Increase Your Sales...Know the Best Days and Times to Contact Leads

Are sales down?  Sometimes you have to look at what is working and what’s not working and revise that master plan.  You can’t get stuck in old ways that are just not cutting it in the business world of today. Look at what your sales team is doing and determine how you can do better. Maybe you need to consider the best time to call on a new prospective customer.

Everyone prospects for new leads that will turn into the next client. Studies show there is indeed a best day of the week to prospect for leads and even a best time of day to contact those leads. Have you figured out the best time to call on a new prospective customer?  Many people think the beginning of the week is the perfect time for calling on new customers. If that‘s what you have been doing, odds are you’re not closing as many sales as you could be closing.  A recent MIT study conducted by Dr. James Olroyd shows the best time to contact and actually reach a new prospect is on Thursday followed by Wednesday. The worst day you could pick for calling on a new prospect is Tuesday.  Calling and actually connecting with people on a Thursday will increase your success rate by 49.7%.  I like those odds – don’t you?

You want to stack all the odds in your favor and convert those leads into customers. To increase your odds further watch the clock. There are best times and worst times to call on your leads. Calling in the early morning before the day actually begins will bear little in return. People don’t have time or patience to listen to you. Calling before the start time to get in touch with the decision maker is not productive and can be annoying.  If you want the edge over the competition don’t interrupt their busy day by calling during the 10 AM – 4PM part of the day.  The best time to speak with the prospect is 8AM -10 AM and again 4 PM -6 PM.  Calling after 5 PM you are more likely to get that decision maker to actually be inclined to listen to you.  Use the time of day to your advantage if your territory spans different time zones. Contact decision makers when the day is winding down not gearing up.

Many companies generate leads via the Internet. This is the one time when speed will help you beat out the competition.  When you get a lead from the Internet you need to react fast. You want to respond during those first 5 minutes while you are still fresh on the mind of the person that is interested in your services.  The longer you wait the more your odds of getting in touch quickly will drop dramatically especially if an hour or more time has elapsed.  Don’t give your internet leads time to go searching for your competitions website.

Don’t get discouraged early in the game. In other years it only took about 5 calls to convert a lead into a closed deal. Not so fast anymore! Now it will take on average 7 touches before you will get a reaction from that lead. So be patient and put in place a strategic plan that schedules your week and daily activity to position yourself for getting the response from your lead.

Knowing the best days and times to contact leads will increase your sales. Now that you know the early bird is not the one to always catch the worm use the early morning to plan your daily activity more productively. You can now strategically determine when your targeted prospects should be contacted for optimal success.

Zelda Greenberg known as The Bounce Back Guru is a speaker, radio personality, and author of The Art of Bouncing Back. She speaks to organizations, colleges and business associations about bouncing back in challenging times. She is the recipient of a USA Family Owned Business of the Year Award for an 8 state region. Ms Greenberg is a member of NSA Florida Speakers Association. Visit Zelda at www.BouncebackGuru.com . Contact Zelda@bouncebackguru.com or 904-262-7357.