Wow. Act now or bow out.
Timing is everything when it comes to qualifying B2B prospects who are researching your solutions on your website. Recent research reveals that after a buyer converts on your website, your chance of qualifying them drops with each second you wait to call. Wait 10 minutes or more and your ability to convert to a customer drops below average.
The good news is that there are tools and tips to keep your business above average in converting leads.
Many smart businesses have marketing software that allows them to know in real time when leads are coming into their site. Automatic alerts can immediately push out these new leads to hungry sales people. To see how these alerts are being sent read make sure you read the 6 tips below. Its vital to generate leads, but do you know how time-sensitive qualifying leads is?
Surprising findings suggest that timing is crucial - act now or prepare to bow out. Qualifying leads is essential for gaining new customers in the B2B world. Qualification potential is highest within the first few minutes and drops quickly after that.
Software Advice, a company that researches marketing software, recently analyzed data from 6,000,000 unique visitors to its website to uncover when B2B buyers perform research online, when they convert on a website and when the best time to contact them is. The most interesting finding of Software Advice’s report? If you call a buyer within five seconds of them converting, it increases your chance of qualifying that buyer by 150 percent (in comparison to calling them within one minute). They also found that it takes 10 minutes for qualification rates to drop below average, and 60 minutes for qualifications rates to fall 13 percent below average.
What does this mean for marketers and their associates in sales? It means that now more than ever, you have to respond to leads in real time—and the faster you call, the better. Below is a copy of the infographic that Software Advice created with SalesForce, which breaks down the key findings of their research.
If you want to engage prospects and convert more leads - here's a few quick tips on what you can do to engage potential B2B customers using content marketing and connected tools:
- Make sure your website has marketing software that allows you to be immediately notified when someone becomes a lead. One such software we highly recommend is HubSpot. Others include ActOn and Marketo
- Direct leads into smartphone texts of your sales team for quickest response.
- Create more engaging Calls-to-Action on your website to entice leads by experimenting with A/B testing.
- For would-be buyers that request product/service info directly - act fast. Quicker lead response times lead to higher qualification rates.
- Engage your buyer at the right time - qualification rates are highest before 3p & during midweek [see infographic above]
- Overwhelmed? Staff up by hiring a new gunslinger who can respond to leads ultra fast. If stuck then seek experts from an inbound marketing agency who can set up a quality (and responsive) lead-generating sales engine using your website.
