By Beth Barkovich, June 2010
Below are the top areas to review with your sales and marketing teams on a regular basis:
Generating Quality Leads
Using Industry Directories to Cultivate Sales-Ready Leads
Passing the Leads to Sales
Prioritizing Sales Leads
Actual Conversion from Pipeline to Sales Revenue
Closing the Loop on Leads
1. Generating Quality Leads
Volume vs Quality is the age old question: do you want quantity, massive amounts of names to mine, or would you rather have a few (you pick the number) great leads that are truly interested? It is simply a business decision, and you can choose whichever your business. For some, a blend of quantity and quality is the answer. Keep in mind however, that improving the quality of the leads will always lead to improved conversion rates, provided your sales team is following up on the leads in a timely and effective manner. A general rule of thumb is a 10% increase in lead quality equals 40% increase in sales productivity.*
2. Using industry directories to cultivate sales-ready leads
“Marketing” is meeting your prospect via online channels far sooner than your sales representatives; said another way, sales reps are no longer the first point of contact for a buyer, the Internet is. Only 25% of new leads are sales ready, the rest are still in the gathering phase.
Of these 25%, (see Chart) an average of nearly four in 10 leads will move from initial inquiry to being sales-ready. Approximately the same ratio advance from sales-ready to qualified prospect. As might be expected, the trend deteriorates moving to the next stage where only three in 10 qualified prospects convert to a sale.*
Industry-specific directory listings are an excellent component of online marketing campaigns that help prospects gather information to evaluate who they will contact for an RFP. This being said, the biggest mistake we see is that a supplier lists a company in a directory and magically expects leads will be generated. Creating the listing, using appropriate key words and description of your services, is only the first step of a multi-pronged, online marketing campaign that leads to your doorstep.
3. Passing the leads to sales
Once you’ve increased your lead quality and leads are coming in, is your follow-up from sales timely? (i.e. is it within 48 hours?) Sales 101 teaches that conversion rates drop 25% for every 24 hours you delay contact. Yet we hear people say all the time, “I didn’t want to jump all over them.” Or “I was giving them a week or two to think about it.” After 48 hours, your chances of being on their radar is cut in half, after a week or two they have figured out how to live without your services. If you are truly contacting them to help their company’s overall performance, you will be viewed as a positive ally, not another pushy sales person.
4. Prioritizing names by your sales team
Which leads are most valuable? The best thing to do is use some type of a lead scoring system to identify the prospects willing and able to have a sales conversation, and the ones closer to a purchase decision.
5. Actually converting to create pipeline revenue
Some sales conversations are too one-sided or viewed as pushy. If you aren’t closing sales, you may need to do some honest reflecting around this point. Are you speaking the buyer’s language or are you “pushing” your services and products on them without listening and fully understanding their needs?
6. Closing the loop on sales lead
If you are relying solely on your CRM or SFA to manage your closed loop sales reporting, you may be missing valuable data to improve sales performance. Meet with your key sales and marketing personnel regularly and explore the following:
Have you been satisfied with the quantity of leads that have been generated?
Are sales leads being distributed equitably?
Are current lead criteria adequate for qualifying prospects?
How many calls does it take to reach the prospect?
How many days after receiving the lead does follow-up begin?
Do sales record notes contain enough information to prepare for next steps?
Do the notes reflect what you hear when you call the prospect again?
What questions should be asked to help progress to the next action?
How many leads have turned into customers?
What are the names of prospects who became customers?
What was different about the leads that went into the sales pipeline or were closed?
Should there be a special focus on individual industries?
Are there upcoming events that should be promoted when calling?
The Bottom Line
So, are you really utilizing best practices that lead to improved customer experiences and increased sales revenue for your organization? We recommend suppliers spend some quality time reviewing your lead generation and sales processes. There are hundreds of resources available on the market that will spur thought and offer insights on how to improve from within, which in turn should improve your bottom line.
*Source: MarketingSherpa®
