No Lead Left Behind

There’s no such thing as a sales lead

There’s no such thing as a sales lead, only “notable events”.

Sales Lead Management is our business. We exist because we help clients generate, respond to and eventually close sales leads. But, interestingly, we don’t talk about sales leads in our day-to-day operations. Let me explain. A sales lead is nothing more than “a contact who we know is ready to purchase”.  How we know that is where the “magic” happens. Sometimes a contact indicates they’re ready to purchase by reaching out directly to us and saying exactly that. But more often, a contact participates in a number of activities or notable events that indirectly tell us they’re ready to purchase.

For example, a contact may request product information, then download a competitive comparison piece, then visit one of your product pages four times in a week, and then visit your dealer locator page. Statistical analysis may indicate that this sequence of events historically leads to a sale, so we say those notable events elevate a contact to sales lead status. They’re still the same contact – they’ve just undertaken a series of notable events that increase the probability that they’re ready to buy. So, we move them into the “sales lead bucket” for attention from the sales department. When they’ve purchased, or devolved back into a marketing lead, they resume their status as a contact we’re nurturing until the next time.

Hence, there’s no such thing as a sales lead – only contacts who participate in “notable events”.

JT McDonald, Guest Author and president, MarketNet Services, LLC