More than 70% of new business goes to the company that responds to lead queries in a timely manner. What do you need to do to speed up how you respond to your leads? Jeff Cooper answers this question in this two-minute video.

Welcome to the third and last part of the 2-minute discussion on the Killer 3 in B2B. This is a three-part series that delves into what every B2B sales consultant needs to know about winning work.

To view the first two videos, click these links:

The text that follows is a transcript of the video.

Forbes estimates that 71% of leads go to the company that responded to them first. They also estimate that the average online lead lasts just five minutes. Of course, that’s across all categories, and it might not be in your category — but it lets you know how important it is to be on things and respond first.

To give you a little hint as to why, it marks your business as professional, it solves their problem quickly, it makes them believe in an implicit way that in working with you their problems will disappear even faster, and it’s a mark of professionalism as a business. There are so many reasons speed of response is important, but the stats show time and time again that those that get to respond first get more business.

How do you make this happen in your business?

1. Use systems. Make sure that when the inquiries come in, the response is systemised, you know exactly who’s calling, and they do it absolutely as soon as possible. There should be someone in your business designated to make those return calls happen before the next lunch break.
2. Make sure that your proposals, your quotes, your scoping, and everything are as smooth and fast as possible. Not only is it less effort for you as a salesperson so that you can refocus that effort on the high-value interactions with your customers, but also you can just get back to them faster. And when it makes such a big difference, it’s an easy win for any business.

So look at your customer journey and your sales pipeline, and find the places where your customers are slowing down and getting sticky. Grease up those areas, and the conversion rates are sure to increase.

Increase your sales efficiency by having a top-down view of your service offerings and realigning your business’s strategy. Having the right strategy in place gets you ahead of the game and wins you customers. We can help you. 

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