What's the ideal follow-up time window of opportunity for leads passed from marketing to sales?

The ideal time window can also be contingent to the nature of the lead but I usually work with the rule of thumb of24 hours. You want to make sure you get to speak to the customer while the information is fresh in their mind. This also helps highlight a company's sincerety towards their clients. Make sure you have understood the information passed on by marketing and have jotted down a few key questions that you need the client to answer for you to be able to qualify the job. Also, don't forget that being polite and a good listener goes a long way. 

To prioritize the most important leads and don’t waste time.

The ideal time to first follow up time just after lead generated is immediately to 5 minutes (Depends on how much eager you are to close the sale). There is a proven study done on response time that if you are calling the lead within next 5 mints, the chances are 90% towards closing deal as well as per my personal leadership role it has been tried and tested.

First caller could be from Customer Care, with limited knowledge would be fine. However, once confirmed by customer to arrange a call from sales than the person should holding full knowledge of product as well as that person should be handling the customer till end. These two calls process should be done in just 10 to 15 minutes just after lead generated to double/triple your sales ratio.  

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