Start with a lead.

How to precisely define a "lead" before marketing begins

Brian Carroll, CEO InTouch and author of Lead Generation for the Complex Sale

Sales and Marketing Alignment Research

• 80% of marketing expenditures on lead generation are are lost, ignored or discarded by sales.

• 10% of companies have lead definition consensus

• 30% have consensus on ideal customer profile

Sources: Aberdeen Group, InTouch Inc, CMO Council

5 Reasons for Lead Generation Failure

1. Most inquiries are not leads!2. Leads aren’t qualified and prioritized 3. Sales organization isn’t held accountable4. The baton gets dropped during hand off5. Closed loop process missing

Bonus tip: Improving how you qualify inquiries is the fastest way to increase ROI.

Shared Vision for Lead Definition

• Culture –treat leads as a valued asset• Teamwork - equal dependence on each part• What’s your job?

– Marketing is the supplier– Sales is the client– Both are stewards of the company’s resources

• Alignment of expectations

Define Your Ideal Customer Profile

• Sweet spot – ideal fit • Most common criteria:

– Industry code – Revenue– Employee size– Trigger events– Sphere of influence

Basic Ideal Customer ProfileLead Profile

Economic Decision maker

VP Marketing, VP Sales, CFO

Influencers

•Sales

•Finance CFO or VP Finance

Company Size > $50 Million and > 150 Employees and > 10 Sales people

Vertical Markets High tech Manufacturing, Telecommunications, PharmaceuticalsSIC CODES (5100, 5120, etc.)

VP Customer Relations, Help Desk Manager

•IT CIO, CTO, VP IT

Ideal Customer Profile

– Who do we serve?– What problem do they face?– What do we enable them to do?– What does that mean to them?

Champions for your solution?

Influencers for your solution?

Define Your Sphere of Buying Influence

Trigger Events

Your Database is a Valued AssetBest Buy

Company Lead ClassificationIndustryEmployeesSalesAssigned RepCompany NotesCompany Web URL

MinneapolisSite TypeSite AddressSiteQualificationSite Web URL

New YorkSite TypeSite AddressSiteQualificationSite Web URL

DallasSite TypeSite AddressSiteQualificationSite Web URL

Las VegasSite TypeSite AddressSiteQualificationSite Web URL

Brian CarrollCIO

Lead ClassificationContact InfoConversation NotesQualification ResponsesQualification CommentsContact History

Michelle PasseDir. eBusiness

Pat LorchVP, Supply Chain

Lead ClassificationContact InfoConversation NotesQualification ResponsesQualification CommentsContact History

Lead ClassificationContact InfoConversation NotesQualification ResponsesQualification CommentsContact History

IdentifyHeadquarters &Sites

IdentifyFirmographics &Compile Notes

Identify & QualifyContacts

Target Company

Develop Your Database• Build database of companies

– Leverage ideal customer profile– Use contact management system or CRM

• Sources – Sales team’s wish list or key accounts– www.jigsaw.com– www.infousa.com– www.dnb.com– www.hillsearch.org

Spectrum for Sales Lead Definition

Source: SiriusDecisions Lead Spectrum 2006 Lead Metrics Study (used with permission)

Level 1

Level 2

Level 5

Level 4

Level 3

A response from an individual to a marketing campaign, or someone who has taken proactive steps to demonstrate interest in your message, product or service.

A meaningful interaction (via phone or email) with an individualmeeting the requirements of a fully qualified company and audience.

Level 2, plus the individual demonstrates a specific need for and interest in your product or service.

Level 3, plus the individual is in the process of defining a requirement for your product or service.

Level 4, plus the individual has the responsibility, budget and a defined timeline for purchase.

Level 1

Level 2

Level 5

Level 4

Level 3

A response from an individual to a marketing campaign, or someone who has taken proactive steps to demonstrate interest in your message, product or service.

A meaningful interaction (via phone or email) with an individualmeeting the requirements of a fully qualified company and audience.

Level 2, plus the individual demonstrates a specific need for and interest in your product or service.

Level 3, plus the individual is in the process of defining a requirement for your product or service.

Level 4, plus the individual has the responsibility, budget and a defined timeline for purchase.

Ready for Sales Pipeline

Your Universal Lead Definition

• Allow leads to be scored and prioritized • Defines the degree of sales readiness• Requires buy in from sales and marketing

Hot Lead

• Talked with VP of sales (economic decision maker)• In sweet spot (meets ideal customer profile)• Clear business need/initiative for what we sell• Wants to fix the problem• Purchase decision made in less than six months• Has a formal budget of X or can find a budget; and• Ready to speak to a sales consultant.

Bonus tip: Lead definition should always include BANT

6 Steps to “Sales Ready” Lead Definition

1. Meet2. Ask3. Meet again4. Expose5. Close the loop6. Edit and republish

Lead Grading with Shared Language

• Common methods– A, B, C, D– Hot, Warm, Future– Priority 1, 2, 3 – Scoring or ranges (0 – 100)

• Different for each company• Must be written and disciplined

Bonus tip: publicize your sales lead definition internally. Sales/Marketing must use the same language.

