One of the most interesting insights shared by a Varolii client at our annual users conference was the impact making a rapid response to a shopper’s web inquiry has on the likelihood of making a sale.
The client in this case is a large mortgage lender, but the finding is applicable across industries that use the web as a lead source for high value sales.
Such large transactions are typically completed in steps, with the process beginning when a shopper fills out some qualifying information on a short web form, which is then followed up on by a sales rep. While the first step is initiated on the web, the sale is usually consummated over the phone. As shown in the chart below, the faster a sales rep calls out to a web lead, the more likely they are to make contact with the prospect. While not all such contacts convert to a sale, no contacts almost never do.
Responding to a web lead in 15 minutes is more than twice as likely to reach the prospect than if the delay is 20 minutes. Attempting the outcall within 10 minutes is three times more likely to result in contact than 15 minutes. And if you can make the call within 5 minutes, you’ll get five times the contacts you would at 10 minutes.
In this case, lack of speed kills.
Unfortunately, before working with Varolii, our client was experiencing average call back delays of over 40 minutes. By implementing a real-time SOAP integration between his Salesforce.com lead management application and the Varolii Interact platform, we were able to get his lead response time down to an average of just 3 minutes.
The results? Contact rates are over 80%. Lead to sale conversion rates are through the roof. Sales reps are making loans and making money…and not even noticing that they are on the phone talking to prospects almost continuously.
Do you have a web lead program performing below expectations? Better get Salesforce & Varolii…fast!
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