How to Follow-up with Website Leads in 5 Steps

If you’re investing in generating leads online, you need to be focused on how to close them, too. In this article, you’ll learn how to follow-up with website leads in five simple steps to improve close rate performance.

For the majority of B2B businesses, the company website is the powerhouse behind their lead generation efforts. In fact, as many as 68% utilize strategic landing pages in order to create customer interest and build future sales. According to a study by Marketing Charts, nearly 60% of B2B companies said that SEO has the greatest impact on their lead generation efforts. And over half of marketers spend upwards of 50% of their budget on online lead generation. This makes sense, considering the fact that business information is available on your website around the clock (while you, thank goodness, are not).

This aligns with shopper expectations;  nearly 53% of shoppers do their own research before they buy in order to guarantee that they are making the best possible choice.

So if your company is part of the majority of businesses who generate qualified leads via your website, how can you stand out from the pack in responding to those leads? 

Here are 5 simple steps that will help you follow-up with those leads:

1.  Make sure you understand the types of leads you are acquiring and the journey they are on as a buyer. 

It’s not just about when you follow-up with your leads but also how you do it. You need to be mindful of each leads’ unique problems and needs, the stage they are at in the sales funnel, and the timing of your communication with them. Depending on their journey, you may also want to have highly tailored messages in your outreach with them. This could mean including the recipient's name in an email, responding personally to an inquiry, or even sending relevant information based on which of your webpages they have visited.

When a lead makes its way into your focus, they could be hot and ready to close, or in need of additional attention. A lead that comes to you as part of an opt-in email campaign will be at a completely different point in the sales funnel from a lead that entered their information into your website “get a demo” form. Because there is no “one size fits all,” each lead should be approached as an individual. 

2.  Make sure that your lead response system will allow you to track and manage all communication centrally. 

This provides visibility for both team coordination and management, as well as the ability to analyze performance for coaching purposes. Using a marketing automation software can increase qualified leads by as much as 451%. Invest in a quality CRM that will allow you to keep a record of all customer interactions and outcomes.

3.  Prioritize rapid lead response on multiple channels. 

Do not  keep your leads waiting! IRC’s research reveals that salespeople who follow up with a lead within the first 5 minutes of contact are 9x more likely to convert them, and between 30-50% of customers choose to purchase from the vendor that contacts them first. The longer your lead waits for your response, the more time your competitors have to entice them with another offer. 

It is extremely important for you to immediately follow up with a call, text, and/or email because it allows you to meet your leads, prospects, and customers right where they are. This first form of contact should include a few key points:

• Affirm that you know who they are and what they are looking for.

• Let them know that your team is ready to take care of them, and then.

• Leave space for them to ask questions or for you to provide more insight.

Because prospects have many different preferences for communication, companies need to have a variety of contact methods in order to reach them. You have to discover what the right channel is for a particular lead, which often includes using several different approaches interchangeably. Texts, phone calls, and emails are all great ways to touch base with leads.

4.  Initiate a defined follow-up program. 

Along with responding quickly, you also need to have a way to follow up repeatedly. Only 2% of sales leads buy after their first contact with a sales representative. By continually following up with your leads you can still close the sale because statistics show that nearly 80% of deals are closed after the 5th follow up! The number one thing you can do is be consistent in your communication and a scheduled follow-up program will prevent leads from falling through the cracks.

If you are able to connect with a lead personally, the follow-up may be more personalized. Experts recommend that you personalize your communication as much as possible, to show your leads that they matter as individuals. You will also want to follow-up on that initial conversation, and continue to make it clear that you know what just they are looking for and that you will work with them until they find it. Your goal is to add value during each and every interaction.

If you were not able to connect personally, make sure to follow-up approximately 5 times. You can hit several different messages in those communications:

• Thanks again for requesting more information.

• Help me help you, meaning tell me more about exactly what it is that you are looking for.

• Gently demonstrate the features and benefits you have to offer that may interest a buyer like them.

• Connect them with a similar customer so that they can share their positive experience with your business.

• Share free resources.

• Let them know that this is the final time you will try to connect with them. If they are no longer interested, wish them well. Let them know, however, that if they become interested in the future to please reach back because you have enjoyed working with them and would love to help solve their problem.

Be thoughtful about bombarding your leads, and try to balance your desire to communicate with them with respect for their time and energy. This may mean spacing out communication, keeping messages brief, or both. Your leads are not going to become customers after one interaction, so your focus should be on nurturing them. Focus on smaller steps such as visiting a blog post, or downloading a guide. And again, always focus on adding value - whether through blog posts, useful statistics, success stories, or downloadable guides.

5.  Attempt ad retargeting whenever possible. 

Data shows that it takes about 7 interactions with a brand before conversion happens. Your outbound direct messaging is only one way that those brand interactions happen. Advertisements, PR, organic content marketing, and word-of-mouth are other important channels (just to name a few). Retargeting allows you to continue marketing to those individuals who have already converted once. Follow-up strategies are a crucial component in the sales process because they aim to maximize sales. Understanding your leads, managing your communications with them, quickly responding using multiple channels, implementing a follow-up program, and retargeting whenever possible are all ways to aid you in following-up with your website leads. The goal is to remain in front of your clients until they are ready to buy.

All of that can be made easier with Calldrip’s incredible marketing and sales automation tools. 

We prioritize conversational sales enablement, which is all about striking up the right conversation at the right time and on the right channel. That is why our tool includes both call and text message automation, along with embedded tactics like rapid lead response. 

After all, every sale starts with a conversation. See for yourself how our all-in-one solution empowers your sales team to be efficient, engaging, and focused.