The Conversion Code, 2nd Edition

Chapter 34Preferred Additional Outcomes (What to Do When You Can't Close Someone)

You can do everything we talked about in this book and you'll still get told no. That's the job. Even if you use the best ARCs (sometimes you have to ARC and reclose several times), the reality is there are some conversations that don't end in a deal.

Do not get frustrated when this happens. Often, when someone says they need to wait or to think about it, they mean it. Do not burn the bridge. In fact, when bottom of the funnel leads say they need to think about it the conversion rate is 5.3% higher than when that phrase does not occur.¹

The difference is, a lead who says they need to think about it takes 173% longer to close. Knowing how long most leads actually take to convert will completely change your mindset about how you handle the follow-up.

For example, here is how long it takes B2B leads to close² (Figure 34.1):

• Only 5.1% of leads that close do so in less than 30 days.
• 18.1% of leads take more than a year to close.
• 46.4% of leads take more than seven months to close.

If you were to define new leads as being less than 30 days old, that would mean 94.9% of leads that close are old. I said previously that new leads are not better than old ones. I meant it. You may not be in B2B sales but even when you sell a B2C product or service that is expensive your sales cycle can be similarly long.

Be patient. Think long term. Get excited about old leads.

Maybe you should call them gold leads, not ...