Quick Phone Response Plus Emails Improves Lead Conversion

by Jack Loechner, Dec 11, 2012, 6:15 AM

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According to a new report from Leads360, an analysis of 3.5 million leads across 400 companies shows that the act of placing a phone call to a new prospect within a minute of lead generation can increase likelihood of conversion by nearly 400%.

Lead Conversion Improvement by Quick Response
Time Elapsed From Lead	Improvement On Lead Conversion Rate
1 minute	391%
2 minute	160%
3 minutes	98%
30 minutes	62%
1 hour	36%
5 hours	24%
24 hours	17%
Source: Leads360 Sales Optimization Study, November 2012

More than half of all prospects that eventually convert are actually reached sometime after the 1st call attempt, but 40% of leads are never called a second time according to previous research. However 93% of all converted leads are reached by the 6^th call attempt. The resources required to get the final 7% is not worth the cost, says the report, considering that leads that require 7 or more calls are 45% less likely to convert than those that are initially contacted in 6 or fewer calls.

Cumulative Percentage Of Converted Leads
Calls to make 1st contact	Converson (cumulative percentage of converted leads)
1	48%
2	70%
3	81%
4	86%
5	90%
6	93
7	94%
8	96%
Source: Leads360 Sales Optimization Study, November 2012

Calling within the first minute is what all organizations should strive for, suggests the report. To determine when to make subsequent calls, assuming prospect is not reached with first call, prospects contacted on the2^nd call, made 30-60 minutes after lead generated, had a higher conversion rate than all other half hour periods following the initial call.

Impact of Timing On Conversion
Call	Timing	Conversion Improvement
Day 1
1st	0-1 min.	+156% higher
2nd	30-60 mins.	+58% higher
3rd	1-2 hrs.	+25% higher
Day 5
4th		+22% higher
Day 14
5th		+23% higher
Day 15
6th		+9% higher
Source: Leads360 Sales Optimization Study, November 2012

The use of email in addition to phone outreach has a positive impact on the ability to contact and ultimately convert a prospect. The study found that prospects who receive email have a 16% higher chance to be contacted by phone. Yet, 59% of the prospects in the study don’t receive a single email. And, about 40% of the prospects that had an email address on file are never sent an email message. Part of this may be that companies don’t have a clear strategy for sending email the way they do for phone calls, says the report.

Findings show that the optimal number of emails to increase conversion during the 1st month of prospect lifetime is five. The conversion rate for leads that were sent more than five email messages, prior to reaching the prospect, was 36% lower than the conversion rate for leads that were reached after having received one to five email messages.

Impact of eMail Inclusion on Conversion
Day	Email	Conversion Improvement
Day 1	1st	+49% higher
Day 4	2nd	+85% higher
Day 8	3rd	+52% higher
Day 15	4th	+37% higher
Day 22	5th	+44% higher
Source: Leads360 Sales Optimization Study, November 2012

The report concludes with the summarization of significant findings:

• Speed-to-call is the most significant driver of conversion rates. making a call attempt with in a minute of receiving a lead increases conversion rates by 391%
• Calling inquiries up to six times prior to making contact is the best way to achieve optimal conversion rates. 93% of all leads that convert are contacted in six or fewer calls
• Conversion rates can be further increased by properly timing contact attempts. An average gain of 49% in conversion can be achieved with the recommended call timing
• Leads that are sent email messages, in between phone contact attempts, have a 16% higher chance to be connected by phone, and average a gain of 53% in conversion with recommended email timing
• Combining the higest performing phone and email strategies can result in a conversion gain of 128%

Please visit here to access the download form for the free whitepaper from Leads360

 

 

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