November 12, 2010 – 9:54 am
A sales lead, is the identity of a human or entity potentially interested in purchasing a product or service, and represents the first stage of a sales process.
Well that’s the easiest part of this blog post done.
The hard part is trying to unpick the word ‘lead’ and establish what one is. After having been working at Qualifa, the smart sales lead generation company, full time for just over 2 months, I can safely say that between different people the definition of ‘Lead’ differs greatly. What some people see as a speculative opportunity, others see as a waste of time. So how can you make sure you don’t waste your time going to bad leads? Answer? Qualify Qualify QUALIFY! I have learnt this a couple of times now and it is hard when you are excited for a client as you believe you have got them a meeting with a top branded UK Company, only to find out that the service or product that your client provides is not quite what they want. As much as you want a lead to be 100% perfect with the right budget, right size and right ‘name’ at the right time, all this is 100% unrealistic. If you want to utilise the services of Qualifa, a lead generation and telemarketing company, you have to be prepared to go to meetings with prospective clients who you know may not be looking right at this point for your product or service but realise that this is invaluable contact building and relationship building with key members of a company, an opportunity you are unlikely to get otherwise. If you go into that meeting knowing everything there is to know about your company and how your product or service could benefit the prospective client, then there is no reason ...read more
Many growing digital media companies say that their main problem is ‘closing’ sales opportunities. They get shortlisted in a competitive pitch and stake the next wave of plans on a one in three chance of winning. The reliance most digital media and technology businesses place on closing a small number of key sales leads presents a big problem – if you lose one, there’s nothing to fill the void.
There’s a tried and tested way of hedging against this situation -successful pipeline management; the more quality leads you have, the more you are likely to win.
Companies need to protect against over-reliance on winning major projects by ensuring that the supporting pipeline is kept full at all times with quality sales leads and consistent lead generation.
So, what is pipeline management?
Typically a 3:1 ratio applies: of three final stage (shortlisted) pitches, typically one will be won. Taking this further back in the sales cycle, the ‘times three’ effect is usually accurate. To get three quality leads to the point of final pitch, you’ll need nine sales leads to get to the stage of formal proposal. To get nine to formal proposal, you’ll more than likely need over 20 ‘value proposition’ meetings or presentations. This means you’ll need around 80 quality sales leads in active conversations.
Of course all of this doesn’t unfold overnight. Lead management and maintaining a healthy sales pipeline is ongoing and often has a time frame of three to six months from initial conversation to contract sign off.
With this in mind it makes sense to take a long term view and get strategic about gaining introductions with new business. Setting aside other elements of your marketing and client acquisition strategy (search engines, events & exhibitions etc) the single most effective way to generate quality leads and interest in your proposition is to ...read more
