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The Best Times to Reach Prospect

Featured Author:

Colleen Francis

For over 15 years, she has studied the business habits of the top 10% of sales performers in organizations of all sizes and shapes-from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses. Through her company, Engage Selling Solutions, Colleen has condensed that winning formula into an internationally acclaimed sales-training approach, helping sales and marketing professionals everywhere achieve their maximum potential.

Colleen provides sales seminars and training, in addition to her popular coaching program, and delivers immediate and lasting improvements to sales results and the bottom line. See how Colleen can help you sell more in less time at www.EngageSelling.com

More articles from this author:

• 18 Ways to Fill Your Pipeline
• 9 Ways to Create a Positive Customer Experience
• The Fine Line Between Being Friendly and Being Their Friend

When is the best time to reach new prospects?

When they are sitting at their desk, blank cheque in hand waiting for your call of course!

All kidding aside, industry trends change and sometimes its difficult to know how and when to keep up. A recent study conducted by MIT and Inside Sales uncovers some of the surprising stats about when the best times to contact new leads and how badly you might be hurting business if you don’t get in touch with leads ASAP. Among the findings:

1) Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days to contact new leads. In addition to being almost 50% more effective when trying to make first contact than making calls on Monday, these two days are also more effective as far as qualifying leads for the first time.

2) 4:00pm – 6:00pm is the best time the make contact with a lead. Although early morning is still the best time to qualify a lead, late in the afternoon and shortly after regular business hours have ended are the best time to make contact with a new lead

3) When responding to a lead that has contacted your company and expects a call back lead response time is critical. The odds of making contact if the callback occurs within 5 minutes is 100 times greater than if that lead is called back within 30 minutes.

Despite all this, don’t use these guidelines as an excuse NOT to call clients every day. Engage clients routinely win business at 4:45 pm on Fridays and 7:30 am Mondays. Top performers use their whole day to their advantage, not just one hour here or there. So make sure you are reaching our everyday to your clients for qualification, follow up and closing conversations.