How do I make sure every lead gets a call back?
Answer fast, follow up several times on a schedule, and track it so you can see when it doesn't happen. Speed matters most, since leads reached within an hour are far more likely to turn into a real conversation. Set a response time, give every lead one owner, automate the reminders and texts, and check the numbers weekly.
How fast do I need to respond to a new lead?
As fast as you can, ideally in minutes. A Harvard Business Review study found that companies that tried to reach a lead within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify it as companies that waited even an hour longer (HBR, 2011).
In my land business we respond in seconds, and everyone's held to a set response time, because the seller is talking to other buyers too. The trades work the same way.
How many times should I follow up?
More than once. Calling a lead one time and giving up is lunacy, especially when you paid to get that lead. Plan three or four touches over the first week, mixing calls, texts and email, then a slower follow-up after that. Stop when they buy, say no, or ask you to.
Who should own follow-up?
One named person for each lead. If you're the owner and you're also the one on the job site all day, that person can't be you, so either somebody else owns it or a system does the first few touches and hands the warm ones to you.
What parts of follow-up can be automated?
The first reply, the missed-call text back, the reminders, the follow-up texts and emails, and the alert that tells a person a hot lead needs a call right now.
At my gym, an inquiry gets the offer and a booking right away, reschedules and no-shows each get their own follow-up, and a coach gets a heads-up to make the offer in person. More on that workflow.
How do I know follow-up is actually happening?
Track it every week. How fast the first response went out, how many touches each lead got, and how many leads became appointments. If you can't see those numbers today, that's the first fix.
What if leads come in from five different places?
Get them into one place. Calls, web forms, texts, social messages and referrals should all land in the same system, so nobody's checking five inboxes. That's part of the RevOps work I do.
Talk it through with me.
Bring the problem, even if it's still fuzzy. We'll talk about what's going on, what might be behind it, and whether I'm the right person to help. If I'm not, I'll tell you.