRT specializes in generating quality B2B leads for suppliers of environmental, energy, agriculture & medical products & services. Schedule a demo today to find out how we can help you reach your lead generation goals!
