Today astute companies have begun to institute ways to evaluate, categorize, and nurture leads before sending into the sales pipeline. In this way, any communication or outreach by a potential customer can be handled efficiently – and every potential lead can be properly identified and passed on to the sales team.
A lead can fall anywhere between “hot” (ready to buy) and “cold” (maybe once interested but has apparently moved on). A company that fully analyzes its sales process places these varying degrees of leads into precise categories indicating their viability. Successful methods of moving them along these categories are found and when they finally arrive at “hot” they are then and only then forwarded to sales reps to work.
Chapter 1: Lead Generation: The Call to Action
The call to action is the most important element of any lead generation activity. It is the part of your email, web page, landing page or other device that causes the reader to act (hence the name).
Chapter 2: Lead Generation: Sowing the Field
The internet dramatically changed yesterday’s lead generation scenario. Today a buyer will conduct extensive online research into your product category, comb through third-party product comparisons and evaluations, scope out trade shows, and interact with other buyers in forums and social media. Any promotion they might receive from you will likely hit the round file (virtually or literally) as they’re busy making up their own minds using their own sources.
Chapter 3: Lead Generation: Purchasing Lists for Leads
Today it is common to leave sales reps doing what they do best: closing sales. The job of lead generation is left to Marketing. As anyone informed will tell you, leads is a quantity game: The more prospective targets you can reach out to, the more leads you will get back. It often happens, then, that marketing will purchase lists of potential prospects instead of manually trying to seek them out, then isolate and promote to them.
Chapter 4: While You’re Home With Your Family, Your lead Generation Machine Rolls On
It used to be that businesses owners would sweat the holidays: leads and sales were not being made. But on a holiday, while your employees are enjoying time with their families, at least your lead generation machine can keep right on chugging—thanks to the internet.
Chapter 5: Lead Management: Nurturing the Leads
Today astute companies not wishing to simply waste the leads they get—whether super hot or lukewarm—are instituting ways of nurturing leads before sending them onto sales. It is part of an overall lead management system that makes it possible to utilize nearly everything that comes in the door.
Chapter 6: Lead Management: Five Cold Calling Basics
Today cold calling is normally done as a part of lead management. This calling is frequently done by an inside sales rep to qualify and make the lead “hotter” before sending it to a sales rep who will be going for the close. Nonetheless there is still a very narrow window in which to interest them, and an inside salesperson must have some basic operating actions and skills to bring prospects up to being “sellable.”
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