Leads Don’t Hatch Themselves

The dealership’s website told me to request more information about the automobile I was viewing by providing my name, email address, and phone number. It had two buttons I could choose from to indicate whether I preferred to be contacted by telephone or email. In a move that is probably uncommon, I chose telephone; I wanted to speak to someone about buying the car. I wanted to speak to them soon. That was two days ago.

The last time I bought a car, I had this same experience with this dealership. I never received a call back. I had to call the dealership and ask them to please sell me the car I wanted.

Your question is a good one, “Why don’t you go to another dealership, one that actually wants to help you?” And your point is a good one: Leads don’t get warmer.

What Your Lack Of Follow Up Means

The lead that comes in today is the warmest it will ever be. There is a person somewhere who wants to speak with you about the possibility of buying whatever it is you sell. You know that they have some need right now, or that they are evaluating their options.

When you don’t respond to that lead you send a strong message. That message is: “I don’t care about your business. It isn’t important to me.” Your prospective buyer feels that message whether you intend to send it or not, and they act accordingly and move on to your competitors.

As time passes, your lead grows colder. Your prospective client finds another salesperson to help them buy what they might have bought from you. They find answers to their own questions. Or they just cool off, deciding to wait until some other time to explore buying whatever it is they needed at that moment.

Immediately, If Not Sooner

The right time to respond to an inquiry is immediately, if not sooner. If your prospective client took the time to fill out the contact form and provide their details at some point in time, that is the very best time to engage with them.

There is nothing good that comes from waiting. Your lead isn’t going to get warmer, your chances of helping your prospective client decrease, and your chance of actually doing business with them is diminished with every passing tick of the clock.

My old man sold for Devry. As a regional manager he told his people: “What are you waiting for, the lead to hatch?” Leads don’t hatch themselves.