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EmailLead Us Not Into Temptation
Know your leads before you make them clients.
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Michael Carden's Editorial Archives
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OK, the title is a sleazy attempt to gain your attention. With my chosen propensity to track leads and analyze them constantly, I cannot help but believe lead tracking is a key part of working smarter and not harder.
At a seminar at the 2000 Remodelers'' Show in Detroit, Carl Seville and I shared our lead tracking information to a room of more than 350 attendees, which surprised me. I did not believe that many remodelers cared about understanding where their business was coming from and how to gather data to allow them to market smarter. When we asked, "How many of you track your leads now?" more than 50 percent in the room raised their hands. Great! Back in 1992, the number of attendees was around 40 and the show of hands was less than 20 percent. Maybe remodelers are seeing the benefits of understanding their market better.
With that lead in, let me share some of the more intricate workings of how MUI Corp., others and I believe we should be keeping up with such information.
To begin, whether you track leads on a scratch pad, a self-imposed spreadsheet or a dedicated computer program, just do it. When you start tracking, you will see immediate ways to cut your advertising programs and target the customer that works best with your company. Set up a procedure that ensures that all inquiries for the services of your company will be written on this tracking system of choice. Keep up with the area of town your inquiries are coming from, ask how they obtained your company name, find out the entire family''s names, find out what kind of project they want to accomplish, find out how long they have been contemplating doing this work, find out the specific person (or was it the reputation of your company name, meaning they ask for no one in particular) they ask for with the first phone call.
When you receive the lead sheet, return the call as soon as possible. At MUI, we note the time the customer calls in to give me an indication of when to call them back. Spend no less than 15 or 30 minutes on the first phone call. Ask specific, tough questions.
If the PC survives the first cut, she is a true lead and not an inquiry. Now set the appointment, and remember to call the morning of or the day before to confirm the appointment. My experience shows that approximately 20 percent of the PCs forget the appointment or write down the wrong day or time, so do not waste yours driving to an empty home.
I will continue to share aspects of lead tracking and marketing in my future articles. All this to keep you from being tempted to take on the wrong job or customer.
Also see:
Sample lead sheet in Excel format.
Marketing for the Future
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