Within a few weeks of our “Time to Talk” experiment, it was official:
We had a stalker.
Let’s catch you up to speed. We started an experiment reaching out to popular B2B companies to see how quickly they’d try to get us on the phone. (Details below). We clicked “Call me now” on Sprout Social’s website and…nope, they weren’t kidding.
Within seconds, a real Sprout Social sales human called our senior content marketer, Desiree Echevarria, and left a message. Not long after that, they called Desiree’s boss.
Impressive. Almost a little too impressive.
But that kind of gumption is what won Sprout Social our “Time-To-Talk” experiment, in which we evaluated just how speedy these companies were about their follow-ups.
True: Maybe you don’t have to go that far. But being assertive with a follow-up phone call at lightning speed will help you land more sales. As Inside Sales notes, conversion rates are 8x higher if you respond to customers within the first five minutes.
Strong, targeted, and FAST follow-ups are the core of our beliefs here at Close. So we had to see how others in the industry stacked up. We ventured out to see what kinds of follow-ups the top B2B companies were using.
As it turned out, Sprout Social’s gumption wasn’t the only surprise.
The “Time To Talk” Experiment: How Soon Can You Follow Up?
The idea was simple: we tested 25 companies from G2’s list of the Best Software for Small Businesses, submitted dozens of demo forms, and tracked the time it took for someone to call us.
We wanted to see who had the “fastest hands in the West,” so to speak.
Who was quick on the draw? And what clever techniques were companies using to make their speedy, often-automated follow-ups feel human?
If you’ve ever submitted a software demo request before, you know that automated email follow-ups are common. A quick robo-response within a minute was standard procedure for many of these companies.
But we were after another variable: how soon would someone get us on the phone? As we’ve said before about phone calls:
“Your speed-to-call is everything…it’s how you get your customers on the phone the minute they’re most amenable to purchasing.”
Every minute you’re not calling someone back is a minute you’re losing to potential competitors.
If you don’t call an inbound lead as quickly as you can, you’re losing out on the most important point in a buyer’s journey. You’re failing to get them on the phone before they click to the next company on their list and request their demo.
And what if the next competitor is a go-getter like Sprout Social?
That’s why it behooves every seller to get in touch as quickly as possible. We noticed a few patterns in the most successful companies on our list:
- First-mover advantage. The “winners” in our experiment were those who moved quickly. This isn’t the whole equation—lots of businesses sent out boilerplate emails here—but it’s definitely better than waiting days to follow up.
- Multiple touchpoints. Our experiment’s runner-up, Birdeye, was both assertive with its follow-ups and comprehensive. The company sent SMS, email, and phone callsin a timely fashion.
How Did the Experiment Work?
The methodology was simple: we used our real details. In some cases, Close was already a customer with these companies, so we’d use mostly-real details and substitute a new business name to establish ourselves as a new lead.
Then we’d reach out for demos using our real information. For many of these businesses, Close CRM is a highly qualified lead, giving them every reason to call.
So let’s see who did.
What Happened When We Tested How Fast B2B Companies Were
It was a bit of a demo-palooza as we sent out submissions on the same day, all within office hours.
Ping. Ping. Ping, ping, ping. The automated email follow-ups started pouring in.
Almost immediately, we had some interesting results. We started to see examples of poor, non-personalized follow-up emails and strong, organic follow-up emails.
It’s not that saying “thank you” is bad. It’s just that some of these automated follow-ups added little value. Remember: this is your first touchpoint. It’s an opportunity. You should use it for all sorts of little green flags:
- Giving out a sales rep’s first name, humanizing your brand
- Dropping in a note about their specific form
- Specifically addressing why they’ll want to stay in touch with you
- Provide additional value via content that shows you understand them
There it is. This follow-up references data from our form fill, and uses a real sales rep’s name and face to humanize the response. Yeah, it’s got templated elements (and these emails often will), but now it feels connected to my buying journey. We know someone’s on the other end.
Interest: piqued.
