Congratulations! Your lead generation ad, whether on Facebook or LinkedIn, has converted someone. By crafting your audience to exactly who you wish to target, and with both engaging copy and inviting imagery, someone wants to know more. And now you have the golden ticket – their data.
But the big question is, what do you do next? Should you contact them straight away or wait for them to come to you?
When speaking to clients about following up with their leads, there are often two mindsets I come across and, interestingly, they are startlingly different from each other.
1. The need for speed
For those firms who are very used to using lead generation services such as Unbiased, this service promotes the idea of quick action.
Leads come to you in real time, so failure to grab that lead means that you’ve just passed it over to a competitor. It is very reliant on you being extremely proactive and ready to act at the drop of a hat. Because of this, some planners assume that Facebook or LinkedIn leads also work this way, that contacting a lead as soon as it comes in is the way to succeed.
This will often be a big waste of your time.
A lead generation ad will offer the user an end-goal asset. Usually, this is a guide or some form of literature – this is what the ad is selling. It isn’t selling “you”, that’s the job of the giveaway asset.
The asset shows your expertise and extensive knowledge on the subject. So, when you speak to the user, they will be interested in your services or at least know that, when they require your services, you are a trustworthy and expert voice on the matter.
A large guide or piece of literature will often not be read as soon as it is downloaded. The user may plan to read it later in the day when they get home from work, or on their commute tomorrow morning.
To call the lead instantly and expect a fruitful conversation will only often lead to disappointment. “I haven’t read it.” “I haven’t thought about anything yet.” “Can you give me a few days then call me back?”
We often find that the sweet spot for calling leads who have downloaded your asset, is three days. Based on the success our clients have with booking meetings and having important and thoughtful conversations, around 76 hours from the lead converting is a good time to call them.
2. Play it cool
The second mindset I find some clients in is the hesitation to contact their leads. The word I hear so very often is “salesy”.
“We don’t want to appear too salesy if we call them, so we’d rather them come to us.”
I definitely understand this mindset, especially since often you are targeting those with a decent income and who can be extremely busy in their professional lives. You’d rather wait for them to find a moment in their schedule and come to you.
You will be waiting a very, very, very, very, very long time.
The absolute bottom line of a lead generation ad is that, if you’re not going to contact your leads, then there is no point in the ad. I promise you. If, for whatever reason, you are remaining firm in your thought process of not contacting your leads, then please close your Facebook account. Save your money and time because both will be wasted.
The only way you will know if your clients are of a high quality is if you speak to them and find out who they are. Were they who you wanted to target? Are you booking those important meetings? Most importantly, is your ad working?!
As mentioned above, three days is the best time to call a lead. This gives them enough time to process your information and understand if they require your services soon, or much further down the line.
Now, what do you say on that phone call?
This is where filtering questions on your lead generation form is a huge help. You read about lead form questions in a previous blog post and why they are extremely helpful.
To reiterate, you can set free flow or multiple choice questions that your leads must answer before sending you their data. You can even set it so that, for multiple choice answers, those who choose a certain answer will not be able to proceed.
For example, if you want to only work with business owners, you can ask “Are you a business owner?”. If the potential lead answers “no”, they will be stopped from continuing. You can ask questions about their financial position, if they currently have a financial adviser, if they have already retired and many more.
The more you know about your lead before picking up that phone, the higher chance of a prosperous conversation. Not only will you appear prepared but you can tailor the conversation to suit their needs and requirements.
Get in touch
If you’d like to explore how Facebook advertising can work for your business, get in touch for a chat. Email hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call 0115 8965 300.
