How to be the Best at Lead Generation? It Starts with Process

It all starts with Lead Management Process – Steps to Develop

A lead management process is required for repeatable best-in-class performance. The following is a high-level overview of the main steps involved in developing a process for your company:

Perform Discovery

1. Performance Review – Identify metrics that exist today, what can be tracked, and establish a baseline.
2. Content Assessment – Map existing content to the buying stages and perform gap analysis.
3. Sales team discovery – Understand the lead hand-off and criteria for qualification.
4. Identify the Buying Process – This typically includes anywhere from 2-5 stages depending on the complexity of the solution.
5. Understand the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) – Review account segmentation areas of focus and document characteristics of the target audience.

Design of Lead Management Process (version 0.5)

1. Develop a common definition of a “lead” across the organization
2. Identify key stakeholders from sales, marketing, IT and finance to participate in a collaborative planning session.
3. For each step in the buying process, document the following:
   • Stage Definition – One sentence definition of the purpose of the phase.
   • Steps – List of steps in order of accomplishment that guides the Lead Development Rep (LDR) in what they should be doing to move the prospect forward.
     • What is the minimum level contact information received to be a considered an “Inquiry”?
     • Develop grading based on contact and firmographic data to measure the quality of the fit to your ICP.
     • Develop scoring based on activities and behavior that show the level of interest.
     • Establish qualification criteria for a lead to be worthy of sales investment of time.
     • Design nurture campaign frameworks.
     • Identify qualification criteria and requirements for delivery to sales.
     • Establish requirements for feedback loop with sales.

    

   • Exit Criteria– Description of a specific action that indicates the buyer has moved to the next step in the buying process.
   • Job Aids – List of tools and resources The LDR can use in this phase to help achieve the Exit Criteria.

Validation

1. Expert Panel – Assemble a cross-functional team to review and validate the steps (Update process to version 0.75).
2. Pilot – Closely monitor testing of the process with a sub-set of staff and make appropriate continuous improvement revisions (update process to version 1.0).

Lead Management Process – Template

Developing a lead management process has some of the same characteristics of a sales process. The following is a best-in-class award winning template developed by Sales Benchmark Index.

Lead Management Process – Sample Stage

The following is a sample Consideration Stage process to give you an insight into the definition, steps, exit criteria and job aids. 

Key Take-away

The elements of success for standing up a Lead Generation LDR team involve the following key attributes:

• Lead Definition – Define what a “Lead” is for your company among both sales and marketing so the term is objective and not up for different interpretations.
• Lead Management Process – Define ownership of prospects and contacts at points of inquiry, within the CRM, standard operating procedures to support lead nurturing, qualifying requirements, and points of hand off to sales.