Is “Please Have a Rep Contact Me” a Good Idea?

A client asks: “On every registration form, we give prospects the option to request contact from a sales rep. Is that even worthwhile when we’re going to call everyone anyway? If it is a good idea, what should the verbiage be? Currently the form reads:

[Yes/No radio button] I would like to have a sales representative contact me.”

My response: “Yes, it’s a good idea (I’ll explain why) but you need to revamp the language significantly.

First, think of giving people the option to request contact as a lead qualification device. Yes, you’re going to call them anyway, but allowing people to say “I really WANT you to call me” serves as a sign of significant (or urgent) interest.

Using marketing automation, you can override lead scoring and immediately assign those leads to sales, set a task for the assigned rep within your CRM system, and even send email alerts to the rep and to the rep’s manager. (You can also trigger follow-up alerts if there’s no follow-up within a defined period.) Even if only a small percentage of prospects ever select the option to request follow-up, at the very least you’ll guarantee that those people get the priority attention they deserve.

However, there are three important changes that I’d make to the current language on the form:

One, and most urgently, don’t make this a Yes/No question. When you do so, you’re forcing prospects to choose whether or not they want to hear from someone in your organization. As a result, there’s a strong likelihood that a subset of leads will react much less warmly to your rep’s follow-up, since many of them will feel they have specifically requested that you not call.

Second, use “representative” or “[your category here] expert,” not “sales representative.” Talking to a salesperson isn’t high on most “to do” lists. Position the option as a way to get questions answered, not as an opportunity to be sold to.

Third, add the word “immediately.” That way, people are making the request to be contacted ASAP, not whether to be contacted at all.

In sum, I’d recommend the language:

[Check Box] Please have a representative contact me immediately.

or as an alternative:

[Check Box] Please have a representative contact me immediately to discuss our specific needs.

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