Although your sales funnel may be full of many leads, not all of them will convert to sales. In most cases, failure to implement proper lead management strategies and coordination between marketing and sales teams will prevent you from achieving your goals. Let’s look at what doesn’t work when it comes to managing leads. Few areas are more critical than others and require attention to ensure that you get the desired results.
Common Mistakes in Lead Management
We are warning you if you’re one of those companies that evaluates success on the cost per lead. This is a very flawed approach. You cannot be sure of what a lead costs, especially if you consider the inefficiencies and lost opportunities. It is impossible to evaluate marketing success based on price per lead.
Second, appointment setting is a powerful tool for lead traction. For companies selling complex, expensive B2B solutions, it is not enough to schedule an appointment with just one contact during the initial stages of prospecting. Salespeople are not likely to make a distinction between a costly appointment or any other source of leads. They will likely follow up on the first few appointments, and if they have received very little activity from these sources, they will be done. Leadership is a long-term process that requires close attention.
Most sales reps will only ask for the names of key contacts at target companies and then feel confident enough to go from there. This is a sign of a sales team’s indifference to marketing leads. If your goal is to only find critical contacts in the market, market blueprinting will fail. Instead, focus on gathering email addresses and other contact information. These information details can be used to create and implement multi-touch, multi-media, and multi-cycle contact programs – an essential aspect of lead management.
Telemarketing Lead Management: Properly Using Telemarketing
When it comes to business prospecting, telemarketing is an essential tool. This should not be used as a standalone strategy. To effectively communicate your message, companies should have a high-quality team that is trained in modern selling methods and knowledgeable about how to mix multiple media (phone calls and direct mail as well as email). The potential for intelligent and integrated marketing is immense. To multiply marketing results, a good lead management process should include a multichannel campaign.
Conclusion
Review your current lead management strategies. Take corrective actions in any marketing areas you feel need to improve your sales and marketing effectiveness. This will result in more closed deals and ultimately more significant revenue. With a well-designed lead management system, you can optimize your marketing budget and increase your ROI.
