We’ve written a lot about how to maximize an IVR system in this blog, but I’ll be honest I didn’t see this issue coming. Apparently, there may be a disconnect for some sales departments out there over what they’re supposed to be doing with leads that come in via IVR.

Simple answer: return the calls.

The Realty Times has an article on their website about this somewhat surprising quandary for sales people. The article suggests some sales people are neglecting the leads that come in through their IVR system.

“It’s as if the prospect called the office inquiring about a property, the receptionist took a hand-written message, and we just didn’t call them back,” said the article. “I doubt you would do that, but countless agents everyday fail to call their IVR leads back.”

According to Realty Times, IVR systems tend to generate more leads. (I can think of a number of reasons for this, including the ease of leaving a message for callers or having the IVR running outside office hours, et cetera.) The problem is sifting through the larger number of leads. (Isn’t that a good problem to have if you’re in sales?)

“One of the challenges with using IVR technology in your marketing is the volume of lead increase without being able to address the quality of the lead issue as effectively,” wrote the Times.

Ah. That is a concern. (Although, again, an issue I think most sales associates would be happy to grapple with, especially given the general state of the economy and sales numbers over the last few years.)

The reality is, there’s a certain amount of legwork involved in sales and marketing. And a certain amount of throwing a wide net to catch a couple of fish. It’s a numbers game in sales, period.

But the bottom line is, the more leads you get, the more sales you’ll get. It may take legwork to sift between strong and weak leads (i.e., returning the calls), but that’s just part of the game.