LOS ANGELES, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 11/13/12 -- Leads360, a market-leader in cloud-based lead management and sales automation solutions, today published ground-breaking new research that examines top-performing contact strategies for inside sales teams and how combining the right volume and frequency of both calls and email can yield optimal conversion results and increased sales.

"Against a backdrop of lingering economic uncertainty, sales managers are challenged to hit higher sales targets with the same or fewer resources, requiring them to capitalize on every sales opportunity," said Nick Hedges, CEO and president, Leads360. "While significant investment has been made in sales force automation and CRM tools, often overlooked is a highly optimized lead contact strategy. This oversight presents opportunity for sales professionals, with a potential to see conversion improvements as high as 400 percent."

This new Leads360 study, The Ultimate Contact Strategy: How to best use phone and email for contact and conversion success, analyzes the contact practices of more than 400 companies and 3.5 million leads identifying the methods and actions that drive best-in-class sales performance.

Among the study's key findings:

• Response speed is the single largest driver of lead conversion, with the likelihood of making a sale dropping dramatically after just one minute. Leads called within the first minute are nearly 400 percent more likely to convert.
• Sales discipline is critical to maximizing conversion. Making more than one call and sending even just one email can have a positive impact on lead conversion, yet 50 percent of leads are never called a second time and 59 percent of leads never receive an email.
• Calculated timing of communication further increases conversion. Knowing the first call and email should happen quickly is clear but if the initial communication doesn't result in contact, understanding the ideal timing of subsequent calls and email messages can further increase conversion.
• Multi-channel communication drives better results. Combining the highest performing phone and email strategies for the ultimate contact strategy can result in a conversion gain of more than 100 percent.

"Even companies that have an expressed lead follow-up guideline in place rarely address the topic of contact or call strategy, or understand the impact it can have," said Hedges. "Leads360 research clearly shows that a calculated and disciplined approach to following up with sales-ready leads can have a tremendous impact on customer acquisition and revenue."

The full report can be downloaded here.

About Leads360
Leads360 is a market leading provider of cloud-based lead management and sales automation solutions proven to deliver smarter, more efficient sales processes for improved conversion rates. With unmatched expertise, drawn from a dedication to helping more than 5,000 clients automate and improve their lead distribution, response and conversion processes, Leads360 has become the platform of choice for organizations focused on improving customer acquisition and business performance. Leads360 is a privately held company, recently recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in North America by Deloitte. Please visit www.Leads360.com for more information.

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