As much as we love the efficiency of texting and email when doing business, there are times when a phone call is necessary. Some of those times occur during the sales process. The phone remains one of a salesperson's most effective communication channels, helping them make personal connections with leads and close more deals.

Your sales team is killing it this month. They've received a record number of calls and are scrambling to follow up. You’re thrilled, but you're also wondering, what happened this month to generate all these calls? 

Businesses in the US spent $4.6B on generating leads in 2021; it’s a top priority for marketing and sales leaders. This begs the question: if these leads are so valuable, why does it take the average company 47 hours to respond to a lead - if they respond at all? The truth is that lead response matters. And lead response is most effective when it's fast.

Do you know one of the simplest ways your sales team can have a competitive advantage over your competitors? By prioritizing  using lead source attribution. Ruler Analytics reports that 53.3% of sales leaders do not understand marketing attribution. Also, 62% admit that they don't attribute revenue to inbound calls. While attribution is one of the trickiest challenges to solve in this digital age, not proactively addressing it can be a costly problem. On the flip side, accurate and efficient attribution presents a huge opportunity for sales teams. So how can you do it? One way is with call tracking and text messaging call tracking. It can give you that important competitive edge.

How often have you asked a lead, "How did you hear about our company?" Thousands, right? And how many times have you gotten helpful answers? Chances are, not quite as often.

This is one of the most important (and often forgotten) questions to ask during that first interaction with a prospective customer. And even when you do remember to ask, expecting a lead to tell you where they heard about your company accurately can be problematic. In either case, it is difficult to know what marketing or advertising campaigns are working and which are not. So instead, you're throwing your budget at a wall hoping something sticks. 

Quick question: If you had the opportunity to promote one salesperson on your team, how would you choose the person? You'd base it on their sales performance, right? What if you weren't tracking individual sales per employee? How would you know who performs best?

If your sales team makes a sale without knowing how the customer heard about your product, does it really matter? Yes, it matters. You've lost an invaluable chance to learn critical information that could help your team immensely.

Forrester reports that 82% of marketers think that data from their inbound sales calls show "costly blind spots" in their sales process. Yet 60% say their companies don't track the data they need to convert prospects and customers. Analyzing call data is much easier with the help of call tracking. 

Sherlock Holmes once said, "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." While he may be a fictional detective, he is absolutely correct. He is essentially saying that theories without facts to back them up are just assumptions.

This can be dangerous in sales. With millions of dollars in both expenses and revenues at stake, launching any sales initiative by merely assuming you understand your target customer and their wants, needs, and pain points is risky.

We've mentioned these stats in other blogs, but they bear repeating. Nearly 80% of American consumers say that friendly service, speed, knowledgeable help, and convenience are the most important elements of a positive customer experience. Yet, even if your customers love your company or product, 59% say they will walk away after several bad experiences, 17% after just one bad experience. So the stakes are high for every business relying on a sales team to keep clients happy and revenue strong. 

Better lead qualification. Faster sales velocity. Improved relationships. These are just a few of the benefits of lead management.