Why Chasing Leads Is a Waste of Time
You only have 24 hours in a day, and you don’t want to spend all of them working. The time you do spend working is valuable, so you want to maximize your time with efficient productivity, not waste it. Unfortunately, this is exactly what many salespeople do, and it isn’t because of poor time management or excessive procrastination. It’s because they’re chasing leads that have little chance of leading anywhere. It’s time for sales professionals to reclaim their time by adopting better lead strategies.
The Problem with Cold Leads
Leads can be collected in a number of ways. However, not all leads are equal. Many leads are cold and unqualified, meaning that the consumer may no longer be interested. In some cases, they were never that interested to begin with.
Of course, there’s always a chance that a cold lead will result in a sale, but the odds are stacked against you. Let’s say that you have a 1% to 2% success rate with cold calls. That means you have to make 100 calls just to get one or two sales. That’s a lot of wasted time.
But it’s not just your time being wasted…
Consumers Want to Call the Shots
You’re busy. Guess what? Your prospects are busy, too. If you call them out of the blue, there’s a good chance your timing will be less than ideal. You’ll get them when they’re doing something else, or when they’re trying to relax, or when the last thing they want to do is talk to a salesperson.
Let’s say you’re selling insurance. People need insurance, but it’s not exactly the average person’s favorite topic. They want to deal with it when it’s convenient for them – not when they’re in the middle of dinner or watching their favorite television show.
If you call them at a bad time – and you probably will – you risk annoying them. That’s not a great way to start your pitch. Even if they truly are interested in buying, you might not succeed in closing the sale.
It Gets Worse
What’s worse than having one person call you when you’re not interested? Having two people call you.
Many leads aren’t exclusive. This means that the leads you’re chasing might be the same leads that someone else is chasing. You might reach out to a lead repeatedly because you think they’re interested in buying, but unknown to you, they’ve already made their purchase. That’s not a good use of your time.
Many People Just Don’t Respond
If you’re trying to reach a prospect, there’s a good chance you won’t get a response. It could be because your timing is bad, or it might be that the person is no longer interested. You won’t know why.
According to Pew Research Center, only 19% of U.S. adults answer the phone when an unknown number calls them on their cell phone. Of the majority who won’t answer, 14% won’t even bother to listen to a voicemail if one is left.
Who can blame them? Robocalls have gotten out of control. Your call may be legitimate, but the person you’re calling doesn’t know that.
Other contact methods won’t necessarily have much more success. According to YouGovAmerica, the average American adult has 500 unread emails.
There’s a Better Way
What could you do if you had more time? You could provide your current clients with increased service, or further advance your product knowledge. Best case scenario, you have most time to close more deals, and that means more money in your pocket.
You have better things to do with your time than chase cold and unqualified leads.
You might think that you don’t have a choice. After all, you need to make sales if you want to earn a living, and you need leads if you want to make sales. That’s true, but it doesn’t mean you have to waste time on ineffective lead strategies.
Exclusive live transfer leads offer a better alternative. Here’s how it works. DMM agents qualify leads. Once leads are qualified, they are transferred exclusively to your team in real time. This method addresses multiple pain points at once. One, you know that the lead is qualified. Two, you know that the lead is ready to buy and available to talk right then. Three, you don’t have to worry about another salesperson getting there first. These exclusive leads are also TCPA compliant, so you don’t need to worry about regulatory problems and reputational damage.
Work smarter, not harder. Many agents find that they save time and experience much higher close rates when they switch to exclusive live transfer leads. Contact us to learn more.
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