Here are some helpful tips for converting leads more efficiently.

Don’t make leads wait. A quick follow up is paramount to converting leads and more than likely to convert to a sale. A slow follow up means losing business to a competitor. Company mail, where several people have access to ensure quick handling and customer service software are too good ways to handle incoming leads. Call them as soon as possible after they submit the web form.

All leads are potential sales. Provide a valuable first impression by presenting pertinent and accurate information, such as what you do, what problem you solve, how your business is different, and how your client’s life will be different after doing business with you. Show them you care. If a lead is on the phone, don’t miss the opportunity to ask them if they would like to subscribe to your mailing list. Nurture them for when they are ready to convert.

Your clients all possess unique needs, budgets, and so on. Your campaigns and messaging should reflect this. Look at ways to subdivide your target audience by characteristics unique to your market. The easiest way to do this is to cross-section your email lists. Then you can adjust your message subject line and email content, and call to action (your offer) for each list.

Focus on your best leads first. This is simplest course of action for a quick sale. Look at the previous buying history. Once you’ve identified your ideal leads, rank them by their understood probability for conversion.

A CRM system may be helpful, as your business grows, for monitoring the stage of the sales process the leads are in and the activities accomplished. The dashboards visualize your sales data with charts and are predefined to fit your needs. They streamline your business through structuring everyday tasks such as logging activities, sending out offers, follow-ups, and the ability to keep all information in one place and be able to see customer history. You can go through sales cases and observe which stage they are in and get a status on the progress. If they are updated regularly it’s easy to spot which cases you need to focus on.

Create a dedicated landing page on your website for each campaign. Include content on your landing page that’s relevant to the message or offer you sent. If you send out emails or ads that just link back to your home page the leads will navigate around looking for an offer. That may lose you a lead and a sale.

Advertising is the single most important element in converting sales leads. Without advertising no one knows who you are or what you offer them. If you are a small business, you should be spending 7-8 percent of your gross revenue for marketing and advertising. Face it, if they haven’t heard of you they will never become a lead to convert.

The personal touch is important, and a CRM system can make your work more efficient.  But without first advertising what you and your company can provide that the client needs, all the rest is moot.