article |
August 25, 2012
Get Better Results From Your Leads – Through the Sales Rep Lens
By:
But it’s marketing that has the tools and data to deliver. Marketing must be on the hook to get good quality leads to sales.
Direct support of the rep making their target is one of marketing’s key objectives. To learn more about how world-class marketers are enabling their sales teams to hit quota now, click here.
The Problem
We look in on Rick the Rep with Apex Inc. scanning a new set of leads he just got from marketing. Reviewing them on his laptop, Rick excludes companies from the list if:
Rick used his past experience to define what a “good” lead is. We’ve all done this. We need to make our number. We want to spend our time with solid leads, ignoring the junk.
What else has Rick done? He’s tossed out several leads considering Acme as a potential supplier. He ignored some actively looking for a solution he can deliver. He also hurt marketing’s chances to make their bonus because one of their key success measures is the number of leads accepted by sales.
Ouch! Painful but all too real. Sirius Decisions research backs this up. They found that 80% of all leads identified by sales as non-qualified end up buying within two years.
Why is this happening? Because sales reps don’t trust that marketing can regulalry identify and hand-off quality leads.
The Cure
Rick, there is a way to fix this – take these three actions right now:
Marketing has to answer the call. They know what your leads have been doing before you get them. The web sites they visit, webinars they attend, e-books and blogs they read. The info available gives marketing what they need to ignore the junk and give you only good leads.
Now you’re freed to close more deals. You’ll see an increase in “good” leads because marketing is held accountable for the number and quality of leads they deliver. You’ll be seen as a sales leader – pointing the way to use marketing more effectively. You will also help marketing make their “number” by accepting all their leads.
What is a “Good” Lead?
Before accepting all of Marketing’s leads, get a better picture of how they define a good lead. Get answers to these questions:
Now you’ve stopped filtering out any marketing supplied leads. You have a much better picture of how leads are prepared for you. You’ve committed to accept all of your leads. Now what?
Your Call to Action
Is your faith in marketing leads stronger now? Great. Provide detailed feedback as you work your leads so marketing can get better. Use the additional info on your leads to convert more to closed business. Become a marketing fan within sales.
What if your faith in marketing has been weakened? If you’re still not confident in their ability to consistently deliver good leads, take the following steps:
I’d like to hear from you – e-mail me at patrick.seidell@salesbenchmarkindex.com
Iconic customer programs generate fierce loyalty and accelerate revenue growth. CX professiona...
In a world of uncertainty, market leaders are sure which customer touchpoints require prioritization...
For Sales Operations leaders on a calendar year, we are rapidly approaching annual planning season. ...
Of all the challenges that sales leaders have faced this past year, effectively evolving field selle...
As we round out 2020 and begin to look ahead to 2021, the topic of revenue planning is surely at the...
Marketing leaders have faced numerous difficulties over the past year, but one challenge is not excl...
Over the past several months, SBI’s latest research has unpacked how market-leading CEOs have ...
As COVID-19 has left many businesses scrambling to adapt to changing economic and technological cond...
SBI TV episodes bring you Sales and Marketing insights from B2B industry thought leaders and growth experts, on topics like product, pricing, customer experience and success, and go to market. Catch up on new and previous episodes here.