1. Conversation, Not Campaign
1.1. Not about instant gratification
1.1.1. Consistency
1.1.2. Time
1.2. Companies don't buy; people do
1.2.1. position the lead generation effort as conversation to
1.2.1.1. identify
1.2.1.2. initiate
1.2.1.3. nurture
1.3. Executives favor the sales person who
1.3.1. has been a resource
1.3.2. has developed an ongoing relationship with them
1.4. Sales force needs to
1.4.1. understand customer's business
1.4.2. and feel their needs
1.4.3. while being sensitive to the pressure that they may or may not be under
1.5. Those who meet the criteria
1.5.1. become trusted advisors
1.5.1.1. and trusted advisors get the sale
1.6. Relationship building
1.6.1. sustaining the relevancy of an ingoing dialogue
1.6.2. When customers have a problem, you want them to come to YOU first for a soultion
1.6.2.1. people turn to their trusted advisor
1.7. The customer is thinking
1.7.1. How you sell me
1.7.2. is
1.7.3. How you will serve me
2. Sales and Marketing as a Team
2.1. The best
2.1.1. mindset
2.1.2. strategy
2.1.3. tactics
2.1.4. are useless unless everyone is involved
2.2. If Sales and Marketing are not in alighnment
2.2.1. will not empower a successful complex sale
2.2.2. or a sales lead strategy
2.3. Without bidirectional communication
2.3.1. lead generation suffers
2.3.2. lack of closed loop feedback process
2.3.3. repetition of poor results
2.4. WIth a feedback loop in place
2.4.1. each department has a better sense of what the other needs
2.5. Incorporating different viewpoints and inputs is critical
2.6. Sales and Marketing harmony begins with
2.6.1. proper direction and management from C level executives
2.6.2. A CEO who believes in
2.6.2.1. complex sales
2.6.2.2. lead generation
2.6.2.3. ...and all the complexities that go with it
2.7. Sales and marketing should have a unified understanding and consensus on what the definition of a sales lead is.
3. An Ideal Customer Profile
3.1. Using the unique attributes of prime customers
3.1.1. prescreen potential opportunities
3.1.2. helps to identify
3.1.2.1. decision makers
3.1.2.2. key influencers
3.1.2.3. the basis of a sales ready lead
3.2. Allows sales to focus on prospective companies with the highest probability of becoming profitable customers
3.2.1. provides a framework with which to pursue a potential customer
3.2.2. ...and when to pass
3.2.2.1. should it become clear that the opportunity isn't as good as first inferred
3.3. Important! What is a Sales Ready lead?
3.3.1. create the ideal customer profile
3.3.1.1. the main focus and template by which all prospects will be measured
3.3.1.1.1. energy
3.3.1.1.2. time
3.3.1.1.3. budget
3.3.1.1.4. surveying
3.4. Learn the size and scope of the market and find the location of the sweet spot.
3.4.1. Target
3.4.1.1. Best potential
3.4.1.1.1. companies
3.4.1.1.2. contacts
3.4.2. Compare the results with your best and worst customers
3.4.2.1. Commonality?
3.4.2.2. Rank by
3.4.2.2.1. most profitable
3.4.2.2.2. best revenue
3.4.2.2.3. easiest to do business with
3.4.2.3. Add
3.4.2.3.1. current revenue
3.4.2.3.2. profitability data
3.4.2.4. Those at the top will help you create your Ideal Customer Profile
3.5. A more detailed profile will include:
3.5.1. Annual revenue
3.5.2. Standard Industrial Code (SIC) and North American Industry Classification (NAICS)
3.5.3. Number of employees
3.5.4. Level of contact and functional area
3.5.5. Local, regional or national scope
3.5.6. Business situation
3.5.7. Psychographics aspects
3.6. Psychographics may include
3.6.1. Corporate values
3.6.2. Culture
3.6.3. Philosophy
3.6.4. leadership
3.6.5. internal/external factors
3.7. If data is not available
3.7.1. competitors
3.7.2. trade associations
4. A Universal Lead Definition
4.1. Designed to fit the Ideal Customer to a T
4.1.1. Prioritizes and defines the degree of sales readiness
4.1.1.1. Responsibilities
4.1.1.2. Accountabilities
4.2. Sales fails to act on nearly 80% of leads
4.2.1. largely because leads aren't
4.2.1.1. qualified
4.2.1.2. appropriate buyers haven't been
4.2.1.2.1. identified
4.2.1.2.2. targeted
4.3. Begins with seeking out what
4.3.1. Sales
4.3.2. Marketing
4.3.3. consider an ideal sales opportunity
4.3.3.1. What makes a good lead?
4.3.3.2. What initiative or need makes this a good fit?
4.3.3.2.1. what info is needed to determine if a follow through is needed?