In all, nine companies sent out a first-touch email response within one minute of our click. Four more companies clocked in under ten minutes. Two out of twenty-five didn’t send email responses at all (in case you were wondering if there’s an easy way to avoid last place).
Speed wasn’t the only element we assessed. We were also looking for human responses in the form of phone calls. Of the dozen or so companies that responded with fast follow-ups, only two reached out on the phone as their first touch: Sprout Social and Birdeye.
(In Birdeye’s case, they reached out on three media within a minute of the demo request: phone, email, and SMS.)
Getting someone on the phone is the most effective and fastest way to close a deal with a warm prospect, which is why these two companies won out in the experiment. In particular, Sprout Social’s option to “call me now” or “schedule a meeting” made the phone reach-out much more welcome.
And they weren’t joking. The call came instantly.
(Along with the aforementioned other calls to other Close team members.)
With 4 emails, 3 calls, 2 voicemails, and a partridge in a pear tree, Sprout Social was by far the most assertive with its follow-ups.
The runner-up is Birdeye. The brand responded to us within one minute, sending a full slate of omnichannel messages via SMS, email, and phone.
In fact, Birdeye deserves special mention for its seamless operation, running like a well-oiled machine. One click felt like sending a WUPHF (from “The Office”). One click and we had responses coming out of our ears. We’re surprised they didn’t send us a fax.
What We Learned From the Time-To-Talk Experiment
It was fun to peek through the curtain at how these top B2B SaaS companies handle inbound leads. But it’s not much of an experiment if we don’t glean any insights from it, except who won.
Ultimately, there were some lessons every B2B SaaS company can take from our experiment.
Different Companies Should Use Different Booking Strategies
Several companies on our list allowed us to schedule a meeting on their calendar. Some had options for meeting soon (within a few days) while others booked out farther in advance.
Is this an effective tactic? Eh, it depends. In general, giving the buyer control to book a meeting is a great move. In other instances, those meetings tend to be qualifying discovery calls and may end up wasting your buyer’s time. Getting the chance to talk to someone on the phone instantly can be hugely beneficial for both parties.
For small, scaling businesses, you’ll likely want to focus on fast time to talk (how quickly can you call) over instant booking. This is due to common small team scenarios like:
- Limited human resources for teams with unpredictable bandwidth
- Lost lead qualification and lead control
- Less time lost to no-shows
- Ample time for pre-demo prep
In most cases, it’s best to just pick up the phone as quickly as you can.
A Little Personalization Goes a Long Way
Even when we’re running a “dummy” test, we can’t help but notice the different feelings it creates when an automated response feels more human.
Your good automated emails should remind people that there are humans behind the brand. Use a real human’s name and a real human’s picture. Include a little background on your company. Maybe mention what they can expect next: a looming phone call, perhaps?
Don’t just send out a notification that you received their demo request. It’s nice to know the request went through and all, but it misses a vital opportunity to start a conversation.
Be Assertive, But Not Aggressive
We gave Sprout Social top grades for being highly motivated…so much so that they reached out to multiple members of the Close team. Comprehensive? Yes. Necessary? We’ll let you decide.
Birdeye struck a nice balance of assertiveness with its responses, offering a quick, comprehensive follow-up blast through multiple channels.
Overall, Sprout Social wins thanks to its eagerness to create a seamless demo-request experience for inbound leads. They even let us choose whether we’d receive a call or not.
Winning the “Time-to-Talk” Experiment in Your Company
Fast follow-ups are the name of the game. But ~10 of the 25 companies were nearly instantaneous with their email follow-ups, and only two called us right away. 🤯
That’s why phone calls remain a great tactic to differentiate yourself; you can talk to your customers almost as soon as they click “request.”
Using a good CRM to handle the automated portions of this pipeline (like automated SMS and emails) will make you comprehensive without feeling in-your-face.
Just pick up the damn phone! 😎
Ready to start an experiment of your own? See how many more sales you can make when you’re more assertive with your follow-ups. Sign up for a free demo of Close today.
(We promise we won’t call your boss.)
