Selling is easy. What is not easy is entertaining a lead, qualifying it, and eventually closing it. I want to talk a bit about the interaction with the client (in answering questions, etc.)
From a service (consultancy) related industry, there is a lot of back-and-forth with the potential client. I used to believe that no two clients are alike. Nothing can be automated (who the heck even automates in the services industry?), and the human touch makes a difference.
I can tell you I was wrong nearly seven years later on all fronts. I wish I had done this sooner. But alas, here we are. Better late than never, right?
Communicating with the customer takes a lot of your time. You may not realize it, but it does. We guard so many things (especially pricing, read my article on Services Industry? Publish your pricing!). You need to provide customers with the maximum amount of information and a handholding guide.
Here is what I learned, and I would suggest you give it a thought:
Your mileage may vary. I've always tried to see how I can use tools like TextExpander to save time on canned responses and automated expansion of repetitive replies based on keyword triggers.
I've also set that CTA to be the most crucial mile marker. Before CTA, all the information has been presented to you. After CTA, you are indicating to me that you are willing to put in the effort (fill out a detailed form where I gather more information about their business, etc.), and based on that, I will then get involved in the communication.
You can shave off so much time but doing the above. I hope this was, if nothing, mildly helpful.