In the rapidly evolving landscape of customer communication, businesses face a pivotal question: Should they prioritize texting or calling? The answer isn’t straightforward, as both channels offer unique advantages. Understanding when and how to use each can significantly impact customer engagement and satisfaction.

The digital marketplace has transformed how businesses connect with potential customers. Attention spans have shortened dramatically, and the old sales adage "timing is everything" has taken on new significance. 

When a prospect expresses interest by completing your form or engaging with your ad, a silent timer starts ticking. Your response time doesn't just affect conversion rates—it taps into fundamental human psychology that can make or break your sales opportunity.

If you’re in sales, you’ve heard the phrase: "The fortune is in the follow-up." But here’s the reality—most sales reps aren’t following up. In fact, research shows that 80% of sales are closed after the fifth contact, yet the overwhelming majority of salespeople give up after just one follow-up.

In real estate, the journey from an initial inquiry to a closed deal is often fast and competitive. Prospective buyers and sellers are making significant decisions, and they expect timely responses from agents and agencies. This is why speed to lead—the practice of quickly responding to inquiries—is crucial in the real estate industry.

Speed to lead is more than just a buzzword. It's a crucial tactic for improving sales performance.  By understanding and optimizing your speed to lead, you can increase your chances of converting leads into customers and ultimately drive revenue growth. In today's competitive business landscape, where every minute counts, being prompt and efficient in responding to leads can make all the difference.

Better lead qualification. Faster sales velocity. Improved relationships. These are just a few of the benefits of lead management.

Recently, CarEdge reported a mind-blowing fact about the automobile industry that has big implications for auto dealer marketing. For complete clarity, I'll quote the entire statement here:

Today's sales teams face unique challenges in a very competitive global marketplace. If you’re in sales, you know how hard it is to communicate your differentiation, especially when  technological advances and shifts in consumer behavior move at the speed of light. For example, 67% of the B2B buyer's journey is digital. Research shows that 35% to 50% of sales go to the vendor that responds first.

This post is brought to you by a guest contributor Susan Gaytan, Director of Dealer Engagement and Training  with Alan Ram's Proactive Training Solutions. Susan brings over twenty years of automotive experience and dealership management expertise.  She is responsible for integrating training solutions and helping dealerships maximize the effectiveness of training.  You can learn more about Alan Ram's Proactive Training Solutions here.

The sales landscape has never changed more rapidly than it is right now, fueled by the adoption of AI, remote and hybrid work, and buyer empowerment.