Lead management software that gets every lead called and followed up.

What is lead management?

Lead management is the work of getting every lead into one place, contacting it quickly, following up until you get an answer and recording where each one stands, so none is left sitting in an inbox.

For a small team that sells by phone, it comes down to four things per lead: one record, one owner, one status and one next step with a date. A lead with all four gets worked. A lead missing any of them tends to drift, because nobody is sure whose it is or what happens next.

Lead management software keeps those four things in one place and puts the call list, the dialer and the follow-up next to the record, so acting on them is quick.

How do you get leads into one place?

Put every lead into one system on the day it arrives, with the same fields filled in whatever the source.

In TopReach there are two ways in. Batches come in by spreadsheet import, such as an export from your form tool, an ad platform or an event sign-up sheet, and the import finds the phone number in whichever column the file uses. Single leads, such as a referral or a caller who asked for a quote, are added by hand. TopReach doesn't connect to form builders or ad platforms, so set a routine: whoever owns intake adds single leads as they come in and imports batches at fixed times each day. Fill in the same fields every time:

• Source, such as website, referral, trade show or past customer
• Date received, so you can see how long a lead waited
• Owner, the rep responsible for the next step
• Status, from the list in the next section
• What they asked about, and any timing or budget they mentioned
• Consent: how and when they agreed to be contacted, and by which channels

What lead statuses should you use?

Use a short set of statuses that each describe what has happened with the lead, not how promising it feels.

In TopReach, keep the status in a custom field and build a dynamic list for each status you work, such as New, Attempting and Nurture. Dynamic lists fill themselves from rules, so a lead moves to the right list when its status changes. Qualified leads go on the deals pipeline, with stages such as Qualified, Appointment set, Proposal, Won and Lost, and the pipeline shows the value at each stage. A typical set of lead statuses:

• New: arrived, not yet contacted.
• Attempting: called or messaged, no conversation yet.
• Contacted: you've spoken, but haven't confirmed fit.
• Qualified: a real need, workable timing and someone who can decide. Create a deal on the pipeline.
• Nurture: a real lead with bad timing, with a date to call back.
• Disqualified: not a fit, with the reason, such as wrong number, no need or outside your area.
• Converted: became a customer.

How fast should you call a new lead?

Call as soon as you can, ideally within minutes of the lead arriving and certainly within the hour.

The best-known evidence is a 2011 Harvard Business Review study of how more than 2,000 US companies responded to web leads. It found that firms that tried to contact a lead within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to have a meaningful conversation with a decision-maker as firms that waited longer. The exact gap varies by business, but the direction holds: interest fades quickly, and a lead who asked you for a quote is often asking others too.

TopReach doesn't route leads automatically, so speed comes from habits:

• Make the New list the first thing every rep calls at the start of each calling block.
• Set an owner as soon as a lead is added, and give each rep a dynamic list of their own New leads.
• Have a manager check the New list a few times a day and reassign anything that's waiting by changing the owner.
• If the first call isn't answered, let the follow-up start straight away rather than waiting for tomorrow.

How many times should you follow up with a lead?

More often than most teams do: plan several attempts over one to two weeks, across calls, voicemails, texts and emails, before you move a lead to Nurture or Disqualified.

Leads who asked to hear from you are often busy rather than uninterested, and one missed call says little. TopReach can take the repetitive part off the rep: when a call isn't answered, it can drop a voicemail, then send a text or an email on the days you choose. Every touch is tracked on the lead's timeline, so no lead gets the same message twice and whoever calls next can see what was already sent. An example cadence for a new lead:

• Right away: call. If there's no answer, leave a voicemail and send a text, if they agreed to texts.
• Same day: call again a few hours later.
• Day 2: call at a different time of day, then send an email.
• Day 4: call and text.
• Day 7: call, then send a short email asking whether they're still looking.
• Day 10 to 14: make a final call and send a last message, then move the lead to Nurture with a date, or close it out.

Should you use a power dialer or a parallel dialer on leads?

Use power mode for new and recent leads, and keep parallel mode for large, aged lists where most numbers won't answer.

Power mode calls one number after another, so a lead who answers always reaches a rep, and the call screen shows the lead, your last note and the next step. That matters with someone who asked to hear from you: a dropped call is a bad first impression. Parallel mode calls several numbers at once and connects the rep to whoever picks up, and when two people answer, one gets dropped. That's a fair trade on an old list of leads that went cold months ago, if your consent records allow that kind of dialing.

Both modes come with the same $99-a-month phone licence, so you can pick the mode list by list.

What rules apply when you call and text your leads?

The main question is consent: a lead who filled in a form has asked to hear from you, but that isn't automatically consent to every kind of call or text. Rules vary by country and state, so check with your counsel; this is a general overview, not legal advice.

TopReach keeps a do-not-call list and handles texting opt-outs, and custom fields can hold each lead's consent details. The main rules:

• TCPA: autodialed or prerecorded calls and texts to cell phones generally need prior express consent, and written consent when they're telemarketing. A dropped voicemail is a prerecorded message.
• National Do Not Call Registry: an inquiry generally lets you call a registered number for three months afterward, but it doesn't count as consent for autodialed or prerecorded calls or texts.
• State rules: several states have mini-TCPAs with stricter consent rules, calling hours or daily call limits, and some require every party's consent to record a call.
• Canada: an inquiry generally exempts your calls from the National Do Not Call List rules for six months, and gives implied consent under CASL for commercial emails and texts for six months. After that, you need express consent.
• Opt-outs: honor a request to stop calls or texts across every rep, straight away.