Most businesses believe they need more leads to grow. But what if the real issue isn’t how many leads you get—but how many you’re losing?
Every day, businesses waste thousands of dollars because leads slip through the cracks. A potential customer reaches out, but no one follows up fast enough. A sales team gets a new inquiry but forgets to check back in. A quote goes out but never gets a response because no one takes ownership. These small failures compound, creating a massive loss in revenue—without anyone realizing it.
“We’ve seen companies generating millions in leads, yet they’re leaking money simply because they don’t have a system in place,” says Mareks Lomako in his recent conversation with Jake Mooney on
Calm Marketing Secrets. “They’re spending on ads, they’re generating traffic—but they’re not following up. Or they’re following up too late, after the lead has moved on.”
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Listen to the full conversation for practical solutions on how to fix your lead management process.)
If you’re not tracking and fixing this issue, your business could be losing 20-80% of potential revenue. Fortunately, the solution isn’t complex—it just requires the right strategy.
How Businesses Lose Leads Without Realizing It
Most companies don’t know they’re losing leads because they never measure what happens
after an inquiry comes in. Consider these common failure points:
- No Accountability: Who owns the lead? If multiple people think someone else will handle it, no one does.
- Slow Follow-Ups: If you take more than an hour to respond, your competitor has likely already reached out.
- Poor Tracking: Without a system to monitor lead progress, follow-ups become random rather than strategic.
- Lack of Process: A quote is sent, but there’s no structured plan for what happens next.
One real-world example discussed in the podcast was a European company that Jake and Mareks worked with. They were bringing in leads across multiple branches, but sales teams had no clear process for ownership. Leads were passed around, often forgotten, and eventually abandoned. The company assumed their lead generation was the problem—when in reality, they were simply failing to capitalize on what they already had.
Fixing the Follow-Up Problem: Simple, Practical Solutions
1. Assign Clear Lead Ownership
The first step is ensuring every lead has a
single owner responsible for follow-up. This doesn’t mean one salesperson handles everything—but it does mean that at every stage, someone is accountable.
For example, some businesses automate an internal Slack or email notification when a new lead comes in. But without a structured follow-up assignment, notifications get ignored. Instead, use a CRM to auto-assign leads to a specific team member and track when they’ve been contacted.
(Related article:
[Why CRMs Don’t Fix Lead Management (Unless You Do This First)])
2. Speed is Everything—Respond Within 15 Minutes
Multiple studies show that responding to a lead within 15 minutes significantly increases the likelihood of closing the deal. Yet most businesses take
hours or even days to reply.
One striking example from the podcast was a course company Mareks interacted with. He requested more information and never received a follow-up. Not only did they lose a potential sale—they lost a customer for life.
Here’s how to fix this:
- Set up automated responses that acknowledge the inquiry
instantly.
- Use CRM reminders to alert sales teams if a lead hasn’t been contacted within 15 minutes.
- Establish clear SLAs (Service Level Agreements) for follow-ups—make it a core part of your sales process.
(Related article:
[Lead Follow-Up Isn’t Just Sales—It’s Customer Experience])
3. Build a Simple but Effective Follow-Up System
Follow-ups shouldn’t be random—they should be structured.
One method used successfully by high-performing sales teams is the
3-3-7 Rule:
- Follow up within
3 minutes if possible.
- If no response, follow up again in
3 hours.
- If still no response, follow up in
7 days.
Automating this process with tools like Zapier can make it seamless. (More on this in
[DIY Automation: The Simple Systems That Make Small Teams More Efficient].)
Are You Losing Money on Leads? Here’s How to Fix It.
If your business is struggling with lost leads, wasted ad spend, and missed opportunities, the problem isn’t marketing—it’s your follow-up process.
The good news? You can fix it with simple changes in accountability, speed, and automation.
Need help refining your marketing and sales process? Book a coaching call with Green Light Studio. We help businesses build strategies that don’t just bring in leads—but convert them.