4.3.3.2.2. Who are the decision makers and influencers
4.3.3.2.3. What does the company value?
4.3.3.2.4. What is it's culture?
4.3.3.2.5. Are there common business issues?
4.4. Lead qualification begins with
4.4.1. Rating and Scoring of all inquiries
4.4.2. Lead qualification process ensures
4.4.2.1. Sales receives only truly sales ready leads
4.5. More ROI is reaped from the patient tending of potential customers over time.
4.6. Must be able to differentiate
4.6.1. near term
4.6.2. mid term
4.6.3. long term
4.6.4. leads by establishing a timeframe from
4.6.4.1. Evaluate
4.6.4.2. to
4.6.4.3. Implement
4.7. Functions or buy points need to be targeted for key information
4.7.1. How is interest created and driven?
4.7.1.1. drives the solution and narrows down which event occurred that drove the enquiry
4.7.2. Who is involved as the buying process evolves?
4.7.3. Who or what drives the initiative?
4.7.4. What is the best entry point?
5. An Effective Lead Management Process
5.1. Watching and directing the conversion of sales leads into customers
5.2. Funnels
5.2.1. Marketing and Sales functions
5.2.2. The success of the marketing funnel directly impacts
5.2.2.1. the sales funnel
5.3. Implements and enforces
5.3.1. Standard, universal lead scoring definitions
5.3.2. establishes a clear process for handling and distributing inquires and leads
5.4. Is geared towards
5.4.1. identifying the best opportunities
5.4.1.1. based on a consistent sales strategy
5.5. Assigns clear responsibility for
5.5.1. lead tracking
5.5.2. closed loop feedback
5.6. Meaures
5.6.1. Sales performance
5.6.2. Sales lead acceptance
5.6.3. degree of follow up by the sales team
5.6.4. revenue contribution to ultimately drive better return on marketing investment
