How to Close Leads

Since starting out back in 2009, MVF’s Customer Generation Platform has produced millions of leads for clients across many different industries. But we don’t see the generation of the lead as being our job done.

It’s important that our clients see value from the leads we create. Therefore, we’ve spent a lot of time learning how best to close inbound leads.

Collated below are five top tips for closing leads drawn from our in-depth guide.

1: Be quick

It’s well documented that the contactability of an online lead decreases quickly. Most advocate measuring follow-up times in minutes, rather than hours. But we go one step further. You should be measuring the speed of your response in seconds, rather than minutes.

By developing a commitment to instant follow-up, sales teams are more likely to close the deal and avoid losing time due to having to manage poor contact rates.

Research suggests that conversion is around 400 per cent more likely if first contact is made within one minute of receiving a lead online, compared with waiting for 24 hours. If you only take one piece of advice from this document it should be: focus on driving down your lead response times.

2: Invest in tech

Speed is key when it comes to lead follow-up, but in order to organise the chaos and facilitate efficient follow-up, it’s best to have a CRM system in place.

But, more than that, you’ll need a properly functioning CRM system; one where everyone using it is singing from the same hymnsheet with regards to data integrity and the importance of keeping all records up to date.

3: Improve your no-contact strategy

It’s impossible to get through to your prospects with every call. That’s why it’s vital to ensure that your no-contact policy is just as well thought through as how you go about speaking to prospects when you do get through.

If you don’t reach the person you’re looking for, we recommend you do three things:
-Leave a voicemail
-Send an email
-Make sure they know a rough price

The last of the three is really important. It’s likely your competitors are vying for prospect attention too, and if yours is the only price they aren’t aware of, guess who isn’t going to be getting the deal.

This said, there is a balance to be struck. You want them to call back. If possible leave them with a compelling reason to get back in touch; create urgency.

4: Make sure your offers are relevant

Making sure offers are compelling to your prospect pool is obviously a pretty key component of securing new business, and it’s not just a marketing concern. Although marketing colleagues are responsible for framing the offer in the right ways prior to direct contact, it’s up to sales to ensure that deals are fine-tuned to ensure maximum traction with all contacts.

One of the most common errors we see is sales’ failure to create a sense of urgency with regard to the deal. A conversation that must be dealt with today or this week, is far more likely to bear fruit than an offer that feels like it’s on the table forever and can be ignored.

5: Review your collateral

What your brand does – how it looks in the eyes of the market – can have just as much bearing as what you say to a prospect directly when it comes to closing deals. A fantastic pitch delivered over the phone or face-to-face can be undone incredibly quickly if the website you send prospects to, or the presentation you email over, looks out-of-date or unprofessional. The good news is this is easy to avoid.

By regularly reviewing assets, and ensuring they are representative of your brand and its offer as it should be viewed today, you will never fall victim to under-representing yourself. Similarly, it’s important to ensure that you’re not letting yourself down with cheap spelling and grammar mistakes. Even the best editors have people checking over their content prior to publication, and you should be doing the same.