Lead Qualify + Categorize

lead qualification strategy

,

How to Build an Account and Lead Qualification Strategy

Does anyone out there NOT have a story about working their tail off to reach a Decision Maker only to find out that it was a bum lead? Account and lead qualification strategies and categorization are topics near and dear to my heart because:

  1. Yeah, I’ve done it too
  2. I hate wasting time more than I hate wasting wine
  3. I fancy myself a strategic sales gal

It’s this third point that really struck me in a recent client site.  Reps were calling lists of 800 leads from top to bottom every day. At 8 am the next day, they started again at the top.  That’s actually physically painful to me, is it to you?

Create A Better Lead Qualification Strategy

If they employed a lead qualification strategy (and you bet they do now! :)) then reps would be speed-dialing through all 800 leads with the first goal of NOT reaching the DM, but instead reaching any “live body” to ask 3-4 quick questions and determine the account’s worth.

For this client, it was:

  • Size of company (employees)
  • Size of facilities (square footage)
  • Type of operation (manufacturing, warehouse, etc.)

With the right delivery, these 3 questions net the rep everything they need to know to classify this account as an A, B, C, or D opportunity.  Sure it’s not exactly right, but it’s close enough to build a strategy.

Now, Work Those “A” Accounts

How much harder would you work an A account?  I recommend you call it 15 times.  Odds say that you’ll connect with over 95% of leads after 15 attempts.  A “B” account would net about 10 attempts from me, and I’d throw a few Hail-Mary calls at a “C”.

What else could you capture while on the phone?  An email?  Another contact?

Then, We Have Reasons To Celebrate

Here’s another benefit of a lead qualification strategy:  when we break the cold call down into two stages (qualify it, sell it) then we actually set better expectations for our reps and give everyone more chances to win.  (celebrate the number of leads qualified for the day!)  Best of all, they’ll never call a list “from the top” or “alphabetical order” again.

A strategic seller is a successful seller!

Now, where is that leftover wine?

Subscribe to our email list to receive new content, webinar invites, and training offers.


,

Top Three Mistakes That Reps Make On Lead Follow Up

We’ve all heard the scary lead follow-up stats floating around – 73% of web leads are never contacted (Source: HubSpot), 44% of salespeople give up after 1 contact attempt (Source: Scripted), and that as much as 50% of sales go to the vendor that responds first (Source:InsideSales.com). Companies work so hard to get leads in the system, but how do you make sure that your team is making the most of those leads?

“Companies work so hard to get leads in the system, but how do you make sure that your team is making the most of those leads?”[Tweet this]

Being fast is critical (as a number of studies have highlighted), but being fast and sloppy is no better than not making the call at all. Just because the customer raised their hand or showed some interest doesn’t mean you’re off the hook from doing your job. Understand that if a prospect filled out a lead on your site, they probably filled out another 10 forms as well.

So while it is important to get to that lead first, you also need to set yourself apart from first time you engage with that client.

Check out this quick (sub 2 min) video that I did for Zoom Info recently on the most common mistakes that reps make on lead follow up and how to overcome them.

While you’re out there, make sure you subscribe to the Factor 8 YouTube channel to ensure you always get our latest content!

LB

Subscribe to our email list to receive new content, webinar invites, and training offers.


,

All I Want For Christmas is 100 Qualified Leads

How To Get 100 Qualified Leads

As children around the globe look to the skies in wonder about Santa, Inside Sales leaders will also look to the heavens contemplating the “gift” of increased 2016 quotas. Now, I don’t have the HBR research to back this up, but my experience has shown that expectations on Sales teams get increased approximately 100% of the time. That means it’s on us to find avenues for growth in the coming year (please Santa?!).

I’m betting that you can hit those growth numbers with nothing more than your existing lead sources…if you’re willing to take a new approach.

I’m not suggesting that you blindly “smile and dial” through an endless pile of names and numbers…be better than that. I’m going to suggest something that might sound like Sales heresy, and it’s not for the faint of heart:

Don’t seek out the Decision Maker on your first call.

The goal for call 1 is simply to determine if this is a customer worth pursuing. Why wouldn’t you want to target the decision maker out of the gate? I’m so glad you asked…Here are my Top 5 reasons for separating qualifying and first contact into two distinct calls:

  1. Winning is Fun. Every qualifying call can be a success with just one piece of data gained.
  2. Talk to more people. No more leaving months of voicemails (just to find out they’re a bad fit!)
  3. Power through leads quicker. Qualifying calls don’t need to be customized OR researched
  4. Gain better information before talking to the DM to increase your odds of success – show him/her you’ve done your homework.
  5. A qualified book leads to a proactive territory strategy focused on top leads – most companies try each lead 2.5 times and then trash it. Ouch.

Hmmm…more fun, more success and less wasted time. Might be worth a shot. Want more details on how this would look? Jump to our site for tips, videos, and success stories or to leave me a post on what you hope Santa brings you this year.

Happy Holidays and Happy Selling!

LB

Subscribe to our email list to receive new content, webinar invites, and training offers.


Newer Entries »