"Most companies lose track of between 40 percent and 80 percent of all leads somewhere along the sales cycle. Technologies are still struggling to close the loop," according to a Yankee Group analyst quoted in a CRM Daily article . Another source estimates that an organization only uses 6% of the leads it generates.
That is incredible. Imagine all the money, sales time and effort that went into developing those leads. Imagine the reactions of potential customers who cannot get the information they were seeking. Imagine the effect on profitability and the brand when those leads go elsewhere.
That is incredible, but not uncommon. Everyone who has ever worked a trade show has heard stories about how booth set-up for a new show uncovered the leads from the last trade show.
Part of the problem is that agencies and marketing departments have no responsibility for lead processing, so it is ignored in brand execution. Another issue is the eternal divide between marketing and sales over the issue of qualification. Sales believes marketing doesn't qualify the leads it passes on (although, admittedly, sales often believes that a lead is qualified only if a check is ready to be sent in), and marketing believes that sales does not act on the leads it gets (although, admittedly, some of those leads are from students in India). Neither marketing or sales understand that sometimes leads must be nurtured over time. Just because a lead isn't hot doesn't mean it isn't good.
So what can companies do to maximize the return on their branding dollar? Here are some quick tips:
- Start measuring your lead-conversion ratio: It is a truism that what gets measured gets managed. How can you even begin to judge the ROI on your branding activities if you are not tracking lead conversion?
- Track the source of leads: I am astounded by the number of print ads I see, produced by agencies that are always touting their "strategic branding" and "positioning" capabilities, that cannot even get the basics right. Every ad, every direct mail, every sales sheet needs to be coded to help identify the source of the lead.
- "How did you hear about us?": This needs to be a standard question everytime someone contacts the firm or fills out a request for information. More important, the responses must be tracked and compared to the branding effort and expenditure.
- Establish a lead-tracking system: You must be able to track the source and status of every lead until it is dropped or becomes a customer. This is especially important for products with long sales cycles. Make sure the responsibility for the lead-tracking system is clear, whether it is in sales, marketing or another part of the organization.
- Re-contact old leads occasionally: Just because a lead dies does not mean it is dead forever. Competitive products may not work out, budgets may change, new personnel can enter the picture, requirements may expand, your product may improve, or the stars may even re-align differently. Depending on your industry, send a follow-up message to passed over leads. Some companies have reported surprising results from this tactic.
You've spent too much time and money acquiring leads. Don't let them disappear into a black hole.
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