Roundtable in Orlando was packed. We combined groups 1 and 2 and Michael, a new member whose business has exploded in the last 18 months, was on the hot seat.

He sells a commodity service in the $1,000 range. It’s a brutal, “please quote me a price and show up on the day you promise” market. It’s possible to have a USP but everyone in that biz still circles the “low price” drain.

He has a strong USP, his Google account is in top shape, he has his sales team in place; and his operations and delivery systems are solid.

“What next?” he asked.

Jim Fitzgerald from Taradel served up the answer – a study from Live360. Lead conversion by fast phone response. Compared to NO phone follow up, here’s the impact on conversion rate:

Calling the prospect after…

1 minute     +391%

2 minutes    +160%

3 minutes    +98%

30 minutes  +62%

1 hour         +36%

5 hours       +24%

24 hours     +17%

Think “plumber.” When you need a plumber, you need one NOW. MANY businesses are like this. Even businesses where, in theory, booking the service a couple of weeks from now would be just fine.

It’s just fine for the prospect, but it’s not just fine for YOU.

If you don’t get ’em now, you’re probably not going to get ’em.

Autoresponders are a nice “safety net” and they really will save you a lot of lost business.

But 2 weeks of autoresponders is no match for a quick phone call 2 minutes later to close the deal.

One last thing:

If he calls everyone back in 3 minutes and his conversion rate goes up 98%, his SALES will go up by a factor of 4-8 – because he’ll be able to buy 4X more traffic.

That will jettison him from being a “respectable minor player” to a Greatly Feared Market Dominator.

At that point, new opportunities on the supply side will materialize – because he is the market leader.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to be the Greatly Feared Market Dominator.

Perry Marshall

About the Author

Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.

He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.