CONTACT (Must be willing to talk to DSM) Executive level Mgmt: CEO, Pres, Owner, COO, CIO, CFO, 10 Senior level Mgmt: VP or Director of MIS, Mfg, Operations, Finance; Controller, Highest level Financial, General Manager 8 Mid Mgmt: Matls Mgr, MIS Mgr, Plant Mgr, Project Leader, Consultant 5 MIS/Mfg staff, Purchasing, "Info Gatherer" 2

EVALUATION PROCESS & TIMEFRAME Formal evaluations in process (list indicators), decision <90 days 25 Formal evaluations in process (list indicators), decision 90 –120 days 20 Informal evaluations now (list indicators), decision in 6 months 12 Early stages of evaluations - decision in 9 months 10 Evaluation Narrowed with competitor(s) “INTERCEPT” 10 Needs a system or “Always Looking” or start evaluations in 6 months DISQUALIFIER

SIZE & BUDGET =>$7M or 70 employees: >$75k budget approv’d by Corp/Parent/Highest Level (in formal eval) 20 >$75k budget approv’d locally, needs higher level apprvl (in formal eval) 15 >$75k budget to be set for selected system (informal eval or less) 10 $5-$7M or startup with $50K-$75K preliminary budget number 6 <$5M with lower or unknown budget 2

MANUFACTURING FIT & NEEDS Primary SIC 20, 28, 30, 34, 35, 36, 38 or 2nd SICs; wants full MRPII/ERP MFG STYLE +10 Mixed Mode, MTS, REP, MTO, ATO, CTO or Process POOR FIT -10 ea 1.Job Shop (buys material to job, no inventory, actual labor) 2.Job Costing 3.Actual Costing 4.Project Mfg 5.Progress Billing 6.Multisite – one database. 7.Continuous Flow

TECHNOLOGY ENVIRONMENT Wants Microsoft-centric, NT and SQL (Strong bias toward) 15 Wants NT and moving to SQL (bias towards) 11 Considering NT or Novell or other options 8 Has Other System in place but may consider replacing w/ NT 5

ERP - Scoring

Excellent 100-86 Good 85-75Fair 74-65

Consulting Firm - Hot Lead

• Decision maker identified• Clear initiative or defined project < 6 mos• Documented need/pain• Ready to speak to sales consultant• Include information regarding

– Time frame for project start/finish– Budget status (set, waiting approval, no set budget)– Other vendors being used– Identified other decision makers or influencers?

Closed LoopFeedback

Marketing Pipeline

Sales Pipeline

Customers

Returned Prospects

Teleprospecting, Events, Email Campaigns, Podcasts, Website

Sales Ready Leads

Not a Fit

Sales Generated Leads

Existing Clients

CRM

Measure ROI

Handoff

Level 3,4,5 Leads

Inquiries (Level 1)

Nurturing (Level 2)

Effective Lead Management

Handoff From Marketing to Sales

• Like a relay race• The handoff – agree on the process

– Must ask “do you want speak to a sales rep?”– Match readiness of buyer with expectations of

your sales team• Don’t drop the baton

– Who owns the lead now

9 Ways to Ensure Sales Follow-up

1. Get buy in from sales team on program2. Provide qualification information for each sales lead3. Qualify and Distribute sales ready leads immediately4. Communicate hand off to sales person5. If lead not followed up it will be pulled / reassigned6. Regularly close the loop 7. What gets measured gets done 8. Sales management must audit and track rep follow-up 9. Make compensation depend on sales follow-up

Closing the Loop – Where Are Leads Now?Current Lead Disposition

Stage Status Count % of LeadsActive Contract Active Contract 4 4%Sales Proposed 1 1%Sales Prospect 1 1%Sales Qualifying (Sales) 8 7%Sales Nurturing (Sales) 19 18%Lead Generation Follow Up (Qual.) 24 22%Lead Generation Nurturing (Qual.) 1 1%Lead Generation Qualifying 14 13%Lead Generation Rejected (Qual.) 1 1%Inactive Duplicate 1 1%Inactive Lost Opportunity 1 1%Inactive Not a fit 32 30%

Total 107 100%

Measuring ROI

Regular pipeline analysis• # Of inquiries? (Weak)• # Of leads? (Okay)• # Of leads in sales process? (Better)• # Of closed deals? (Best)

Sales reporting• Conversion rates by sales stage• Closed loop feedback• Calculate investment per sale

Tracking ROI Based on Closed Deals

Sales Process Stages All L

eads

% o

f all

lead

s%

of l

eads

ad

vanc

ing

Leads - Hot, Warm, Cool 107Sales - Qualifying 70 65.4% 65.4%Prospect 35 32.7% 50.0%Profiled 25 23.4% 71.4%Proposed 18 16.8% 72.0%Active Contract 7 6.5% 38.9%

Bonus tip: Jointly review your definition of a sales lead frequently to ensure it stays relevant

Marketing to Do List1. Develop universal lead definition with sales team2. Develop internal lead qualification process 3. Pass only qualified leads to sales team 4. Provide regular reports on the number of prospects available

(by segment, by market, etc.)5. Get input from sales on target companies and names6. Get sales team input to co-develop campaigns 7. Connect sales and marketing data in CRM 8. Regular close the loop meetings

Sales To Do List1. Develop universal lead definition with marketing team2. Provide marketing target companies and names3. Pass back leads that are not active in your active pipeline4. Regularly update lead records in your database/CRM!5. Define how you will close the loop with the marketing team6. Provide feedback to marketing regularly on your leads7. Develop a lead nurturing plan (with marketing)8. Regular close the loop meetings

Benefits of Universal Lead Definition

• Higher qualified, sales-ready leads• Sales force has less frustration • Increased sales effectiveness • Better funnel management• More accurate and consistent ROI metrics

Brian CarrollCEO InTouch651.255.7700 x640Bcarroll@startwithalead.com

Other lead generation resources:www.startwithalead.comwww.leadgenerationbook.comhttp://blog.startwithalead.com

Thank you