The document discusses 7 habits for effective lead management in the vacation rental industry. It provides an overview of each habit: 1) Identify business objectives, 2) Define and follow a process, 3) Respond quickly, 4) Capture rich contact information, 5) Re-use leads, 6) Measure effectiveness, and 7) Establish a culture of improvement. It then gives examples from 360 Blue, a vacation rental property management company, of how they implement each habit in their lead management process.

1. SEVEN HABITS FOR EFFECTIVE LEAD
MANAGEMENT

2. SPUR THOUGHTS ABOUT LEAD MANAGEMENT

3. CARMELA GILLENWATER
• Vacation Rental Industry Enthusiast 
• Supplier – 19 years
• Operator or Consultant – 8 years

4. ASHLEY HAMM – 360 BLUE
• Florida Panhandle
• 300 Properties
• Began in 2008
• Technology
• Escapia
• Navis
• Technology we helped to
develop:
• GTHY
• gladRESPONDER
• gladCONTRACT

5. 7 HABITS FOR EFFECTIVE LEAD MANAGEMENT
1. Identify Business Objectives
2. Define & Follow a Process
3. Respond Quickly
4. Capture Rich Contact Information
5. Re-use Leads
6. Measure Effectiveness
7. Establish a Culture of Improvement

6. 1. IDENTIFY BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
• What problem are you trying to solve…
• Improve low lead conversion rates?
• Improve lead follow up?
• Improve marketing effectiveness?
• Consistency of responses?

7. 1. IDENTIFY BUSINESS OBJECTIVES – 360 BLUE
IDENTIFY BUSINESS OBJECTIVES – 360 BLUE
WHAT PROBLEMS ARE WE TRYING TO SOLVE?
• Improve low lead conversion rates
• Faster response rate = Higher conversion
• Improve lead follow up?
• GladRESPONDER / Hot Leads
• Improve marketing effectiveness?
• More time on qualified leads
• Consistency of responses?
• Branded responses
• Suggesting alternative properties based on
availability

8. 2. DEFINE & FOLLOW A PROCESS
• Roles: Who is responsible for each step?
• Steps: What happens every time for each activity?
• Lead Status: When does a lead go from New > In Conversation > Quoted >
Booked > Closed?
• Division of work: How will you divide work among your team?

9. Define and Follow a
Lead Management Process

10. 2. DEFINE & FOLLOW A PROCESS – 360 BLUE
DEFINE AND FOLLOW A PROCESS – 360 BLUE

11. 3. RESPOND QUICKLY
• Respond within the first 60 minutes and you get:
• 7X better chance of converting than if you wait more than 1 hour
• 60X better chance of converting than if you wait more than 1 day
• Think about this:
• The average VR traveler inquires on 7 properties – being the first to respond is
important
• Don’t be afraid to call
• Answer the most common questions in your message
• Suggest alternatives when property is not available

12. 3. RESPOND QUICKLY – 360 BLUE
RESPOND QUICKLY – 360 Blue
Before and After Auto Responder
Before
• Responded to all incoming VRBO/HA inquiries through
email
• Tracked guest data through Navis lead forms
• 200+ inquiries in each mailbox per day….impossible to
catch up
After
• PMT in 2012
• gladRESPONDER in 2013
• More time to convert a lead
• Focus on outbound
• One-hour follow-up time / Assigned agent
• Conversion rate on Glad leads is higher than all
other campaigns

13. 4. CAPTURE RICH CONTACT INFORMATION
• What information should you capture?
• Interests, dates, phone, email, others in travel party, lead source
• What do you do with it?
• Brain Power
• Excel/Google docs
• Property Management Software
• Free or Fee Based lead management software products

14. 4. CAPTURE RICH CONTACT INFORMATION - 360
CAPTURE RICH CONTACT INFORMATION– 360 Blue
WHAT WE CAPTURE
• Guest full name; Dates of stay; Stay value; Prior
guest or not; Phone #; Email; # of Adults/# of kids;
Reason for stay
WHERE WE KEEP THE DATA
• GTHY
• Escapia
• Navis
• Mailchimp
WHAT WE DO WITH THE DATA
• Concierge
• VIP
• MARKETING

15. 5. RE-USE LEADS
• Making the most out of the contacts collected
• Generating new leads vs. re-using the ones you have
• How do you (or can you) segment your database?
• Type: Guests/Prospects
• Interests: Hikers vs Skiers
• Communication Type & Timing
• Newsletter/ Promotions/ Anniversary

16. 5. RE-USE LEADS – 360 BLUE
RE-USE LEADS – 360 Blue
Formula for estimating cost of new lead:
(Avg booking x Conversion Rate) x (1 – Commission Rate) = Lead Worth
• 360 Blue Marketing activities
• NAVIS
• Google Adwords
• GLADResponder
• GLADPro – concierge activities
• Make the most out of the contact information
• Segmented/Personalized email/direct mail marketing
• Custom audience targeting with emails on Facebook
• Cheaper to reuse leads than to generate a new one
• Segmenting Data

17. 6. MEASURE EFFECTIVENESS
• What questions are you trying to answer?
• What marketing channels are most effective?
• Which employees convert the most leads into bookings?
• Which properties get the fewest inquiries?
• Is our business growing or shrinking?
• What are the metrics that support those questions?
• Conversion rate by marketing channel
• Conversion rate by reservation sales agent
• Inquiry conversion by property
• Inquiry and booking trends

18. 6. MEASURE EFFECTIVENESS -360 BLUE
MEASURE EFFECTIVENESS – 360 Blue
• Establish Metrics/Incentivize Employees
• Distribution site analytics (property basis) –
• VRBO
• HomeAway
• Measure overall engagement vs. reach – Facebook
• Track conversion rates in Google Analytics
• Email marketing
• A/B Testing
• Open Rate % (subject lines)
• Click Through % (call to actions)
• Navis
• Campaign numbers
• Call results

19. 7. ESTABLISH A CULTURE OF IMPROVEMENT
• Don’t fall into the “that’s the way we’ve always done it” trap
• Don’t “boil the ocean” – start with one clear problem
• Engage your team for ideas on how to fix the problem
• Be willing to experiment. Try. Observe. Refine

20. 7. ESTABLISH A CULTURE OF IMPROVEMENT - 360
• Adapting to Changes (Technology)
• Attending Conferences
• Weekly Strategy Meetings
• Weekly Revenue/Marketing Meetings
ESTABLISH A CULTURE OF IMPROVEMENT – 360 Blue

21. 7 HABITS FOR EFFECTIVE LEAD MANAGEMENT
1. Identify Business Objectives
2. Define & Follow a Process
3. Respond Quickly
4. Capture Rich Contact Information
5. Re-use Leads
6. Measure Effectiveness
7. Establish a Culture of Improvement
Question and Answer Time!

22. THANK YOU!

23. BACKUP SLIDES

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25. WHAT ABOUT COLORS?
THEY ARE LOADED BY DEFAULT INTO THE TEMPLATE!