How to Develop an Effective Lead Follow-up System

When it comes to sales, leads are everything. But what good are leads if you don’t have a system for follow-up? An effective lead follow-up system is essential for any business that wants to close more deals and boost its bottom line.

With so many options available, it can be tough to know where to start. But luckily, we’ve got you covered. SMS marketing is one of the most effective ways to follow up with leads. It is fast, personal, and can be automated to scale your efforts.

In fact, studies have shown that text messages have a much higher open rate than email, making them an ideal way to reach out to potential customers. Plus, with SMS marketing, you can easily automate your follow-up process, saving you time and energy while effortlessly reaching out to all of your leads in a matter of seconds.

But before you dive in, there are a few things you should know.

What is SMS Marketing?

SMS marketing is a form of mobile marketing that allows businesses to send text messages to customers or prospects. Unlike traditional marketing channels such as email or print, SMS marketing is highly personal and can be delivered directly to a customer’s mobile device.

How Does SMS Marketing Work?

There are two main ways businesses use SMS marketing: transactional messages and promotional messages. Transactional messages are sent in response to an action taken by the customer, such as confirming an appointment or purchase. Promotional messages are sent to customers in an attempt to generate new business or sales.

SMS marketing campaigns are typically initiated by opting-in, where the customer text messages a keyword to your phone number in order to join your campaign. From there, businesses can send text messages at scheduled targeted times, with the convenience of sending thousands of messages at once.

The benefits of SMS marketing campaigns are numerous. They’re cost-effective, they have a high open rate, and they allow you to reach a wide audience with your message. And because text messages are typically read within minutes of being received, they’re an excellent way to deliver time-sensitive information or special offers.

How to Develop an Effective Lead Follow-up System

1. Capture Leads

The first step is to capture leads. This means that you need to get people’s attention and contact information so that you can follow up with them later. You can do this by having a strong offer or something that entices them to sign up for your SMS list.

Once you have their attention, you need to make sure that you have a way to capture their contact information. This can be done by having an opt-in form on your website or blog, or by offering a freebie in exchange for their opting into your campaign.

The most important thing before beginning outreach is to make sure that you’re getting permission to contact each individual before you add them to your email list. Otherwise, they may mark your messages as spam and you’ll never get the chance to reach them. Even worse, texting leads without their permission can get you into trouble with TCPA. Therefore, it is critical that you get expressed consent before beginning your SMS Campaign.

2. Define your goals

It’s important to define your goals. What exactly do you want your lead follow-up system to achieve? Do you want to increase sales? Improve customer retention? Drive more traffic to your website?

Once you’ve identified your goals, you can start to develop a plan of action. What steps do you need to take in order to achieve your desired results? Your campaign should be custom-built to align with your goal.

3. Choose the right platform

There are many different SMS marketing platforms on the market today. To choose the right one for your needs there are several factors you need to consider.

The best SMS marketing platforms will offer features like automation, which can help you save time by automating your campaigns. Reporting is also important, so you can track the performance of your campaigns and keep up with delivery statuses. And finally, integration with your other marketing tools can make it easier to manage your campaigns from one place.

Textdrip is one of the best SMS marketing platforms on the market, and it ticks all of these boxes. This top-tier platform offers high deliverability, powerful automation features, real-time reporting, and seamless integration with your CRM. Plus, its pricing is very affordable.

4. Set up your campaign

The great thing about SMS marketing and automation is that you can easily set up your follow-up marketing campaign in minutes. You can use a tool like Textdrip to create an automated workflow that will send out your SMS messages according to a schedule you set.

To get started, all you need is a list of phone numbers and some basic information about each contact. Once you have this information, you can start setting up your campaign.

A good sample follow-up campaign might look something like this:

First Text Message:

Hey there! It was great meeting you at the conference yesterday. I think you’d love our product/service and would be a great fit for our company. Can I schedule a time for a quick call with you so that we can chat further?

Second Text Message:

Hey! Just wanted to make sure I hadn’t lost your number. Are you still interested in scheduling that call?

This is just a basic example, but you can get as creative as you want with your follow-up campaign. The important thing is that you take the time to set one up – it will make a world of difference in your response rates.

5. Test and Optimize

The final step is to test and tweak your system until it’s perfected. This process will vary depending on your goals, but there are a few key things you should keep in mind.

First, pay attention to your results. Are you seeing the results you want? If not, make changes to your system and see if that makes a difference.

Second, listen to feedback from your leads. They can often provide valuable insight into what’s working and what’s not.

Finally, don’t be afraid to experiment. The best lead follow-up systems are always evolving, so be willing to try new things and see what works best for your business.

Above all, be sure to measure your results. Track things like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. This will help you assess the effectiveness of your lead follow-up system and make necessary adjustments.

Final Words

By following these five steps, you can develop an effective lead follow-up system that will help you close more deals and boost your bottom line. And with a focus on SMS marketing, you can make sure your leads are always just a text message away.