Forbes.com – Top 100 Lead Response Companies at salesforce.com’s Dreamforce 2012

Forbes.com - salesforce.com's Dreamforce 2012 Top 100 Lead Response CompaniesThis past week, XANT has been off at Dreamforce, the largest SaaS show of the year in San Francisco. This year, XANT announced the fifth annual results of the largest research study ever done on the response practices of companies to their internet inquires.

The findings? Companies are leaving a ton of leads on the table and aren’t contacting them—without even realizing it. Our studies have shown that 27 percent of leads actually get contacted. However, the industry is improving.

“The average response time dropped over 18.2 percent this year for the first time in five years of doing this,” said Dave Elkington, CEO and Founder of XANT, in Ken’s most recent Forbes.com article. “Companies are starting to realize that immediacy and persistency in responding to leads make a huge impact on the results that come from those leads.”

Ken also shared eight best practices when responding to leads:

  1. Respond immediately (within 5 minutes)
  2. Respond persistently (6 to 9 call attempts)
  3. Respond by phone first, then email (phone is far more powerful)
  4. Respond at optimal times of day (8 a.m. and 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., in respective time zones)
  5. Respond on optimal days (Wednesday and Thursday are best, Tuesday is worst)
  6. Research direct dial phone numbers (about 2x better than dialing main office lines)
  7. Respond from a local number(57.8% more likely to answer when a local number displays on a caller ID than a blocked, toll free, or long distance caller ID)
  8. Respond at optimal times (ask when is the best time to call a busy decision maker, and call at that time)

Read the complete article on Forbes.com:

Top 100 Lead Response Companies at salesforce.com’s Dreamforce 2012

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Check out the XANT press page for an additional summary of the report.

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