5.7. Facilitates
5.7.1. Mechanisms and incentives for sales team feedback
5.8. Failures occur when:
5.8.1. lead generation is viewed as a series of campaigns
5.8.1.1. lack of substantive integration
5.8.1.2. indiscriminately seeking more leads
5.8.1.2.1. regardless of quality
5.8.1.2.2. Without managing existing leads
5.8.2. Lack of
5.8.2.1. Multimodal tactics
5.8.2.2. Sales closed leep feedback incentives
5.8.2.3. A effectively or well maintained database
5.8.2.4. Conformance with lead generation program
5.9. 80% of sales leads are never seen again
5.10. Tracking leads must be ready to go when the program starts
5.11. A company is a collection of processes
5.11.1. Process mapping
5.11.1.1. create common vision and shared language
5.12. A basic sales process
5.12.1. FYI
5.12.1.1. Review requires special attention
5.12.2. Appointment
5.12.2.1. Lead qualified by marketing and sent to sales to be qualified
5.12.3. Qualifying
5.12.3.1. Sales person is determining if lead is actually a viable prospect
5.12.4. Prospect
5.12.4.1. Sales person actively pursuing
5.12.5. Profiled
5.12.5.1. Completed written proposal profile and opportunity assessment
5.12.6. Preproposal
5.12.6.1. Confirming initial plan prior to formal proposal
5.12.7. Proposed
5.12.7.1. Final proposal delivered
5.12.8. Committed
5.12.8.1. Agreement delivered and verbal yes to proposal
5.12.9. Active Contract
5.12.9.1. Agreement approved and signed
5.12.10. Nurturing
5.12.10.1. Was prospect and dropped out of the sales pipeline
5.12.11. Follow-up
5.12.11.1. Sent back to marketing for requalification, rescheduling, or lead nurturing
5.12.12. Rejected
5.12.12.1. This clearly wasn't a lead - returned to marketing
5.12.13. Not a fit
5.12.13.1. Lead advanced beyond step 3 in sales process - sales person decided not a fit
6. A Foundational Database
6.1. Your most valuable asset
6.1.1. clean
6.1.2. updated
6.2. a meeting point for Sales, Marketing, and IT
6.3. As many are involved in a complex sale
6.3.1. the database is a central location for all prospect information
6.3.1.1. collection
6.3.1.2. consoludation
6.3.1.3. uniform format
6.4. Ideal Customer Profile and Universal Lead Definition should drive the database
6.5. Control of the lead passes from one person to the next with all of the applicable information fixed in one place
6.6. The value of the database is only as good as the buy in of everyone on the lead generation team.
6.7. Key data points to capture:
6.7.1. Ideal Customer Profile
6.7.2. Universal Lead definition
6.7.3. industry identification and description
6.7.4. annual revenue
6.7.5. employment size
6.7.6. geographic information
6.7.7. budget
6.7.8. decision timeframe
6.8. Tracking fields to capture:
6.8.1. status codes
6.8.2. assignments
6.8.3. activity dates
6.8.4. lead source
6.8.5. forecasting tools
7. Integrated Multimodal Tactics
7.1. leveraging a variety of marketing tactics
7.2. An informed strategy is required to reach decision makers
7.3. mulitmodal lead generation
7.3.1. raises response rate potential
7.3.2. enhances audience awareness as well
7.4. The most effective tactics?
7.4.1. "all of them"
7.4.2. What tactics are you using to good advantage?
7.4.3. What tactics are your competitors using?
7.5. multimodal approach calls for a thorough evaluation and systematic plan- ning of the various lead generation methods
7.6. A multi-modal and multi-touch lead generation portfolio will always outperform marketing tactics that stand alone.
7.7. Success
7.7.1. Analyze
7.7.2. Measure
7.7.3. Optimize
7.8. A close correlation between
7.8.1. Tactics
7.8.2. Budget spending
7.8.3. when the two converge = optimal ROI
8. Consistent Lead Nurturing
8.1. The secret of success
8.2. converts inquiries into qualified leads
8.2.1. starts the qualified leads on a trajectory to capture sales
8.3. follows up and turns qualified leads into future sales opportunities by
8.3.1. consistent and meaningful dialogue
8.3.1.1. regardless of timing to buy
8.4. is not a single marketing campaign
8.4.1. a series of steps and communication
8.4.2. is a relationship development process
8.5. Lead generation is a conversation, not a series of disjointed campaigns
8.6. Lead generation initiates and perpetuates the dialogue
8.7. Lead nurturing keeps the conversation going and
8.7.1. building solid relationships
8.7.2. creates interes in products and/or services
8.8. A sales ready stat of leads is the result of good lead nurturing
8.8.1. ultimately brings in
8.8.1.1. better qualified leads
8.8.1.2. higher close ratios
8.8.1.3. strong sales pipelines
8.8.1.4. shorter sales cycles
8.9. A sustainable lead nurturing process is
8.9.1. proactive
8.9.2. intentional
8.9.3. actionable
8.10. Is designed to move prospects from
8.10.1. Awareness
8.10.1.1. to
8.10.1.1.1. interest
8.11. Lead Nurturing questions to be answered:
8.11.1. Whom do I want to nurture?
8.11.2. What problems does the prospect face?
8.11.3. What is the prospect’s top priority?
8.11.4. What does the prospect worry about?
8.11.5. What is my messaging?
8.11.6. What is the best way to deliver my messaging?
8.11.7. What action should the prospect take?
8.11.8. Should my product or service be demonstrated?
8.11.9. What are the incentives or inducements?
8.11.10. How often should I stay in contact?
8.11.11. Which tools require direct sales involvement?
8.12. A crucial aspect of lead nurturing
8.12.1. ability to provide
8.12.1.1. valuable education and information to prospects
8.12.2. Educating prospects about how your business can fulfill their needs, you earn the position of expert and trusted advisor
8.13. Relevancy is key
8.14. The end goal:
8.14.1. “You and I have been talking for quite awhile. You understand me, my company and my industry. You have given me useful and pertinent ideas on this issue. You have helped me sell the idea to my colleagues and they understand and accept it. I realize this is going to be a challenging project, but I think you can do it. Let’s get it going.”