Respond in Real Time
What anyone buying purchased leads must bear in mind, Faerber says, is that searchers expect instant results. “The Internet customer measures things in minutes not days. If there’s something on their minds, they want to know now.” This is why Greene and others contend that communicating with those prospects as soon as you get their contact information is key to setting an appointment and, ultimately, netting a sale. “We’re on the phone with [the prospect] in 10 minutes,” Greene says.
Jim Steffes, owner of New Windows for America, in Shoreview, Minn., a Twin Cities suburb, takes it a step further. He says that the best way is to drop everything and contact that purchased-lead prospect right away.
For example, New Windows for America received e-mail notification, with contact information, on two CalFinder leads. The first came in at 10:37 a.m., the second at 11:07 a.m. The confirmer put off calling the 10:37 for several minutes, at which point a call was made and resulted in no answer. New Windows for America then sent that prospect an e-mail. The 11:07 lead was called at 11:08, and an appointment was set.
Many home improvement companies have found that, compared with media leads or referrals, where three out of four leads or more may become set appointments, comparatively few lead-gen contacts become set appointments.
But that, say contractors who make good use of these leads, is all in the timing. And if you think that it’s true, it can also be a self-fulfilling prophecy. In October, for instance, Greene says that St. Clair Corp. set 75% of its CalFinder and ServiceMagic leads and demo’d (“We define demo as a price on the table,” he says) 79% of the leads set as appointments. New Windows for America sets 40% to 50% of people who opt in to its website ? i.e., they may have arrived through pay per click or some kind of branded marketing ? versus 70% to 80% of lead-gen leads, Steffes says. The company also demo’s nine out of 10 of the leads it sets from lead-gen inquiries.
The reason why New Windows for America is able to effectively translate those contacts into sales appointments, Steffes says, is because it has a system. Which brings up a second compelling reason for contacting the homeowner right away: other companies are on the case. Few lead companies sell exclusive leads, and you can count on the fact that other contractors will be calling the same homeowner you are. Whoever calls first has the best chance of getting in the house.
All in the Follow-Up
Say you don’t reach that homeowner on the first call. “Chances are,” Faerber says, “one phone call or e-mail is not going to do it.” In that case, don’t throw the lead away. Because you have no way of knowing why the homeowner didn’t get back to you, or whether or not he or she bought from someone. How likely is it that homeowners will respond to the voicemail that your call center left? Not likely.
Kyle Ferraro, national director of window & solar for CalFinder, a relatively recent addition to the raft of companies providing leads to home improvement contractors, says that, apart from speed, perseverance is a must in turning purchased leads into set appointments. “You have to get on top of these leads right away and call four times a day for four days and really do the follow-up.”
If New Windows for America doesn’t reach its contact and believes that the homeowner has yet to make a purchase, the company puts that lead into its MarketSharp contact management system and follows up in 30-, 60-, and 90-day increments with phone calls and e-mail messages.
Immediate response and follow-up can turn what some consider a marginal lead source into a substantial contribution to sales. Greene, who tracks all aspects of his business, says that business from the two purchased lead services he uses ? CalFinder and ServiceMagic ? comes in at a 10.54% marketing cost, compared with an overall marketing cost of 14% companywide. He also says that 73% of what’s sold via CalFinder leads becomes net good business. (That compares with an industry average of about 65%.) Steffes says that his marketing cost for a CalFinder lead is 8%, compared with a 14% marketing cost across all lead sources.
The trick to making lead-generation services work is working the lead. Companies fail with lead-provider leads because they treat them like warm-call leads and set their expectations too high.
“You may have to put some work in to get them,” Steffes says. “That’s the only downfall.”
? Jim Cory, editor, REPLACEMENT CONTRACTOR.
