How to Double Reach Rates and Improve Lead Quality

Remorse Revisited

Buyers Remorse is a common term that explains the feeling of regret people have after making a purchase – especially expensive items that might not fall under basic “necessities” like food, clothing or shelter.  This sense of regret can happen whether a purchase is made in a physical store or online.  Further, online remorse can happen even when there’s no money involved – with something as simple as an exchange of your personal information.

You just typed in your name, email address, phone number and zip code into a contact form and then clicked SUBMIT.  What did you just “submit” too?  Negative questions immediately go through your head:

• Will my phone ring immediately with a fast-talking, commission-only salesperson on the other end?
• Will they sell my information then fill my Inbox with so much spam that I have to abandon the account?
• Will my personal data be intercepted by foreign hackers who create a profile on me and collect other more sensitive data like my social security number and bank accounts?
• What have I done?!

All those nagging suspicions in your head following that click on the SUBMIT button are briefly interrupted by a tiny pop-up screen that simply says “Thank You – Someone will be in touch shortly”.

Great. That makes me feel SO much better about giving up my personal details for free.

“Thank You” is Not Enough

That instant when a website visitor provides their personal details and clicks SUBMIT is a pivotal moment to do something powerful and positive.  At that moment your vulnerable web visitor is at the height of their interest in YOUR company or your product or service – they like what they saw and they want more of it.  You’ve likely paid over $100 just to make this moment between your franchise company and your potential customer happen! And now, instead of taking that peak of genuine interest in your company and enhancing it or at least embracing it, the vast majority will intentionally choose to only say “Thank You”.  Cue that immediate sense of regret.

Days later someone on your development team will attempt to call or email or both.  By that point, your “lead” has lost interest or been engaged by a more proactive company – like a FranFocus client.  Whether your team is in the infamous “one and done” contact camp or professionally persistent for a couple weeks, eventually you’ll hear back from the sales department; “Yeah, those leads were no good.  They didn’t respond to our calls. ”  Most sales team determine the initial quality of leads by reach rate; did they actually connect with those leads.

No Contact = No Good.

 

How to Show Genuine Appreciation and Establish Rapport

So how can you change something as simple as the Thank You page on your franchise validation website or landing pages and improve lead quality? How can presenting a good Thank You page to your visitors make it 50% more likely that your sales team will actually connect with the exclusive leads that are coming through?  A few topics to keep in mind while looking at your current Thank You page:

 

1. Build Personal Rapport Immediately: Even if you have a dozen people on your sales team, pick ONE person who will be the face and voice of your brand online – your initial point-of-contact.  Show that person’s photo at the top of your Thank You page with text that explains name, title and when they’ll be responding (in hours ideally). Don’t be vague with words like “soon” or “shortly”.  If your response time isn’t fast enough for people who are interested in your opportunity NOW, then also provide an email address and phone number that your point of contact will be calling from too. An even better enhancement is a quick 30 second Thank You video on the Thank You page that comes directly from your point of contact.  So when that phone rings or that first email comes through, your Lead will remember details from your Thank You page and Thank You video and make them MUCH more likely to engage!
2. Build Brand Credibility: The good news is your new Lead is already intrigued by your brand – why else would they SUBMIT? The Thank You page is the perfect time to allow them to “go all in” on your company. Provide images and links to your social media accounts, your IFA profile, your BBB profile, rankings on Entrepreneur and testimonials from past customers or current franchisees. This is your rare opportunity to reinforce the great decision your new Lead just made by requesting more information about your company. Counter any possible remorse  by visually demonstrating the many accomplishments your highly credible company is proud of.   Make your Thank You page such a valid resource of company information that your new Lead bookmarks it so they can reference it in the future!
3. Email Immediately with Free Resource Link: There are an abundance of studies that consistently prove how important timely responses are in the sales process – usually measured in seconds, not hours; certainly not days.  We’ve all read about the dwindling attention span of Americans as compared to goldfish. At the basic level of Marketing Automation is an automated email response: When that new Lead is submitted they should automatically receive an email from your initial point of contact WHILE they are watching the Thank You video from that same person! Do you see the power in this new connection you’ve created? There’s no opportunity for remorse to take hold with your Lead because they are virtually meeting a person from a credible company, and now an email from that same person just arrived as well. Within that email is your next call-to-action and a link to download a helpful PDF, an informative video or some other resource with a significant perceived value.  A resource that your new Lead will genuinely appreciate because it empowers them to immediately continue on in their excitement about discovering your opportunity!

Your “Thank You” Page Sucks – Fix It

While it probably would have been better to call this article – Why Your Thank You Page Sucks – too many companies don’t even have a real Thank You page.  Thank You pages are web developer afterthoughts, usually very apparent with a tiny pop-up, just like the one I copied below.  Not only are they missing a rare opportunity to engage a Lead at their apex of interest and attention, but they are also giving away their free resource before validating the address submitted was a legit email address!

After you review our three suggestions above, take a look at your Thank You page and then take a look at ours.  While ours is very simple by comparison to what we’ve developed for FranFocus clients, it does hit all three of the requirements defined.  If you want help improving the overall quality of your leads and miraculously changing the reach rate for your sales team, please contact FranFocus today!  In the “Message” field put “Thank You Page Elements” and we’ll send our guide to Thank You pages that include several great examples within the franchise industry.