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There’s a problem with the sales funnel. Just because you fill it with leads, sales won’t naturally fall out of the bottom. And yet many sales and marketing managers feel this is the way it works: play the numbers game, get as many leads as possible and sales will naturally fall out of the bottom of the funnel.
Not so.
Let’s flip that funnel and transform it into a pyramid with steps all the way up to the top where the sales emerge.
This image is more accurate because it shows that leads don’t naturally turn into sales. The lead generation and qualification process is an upward climb. And the pyramid’s steps are too big for most leads to climb without assistance. Thus, the danger of sticking with the funnel analogy is that you could fill the top of the funnel endlessly with leads without achieving your desired sales results.
You can’t have a laissez faire strategy. You need a defined process to manage leads, hold their hands as they climb the pyramid and transform them into sales.
To determine how to gather leads and move them to the top of the pyramid, define each step of the lead management process as follows:
1. Attract
How will you attract your audience? For example, you might plan to entice them with useful, engaging blog posts, e-books and other online content.
How will you capture inquiries when they visit your website? Make sure you create landing pages optimized for conversion. Alternatively, offer inbound numbers manned by associates who capture contact information, ask questions to qualify leads and answer callers’ inquiries.
Marketing-qualified leads are those who fit your buyer’s criteria and may be interested in buying in the future. But they may not be ready now. They may need to learn more about how your product or solution solves their problem. You also have to build their trust. So how do you plan to nurture leads? Perhaps you’ll combine email marketing and tele-nurturing for a highly customized experience.
At what point is a lead ready to be handed over to sales? This is a shaky step in the pyramid. That’s because marketing and sales tend to disagree on the standards for a sales-qualified lead, throwing each other off balance. Thus, sales and marketing leaders must discuss and agree on the definition.
When sales and marketing managers are aligned on what defines a sales-qualified lead, everyone benefits. Sales people will be eager to follow up on leads that are primed and ready. Marketing managers don’t have to worry that leads will fritter away because sales reps suspect they are not worthy of their time and don’t follow up.
Now it’s time for sales to run with the ball, but the handoff is so important. After all, marketing has gathered a treasure trove of data during the lead generation and nurturing process. What information should marketing impart to sales? How can they transfer this information most efficiently?
Of course, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth measuring. Fortunately, marketing and sales automation makes it possible to measure every step along the way.
This measurement process enables you to optimize everything from landing pages that capture leads, to the types of leads with the greatest likelihood of converting to sales. In the long run the measurement and optimization process increases ROI and produces faster sales cycles.
Jeff Kalter is CEO of 3D2B, a global business-to-business telemarketing company that bridges the divide between marketing and sales. He leads customer acquisition programs for Fortune 500 companies, and is passionate about building strong business relationships through professional phone conversations. Follow him on Twitter: @jeffkalt
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