Lead management is the process of acquiring, qualifying, nurturing, and converting potential customers into paying customers. It encompasses all of the activities that businesses undertake to manage their pipeline of leads and move them closer to a sale.
Elements of good lead management
Good lead management involves several key elements, including:
Lead generation: The process of attracting and capturing potential customers' contact information. Check this blog to learn 28 proven strategies and techniques for lead generation and conversion. Check this ultimate guide to generating leads and converting them into meetings.
Lead qualification: The process of assessing the potential of each lead and determining whether they are a good fit for the business's products or services. Check this blogto know the 20 Questions for B2B Lead Qualification. Check this blog to learn how to increase lead qualification with self-qualification forms.
Lead nurturing: The process of providing leads with relevant information and support to help them move closer to a sale.
Lead scoring: The process of assigning a value to each lead based on their likelihood of converting.
Lead routing: The process of assigning leads to the appropriate sales representatives or teams.
The business priority of lead management
Lead management is a critical business priority because it helps businesses to:
Increase sales: By effectively managing their leads, businesses can ensure that they are spending their time and resources on the most promising opportunities.
Improve customer relationships: Lead management can help businesses build relationships with potential customers and provide them with the information and support they need to make a purchase.
Reduce costs: By automating and streamlining their lead management processes, businesses can save time and money.
Lead-to-account matching
Lead-to-account matching (LATM) is the process of linking leads to the companies they work for. This is important because it allows businesses to get a better understanding of their leads and their buying potential.
LATAM can be used to:
Improve lead qualification: By understanding which companies leads work for, businesses can better assess their fit for their products or services.
Personalize the lead nurturing process: Businesses can use LATAM to deliver more relevant and targeted content to leads.
Improve lead scoring: By understanding the companies leads work for, businesses can better assess their lead score and prioritize their outreach.
Automate lead routing: LATAM can be used to automatically route leads to the sales representatives who are responsible for selling to their company.
There are several different technologies that can be used for lead-to-account matching. Businesses should choose a solution that meets their specific needs, such as the size of their database, the complexity of their lead data, and their budget.
What does great data cleansing and matching look like?
Great data cleansing and matching looks like this:
Accurate and up-to-date lead and account data: This means having accurate contact information for leads, as well as information about the companies they work for, such as size, industry, and location.
A streamlined and automated process: The lead-to-account matching process should be as streamlined and automated as possible, to minimize the amount of manual work required.
Integration with other systems: The lead-to-account matching process should be integrated with other systems, such as the CRM system, to ensure that data is shared and updated in real-time.
Lead routing
Lead routing is the process of assigning leads to the appropriate sales representatives or teams. This is important because it ensures that leads are handled by the people who are most qualified to help them. Check this blog to how you can close more deals by routing leads to the right salesrep.
What does great lead routing look like?
Great lead routing looks like this:
A clear and defined process: There should be a clear and defined process for routing leads, so that everyone in the sales team knows what to do when a new lead comes in.
Accountability: There should be a system in place to track which sales representatives are handling which leads and to ensure that leads are not being neglected.
Technology integration: The lead routing process should be integrated with other systems, such as the CRM system, to streamline the process and ensure that leads are routed to the right people as quickly as possible.
Types of lead routing
There are a number of different types of lead routing, including:
Round robin: Leads are assigned to sales representatives in a rotating order.
Manual routing: Leads are assigned to sales representatives based on their expertise or availability.
Score-based routing: Leads are assigned to sales representatives based on their lead score.
Account-based routing: Leads are assigned to sales representatives who are responsible for selling to a particular company or industry.
Impact of lead routing
Lead routing can have a significant impact on the sales process. By assigning leads to the right sales representatives, businesses can increase their chances of converting leads into customers.
Lead management technology
Lead management technology can help businesses to automate and streamline their lead management processes. This can save time and money, and it can also help businesses to improve their lead conversion rates.
Account engagement analytics
Account engagement analytics can help businesses to track and measure their interactions with leads and customers. This information can be used to improve the lead nurturing process and to identify opportunities for upselling and cross-selling.
Technology for account engagement
There are several different technologies that can be used for account engagement analytics. These include:
CRM systems: CRM systems can track interactions with leads and customers across multiple channels, such as email, phone, and social media.
Marketing automation platforms: Marketing automation platforms can be used to automate the delivery of personalized content and offers to leads and customers.
Customer relationship intelligence (CRI) platforms: CRI platforms can provide insights into lead and customer behavior, such as which channels they are using and what content they are engaging with.
Lead management measurement
Lead management measurement is the process of tracking and measuring the effectiveness of lead management processes. This can be done by tracking metrics such as:
Lead generation volume: The number of leads generated from each channel.
Lead qualification rate: The percentage of leads that are qualified.
Lead conversion rate: The percentage of leads that are converted into customers.
Attribution
Attribution is the process of assigning credit for a sale to the various marketing and sales activities that contributed to it. This can be done using a number of different attribution models, such as:
Last-touch attribution: This model assigns credit for a sale to the last marketing or sales activity that a lead engaged with before making a purchase.
First-touch attribution: This model assigns credit for a sale to the first marketing or sales activity that a lead engaged with.
Linear attribution: This model assigns credit for a sale to all of the marketing and sales activities that a lead engaged with, weighted equally.
Measurement & RevOps
Measurement & RevOps (revenue operations) is the practice of aligning sales and marketing teams around a shared set of goals and metrics. This can help businesses to improve their lead management process and increase their revenue.
How to extract value from every lead
There are a number of things that businesses can do to extract value from every lead, including:
Invest in lead management technology: Lead management technology can help businesses automate and streamline their lead management processes.
Implement a clear and defined lead routing process: This will ensure that leads are handled by the people who are most qualified to help them.
Use account engagement analytics to track and measure interactions with leads and customers: This information can be used to improve the lead nurturing process and to identify opportunities for upselling and cross-selling.
Measure and track the effectiveness of your lead management process: This will help you to identify areas where you can improve.
Align your sales and marketing teams around a shared set of goals and metrics: This will help you to create a more efficient and effective lead management process.
By following these tips, businesses can extract value from every lead and increase their chances of success.
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Conclusion
Lead management is a critical business process, and businesses that can effectively manage their leads are more likely to succeed. This blog post provides a comprehensive overview of lead management, including key elements, technologies, and strategies. By following the tips in this blog post, businesses can extract value from every lead and increase their chances of success.
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