As your business expands, optimizing your lead follow-up process becomes essential to increase your sales. Nevertheless, manually streamlining the process can be difficult due to the numerous involved steps. Fortunately, technology can help automate tasks that are time-consuming but don't necessarily require human effort.

However, it's important to keep in mind that automating your entire lead follow-up process may not always be suitable or recommended, based on your industry and work processes. For example, if you work in a relationship-based field like real estate or luxury goods, automating your interactions with clients may not be the best approach.

In this article, we'll explore the effective techniques for setting up an automated lead follow-up system and how to achieve a balance between automating routine tasks and concentrating on more significant endeavors.

New Lead Automations

If you're manually handling new leads, it can be a time-consuming and daunting process. Yet, it's a critical step as it can shape your lead's first impression of you. The longer it takes to receive lead data, the higher the chance of losing them. Ideally, you should aim to contact leads within 15 minutes of them showing interest.

Unfortunately, most lead sources don't offer a fast solution for receiving leads. For instance, Facebook Lead Ads don't notify you about new leads. You'll need to keep checking the leads library to see if you've received any new leads and download a CSV file to access the data. Similarly, while WordPress forms do send email alerts for new leads, you'll still need to spend time organizing the information and compiling it into your sheets, which slows down your outreach.

Thankfully, several tools can automate the process of receiving leads. Connector tools like Zapier and Pabbly Connect can help you automatically receive leads in your CRM or spreadsheets, but they may require extensive configuration. As a small business or solopreneur, you may benefit more from tools like The Real Accelerator Pro, which enables you to receive real-time lead alerts and access your leads on your preferred device with minimal setup.

First Outreach Automations

When you acquire new leads, it’s important to reach out to them promptly while their interest is high. While autoresponders like MailChimp are useful for eCommerce confirmation and simple processes, they may not be effective for products or services that require a more human approach. For instance, reaching out to leads through personalised text messages or phone calls can help establish a connection. However, phone calls may not be preferred by most millennials.

If personal interaction is essential for your sales process, consider using a tool that integrates with popular messaging apps. With The Real Accelerator Pro, you can receive real-time leads from various sources and quickly contact them through an auto-personalised message on messaging apps.

Nurturing Automations

It’s crucial to understand that most leads won't convert in the first interaction. Consistent engagement and effective negotiation are key to converting them into customers. Therefore, having a solid follow-up plan is essential.

Automating weekly newsletters or sending digital products such as eBooks via email can be done using marketing automation tools such as MailChimp. However, for a more personalized follow-up, a combination of manual and automated approaches might be necessary, depending on your sales process.

You can leverage sales productivity tools to schedule follow-ups based on customer data, which saves time and effort in creating and editing a follow-up calendar. However, it's important to review the schedule regularly because not all interactions go as planned. For example, suppose you have scheduled a third follow-up message for a lead interested in your digital marketing services. In that case, it may not be necessary if the client reaches out to you and resolves their inquiries beforehand.

Follow up with your leads untill they unsubscribe or reply!

Your Automated Lead Follow Up System

Finding the optimal balance between automation and manual work is crucial for achieving an efficient outcome when streamlining your lead follow-up process. While automating certain steps can improve efficiency, those that require a human touch may not yield the best results when automated. Consider the following when automating your lead follow-up system:

Find the Right Balance for Automating Your Lead Follow-Up System

• Decide which steps to automate in your lead follow-up process depends on your sales process and business needs. For example, automating the entire process may work well for direct purchase leads, but high ticket items such as real estate require more human interaction and negotiation. Chatbots may not provide the best experience for complex queries.

• Identify tedious tasks such as data transfer, management, and updating that can be automated can save a significant amount of time. Even if only a small percentage of tasks can be automated effectively, it can still be worth it.

• Choose the right tools and systems for your business is crucial. There are tools designed for different purposes, and selecting the right one for your business can improve sales and efficiency. Large enterprises may require advanced tools to handle large databases, while small businesses should not overcomplicate their process by subscribing to costly tools that may not be practical or efficient.

• Integrate communication channels is crucial for an effective lead follow-up process. Choosing the right channel depends on your target audience, with B2B leads preferring email while messaging apps like WhatsApp, iMessage, and SMS are more popular with general B2C customers. Automating emails is relatively simple with sales productivity tools, but automating messaging apps can be more challenging. You need a mobile-friendly system and the right tool, as popular apps like regular WhatsApp do not allow automation on a regular subscription.

Bringing It All Together

To achieve an efficient automated lead follow-up system, you must strike the right balance between automation and human input in your sales process. It's crucial to identify which tasks require personal involvement and which ones can be automated.

For small business owners and solopreneurs seeking to streamline their lead follow-up process, here are some practical steps to consider:

1. Automate lead alerts: Manually downloading CSVs and inputting data into spreadsheets is time-consuming. Automating lead alerts allows you to receive new leads instantly and contact them promptly.

2. Automate follow-ups: Sales productivity tools provide accurate data to remind you of why and when you should follow up with leads. By automating follow-ups, you can focus on building relationships with leads rather than managing the logistics of the follow-up process.

3. Integrate communication channels: Incorporating communication channels in your sales process allows you to personalize your interactions with clients. Choosing the appropriate communication channel depends on your target audience. For instance, B2B leads may prefer email, while messaging apps like WhatsApp, iMessage, or SMS may be more popular with general B2C customers.

The Real Accelerator Pro is a great choice if you want to automate your follow-up using a mobile tool. It's perfect for small teams who want to manage their sales process on their smartphones. With The Real Accelerator Pro, you can receive new leads instantly and message them within seconds. Plus, it offers the convenience of using regular WhatsApp (coming soon) to follow up with your clients without requiring any other tool.