Five Steps for Closing the Loop on Sales
by Mike Wallen, CEO, The Lead Dogs
Getting your sales team to follow up on leads can be difficult. Sales reps are focused on selling and don't want to lose time "filling in the blanks" in the CRM system. And, if you sell through the channel, it can be even harder to track leads.
However, tracking leads from inquiry to sale ("closing the loop") is important if you want to know the following information:
- Quality of leads generated (versus quantity of leads)
- Percentage of leads generating sales
- Marketing program ROI
To ensure your investment in marketing initiatives results in positive ROI and increased sales, it's essential you "close the loop" on sales. What follows are five steps for developing a simplified closed loop process.
Step #1: Develop a lead scoring system
Most companies use the common "hot/warm/cold" labels for classifying leads. What happens, however, is that sales learns to ignore leads labeled "hot" - usually because they are "lukewarm," if that. A better way to classify leads is through a numerical system where leads are ranked and prioritized in terms of importance and likelihood of turning into business.
Developing a lead scoring system takes some time and thought. You'll need input from your sales force, management and others on defining "what is a lead" and which ranking criteria you should use. (For more information, download our new "Guide to Developing a Lead Scoring Model.")
Step #2: Measure lead quality, not quantity
It's great that your 'Win a free iPod' campaign generated 10,000 responses, but how many of those leads were true opportunities - that is, prospects who represent true revenue potential? (The other problem with these types of giveaways is the cost to qualify thousands of questionable leads.)
Instead of simply measuring the number of responses your programs generate, measure the quality of your leads. How many leads were true prospects? How many of them were accepted and are actively being worked by the sales channel?
Step #3: Track each marketing campaign
For this step, you'll need to link inquiries to your marketing communications programs, including landing pages and "Contact Us" forms, PR, trade shows, Webinars and "live" seminars, direct mail, email, etc.
The purpose of tracking leads to marketing programs is two-fold: You'll have hard data on which programs are most successful, and you'll know which programs generate higher quality leads.
You may learn, for example, that Webinars generate tremendous response in terms of people attending but conversion of responses to qualified sales-ready leads is much higher for direct mail.
Step #4: Track leads to sales
Get on the phone with your sales reps once a quarter and find out which leads became sales. Even if your company doesn't have a CRM system, most sales people keep track of the leads they are pursuing and can tell you which ones became sales.
If possible, match leads to sales by person's name, company and location (a hard match), or by company and location, if more than one purchaser/influencer is involved (a soft match).
To determine "big picture" ROI, add up all the matched sales and divide by the total dollars spent.
Step #5: Track leads through the channel
Rather than pushing leads to your channel, you can have resellers/sales people come to an online portal where they "sign on" for the leads they'll be pursuing. This can help you track leads through the system, although you'll still need to do some heavy follow-up because partners will be too busy to input information.
Another tactic, recommended by B2B sales lead expert Mac McIntosh, is to offer "spiffs" or rewards to your resellers and reps as an incentive for showing you the inquiries followed up and those that became sales.
Closing the loop on sales takes some initiative and planning, but once you have a process in place, you'll be able to determine which programs generate the higher quality leads as well give "real" ROI numbers to your management team.
New White Paper: Developing a Lead Scoring Model
Are your sales people ignoring the leads you send them? If so, it's probably because they don't trust your Hot/Warm/Cold classification system.
To make sure your leads get the attention they deserve - without spending more money - download our new "Guide to Developing a Lead Scoring Model." You'll learn the necessary steps for classifying your leads using a flexible system designed around criteria important to your business.
Not Generating Enough Leads? Maybe You Need a Bigger Dog!
At The Lead Dogs, we specialize in one thing - getting you the high-quality b-to-b sales leads that turn into sales. B2B sales and marketing professionals turn to us when they need to:
- Qualify inquiries to marketing campaigns and identify those that are sales-ready.
- Leverage marketing investments by nurturing inquiries that represent future opportunity, but aren't sales-ready today.
- Fill the sales pipeline with qualified opportunities to drive consistent revenue.
- Set up and maintain closed loop tracking systems for better ROI.
To find out how we can help you exceed your sales goals, call The Lead Dogs today at 800-710-2926 or send email to info@leaddogs.com.