Lead Follow-Up SOP for Retail & E-commerce

# Lead Follow-Up SOP - Retail & E-commerce

## Purpose
Implement to ensure no leads fall through the cracks and every prospect receives timely, personalised follow-up.

## When to Use
A structured procedure for qualifying, contacting, and nurturing inbound leads with defined response times, follow-up cadences, and handoff criteria.

## Instructions
1. Review the template below and familiarise yourself with the structure
2. Replace all [bracketed placeholders] with your retail & e-commerce business details
3. Customise the tone and formatting to match your brand
4. Save in your preferred tool (HubSpot or Pipedrive)

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## Lead Follow-Up Standard Operating Procedure

### 1. Purpose and Scope
This SOP defines the standard process for responding to, qualifying, and nurturing inbound leads. Research shows that responding within the first 5 minutes increases the likelihood of qualification by 10 times compared to waiting 30 minutes. This procedure ensures no lead falls through the cracks and every prospect receives a timely, relevant, and personalised response. It applies to all inbound leads from any source: website forms, phone calls, referrals, events, and social media.

### 2. Roles and Responsibilities
- **Sales Representative (or Business Development):** Owns the initial follow-up, qualification, and nurture for assigned leads.
- **Marketing Lead:** Monitors lead source quality, manages automated nurture sequences, and provides sales enablement content.
- **Sales Manager (or Director):** Reviews pipeline weekly, supports deal strategy, and handles escalated opportunities.

### 3. Prerequisites
- CRM (HubSpot or Pipedrive) configured with lead stages and automation
- Lead notification channel set up in Slack (#new-leads)
- Email templates loaded in the CRM for each follow-up stage
- Lead scoring criteria defined and configured

### 4. Lead Response Timeframes

| Lead Source | First Response Target |
|------------|----------------------|
| Website form submission | Within 15 minutes during business hours |
| Phone enquiry | Immediate (live answer or return call within 15 minutes) |
| Email enquiry | Within 1 business hour |
| Referral | Within 2 business hours |
| Event/networking lead | Within 1 business day |

### 5. Procedure

**Step 1: Receive and Assign the Lead**
When a new lead enters the CRM, it is automatically assigned to the next available Sales Representative via round-robin. A Slack notification is posted in #new-leads with the lead's name, source, and any details provided. The assigned rep acknowledges the lead in Slack within 5 minutes.

**Step 2: Research the Lead (2-3 minutes)**
Before making first contact, quickly review:
- Company website (what do they do, how big are they, who are their customers)
- LinkedIn profile of the contact person
- Information provided in their form submission or enquiry
- Any previous interactions in the CRM

**Step 3: Make First Contact**
Contact the lead via their preferred channel (phone is preferred for high-intent leads). Use the appropriate first-contact template, personalised with:
- Reference to how they found you or what prompted their enquiry
- A specific observation about their business
- A clear next step (e.g., "Would you be available for a 15-minute call this week?")

If calling, leave a voicemail and follow up with an email within 30 minutes. Log the contact in the CRM.

**Step 4: Qualify the Lead**
During the first conversation, assess the lead using the BANT framework:
- **Budget:** Do they have a realistic budget for your services?
- **Authority:** Are you speaking with the decision-maker?
- **Need:** Do they have a genuine need that you can solve?
- **Timeline:** When are they looking to start or make a decision?

Record the qualification details in the CRM. Classify the lead as:
- **Hot:** Budget confirmed, decision-maker engaged, timeline within 30 days
- **Warm:** Need confirmed, exploring options, timeline within 90 days
- **Nurture:** Interested but not ready, no clear timeline
- **Disqualified:** Not a fit (record the reason for future marketing analysis)

**Step 5: Follow-Up Cadence**
If the lead does not respond to first contact, follow this cadence:

| Day | Action |
|-----|--------|
| Day 1 | First contact (call + email) |
| Day 2 | Follow-up email with a relevant resource |
| Day 4 | Second phone call attempt |
| Day 7 | Email with a different angle or case study |
| Day 14 | Final direct outreach ("Is this still a priority?") |
| Day 21 | Move to automated nurture sequence |

Log every touchpoint in the CRM. If the lead responds at any point, restart with personalised follow-up.

**Step 6: Nurture Non-Ready Leads**
Leads classified as "Nurture" enter the automated email nurture sequence in the CRM. The sequence delivers value-based content over 8-12 weeks: educational articles, case studies, and periodic check-ins. Monitor engagement (opens, clicks) and re-engage personally when engagement spikes.

**Step 7: Handoff to Sales Meeting**
For qualified leads ready for a deeper conversation:
1. Schedule a discovery meeting (30-45 minutes)
2. Send a calendar invite with an agenda and any pre-meeting preparation
3. Update the CRM stage to "Meeting Scheduled"
4. Notify the Sales Manager of high-value opportunities

### 6. Quality Standards
- First response time: 95% of leads contacted within the target timeframe
- Follow-up completion: 100% of leads receive the full follow-up cadence
- CRM data quality: all leads have source, qualification status, and contact notes recorded
- Conversion rate from lead to meeting: benchmark and improve quarterly

### 7. Revision History
| Version | Date | Author | Changes |
|---------|------|--------|---------|
| 1.0 | [Date] | [Author] | Initial release |

### 8. Related Documents
- Lead Scoring Criteria
- Email Template Library (CRM)
- Sales Meeting Preparation Checklist
- CRM Data Entry Standards

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**Complexity:** simple | **Setup time:** 15 minutes | **Tools:** HubSpot, Pipedrive, Slack

Note: This template has been tailored for retail & e-commerce businesses in Australia. Adjust terminology and compliance references to match your specific context.