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The Key to Converting Online Sales Leads: Speed Sales are the lifeblood of any business. When you get a lead, act fast to convert him or her into a paying customer.

By Jason Fell

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

When a sales lead rolls in via your website, there's a process to converting that lead into money for your business. As Entrepreneur.com contributor Grant Cardone points out, it can take up to eight follow up attempts just to qualify the lead, and 80 percent of all transactions require five to 12 follow-ups.

Wow. That's a lot. And if you're slow to get this process started, your lead could wind up taking his or her business elsewhere.

"The faster you can respond, the better chance of converting and qualifying [a sales lead]," Cardone says. "The first company that follows up gets 50 percent of the business."

And the key to increasing your speed in following up with leads is to utilize every communication tool you have available. Don't just rely on phone calls and leaving voicemails. Email. Text. Send smoke signals and carrier pigeons if you have to.

"If you have the data to text a client within the first five minutes of contact, your chances of conversion go up almost 300 times," Cardone says.

Then, as soon as you get that lead, ask for the business, Cardone says. For more insight on converting sales leads, check out the short video above.

Related:

Your Survival Depends on Following Up on Internet Leads -- Fast

Grant Cardone's 5 Tips for Closing the Big Sale on the Phone

Jason Fell

VP, Native Content

Jason Fell is the VP of Native Content, managing the Entrepreneur Partner Studio, which creates dynamic and compelling content for our partners. He previously served as Entrepreneur.com's managing editor and as the technology editor prior to that.

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