Lead Management: the What, Why and How

Managing a sales pipeline is a tricky process. Excelling at effectively tracking sales and anticipating an opportunity's value takes seamless collaboration between departments, smart tactics, and the ability to create meaningful connections.

A well-defined lead management process boosts marketing ROI and improves sales results in several ways. Read on to learn how to develop a more effective lead management process.

Communicate and collaborate

Sales, marketing, and customer service should agree on KPIs, quotas, and criteria for qualified leads. If the marketing team is following a wildly different set of benchmarks, or a vastly different understanding of what counts as a qualified lead, this division from the sales team can make it harder for both departments to meet their goals.

One essential area to plan in conjunction with the marketing team is your definitions for marketing-qualified leads and sales-qualified leads, or sales-accepted leads. Generally, the distinction can break down like this:

• Marketing-qualified lead: A lead who has responded with interest to marketing materials and engaged with your brand, but who isn’t yet actively engaged in a sales conversation.
• Sales-accepted lead: A lead the marketing team believes is a promising potential customer, and who the sales team agrees to take on for follow-up and lead management.
• Sales-qualified lead: A lead who is behaving in a way that indicates an active sales opportunity.

As you can see, the sales-accepted lead stage is the most important area for clear communication between departments about what makes a lead a good candidate to transfer to the sales team.

Differentiate and segment leads

Your sales team needs information to determine the best approach to cultivate each lead. If you’re not already capturing data early from your leads, setting up this system should be at the top of your to-do list.

Gather information about each lead’s industry, size, budget, scope of the project they’re considering, urgency, and any specific requirements that apply. Ideally, collect this data when you gather contact details, so you can generate a profile for the lead as early as possible. Any contact forms, online or in-person, and inbound calls are opportunities to get this information to help the sales team categorize and follow up the lead.

Set manageable limits

More isn't always better. If you have thousands of "leads" in your funnel, this can be more of a red flag than cause to celebrate.

A bloated funnel indicates there is an issue with the initial qualification process. Don't waste time chasing contacts that don't fit your buyer profiles. Instead, keep a sales rep's funnel to a few hundred more targeted leads. You'll have an easier time measuring the results of a healthy sales pipeline and identifying the right decision makers to contact.

Use personalized messaging

You’ve gathered key data to profile and segment leads, and you’ve assigned a manageable load for each sales team member’s pipeline. The next step is to utilize personalized, targeted messaging to take advantage of what you already know about the lead.

Effective lead management works through a combination of diligent screening, and a commitment to nurturing a relationship that fosters genuine loyalty. Personalization gives qualified leads a compelling reason to choose you over another company. This can come through a mix of personalized email, tailored content recommendations, and direct contact with the sales team.

Integrate CRM technology

Managing leads manually, or through single-department systems, creates way too much work and destroys effective communication. A well-integrated CRM system lets everyone see a qualified lead’s contact information, profile details, pipeline value, and the last action taken to further the relationship.

• Tracking history and keeping important documents in one place makes it easy to stay organized or catch a teammate up on actions to date.
• Managing tasks helps everyone follow the department’s preferred sales process.
• Sharing information between colleagues ensures everyone is working with the most up-to-date information.
• Most importantly, a clear sales process and strong management leadership provides the strategy and support you need to get the most out of CRM technology.

Reward great habits

Some salespeople may like to develop their own system, hoping this and excelling as a top performer, will impress management more than falling in line on a standardized approach. But committing to using the same method gives you more power to collect valuable metrics on both the deals you close and the ones you lose.

With the right information in hand, you can improve your overall sales process over time to strengthen your quote-to-close ratios. So how do you get the sales team to comply? A mix of information sharing and incentives may be your best bet. Make benefits, both short-term and long-term, clear to your sales team. Tying lead updates into the sales goals that carry incentive rewards can also encourage better rates of adoption to your preferred system.

Every company faces its own challenges and blockers to a smooth lead management process. Implementing these techniques, and testing their efficacy with regular reviews, will help you eliminate obstacles and strengthen your system.

Automate lead nurturing

Marketing automation tools can help maintain communication with leads without overwhelming your sales team. These tools send personalized follow-ups and reminders based on lead behavior and engagement levels. For example, if a lead visits your website and downloads a whitepaper, the automation tool can send a follow-up email with additional resources. This ensures no lead is forgotten and helps nurture leads further down the sales funnel. Automated workflows can also schedule regular touchpoints with leads, ensuring consistent engagement. Your sales team can focus on more complex interactions while the automation handles routine communication. Using these lead management tools can help nurture leads effectively, turning them into potential customers.

Leverage social proof

Social proof, like testimonials, case studies, and user reviews, can build trust and credibility with potential customers. When leads see that others have had positive experiences with your product or service, they are more likely to consider your offer. For instance, sharing a case study where a customer improved their business performance using your product can be very persuasive. User reviews on your website or social media pages also show real-life experiences, which can influence leads' decisions. Incorporating social proof into your lead management strategy can provide leads with the assurance they need to move forward. This approach makes your product or service seem more reliable and trustworthy.

Develop a lead scoring system

A lead scoring system helps prioritize leads based on their likelihood to convert. Assigning points to different actions and behaviors, such as website visits, content downloads, or email engagement, helps your sales team focus on the most promising leads. For example, a lead who frequently visits your pricing page and downloads multiple resources would score higher than one who only signed up for a newsletter. This system ensures high-value leads get the attention they need while preventing less-qualified leads from consuming too many resources. A lead scoring system provides a clear way to identify and prioritize leads, helping your sales team work more efficiently. Implementing a lead scoring system improves the overall effectiveness of your lead management process.

Conduct regular sales training

Regular training and development for your sales team can significantly improve their ability to manage leads. Workshops, seminars, and training sessions on the latest sales techniques, product knowledge, and CRM usage can keep your team updated. For example, a workshop about new CRM features can help the team use the system more effectively. Continuous training ensures your team is prepared to handle diverse sales scenarios. This investment in your team can lead to better performance and higher conversion rates. Providing regular training opportunities helps your sales team stay sharp and effective, ultimately improving lead management. This can lead to a smoother sales cycle and better overall results.

Analyze and optimize marketing channels

Reviewing the performance of your marketing channels helps identify which ones bring in the most quality leads. Analyzing the effectiveness of various channels, such as email campaigns, social media, and paid advertising, can help you allocate resources more efficiently. For instance, if social media ads generate more high-quality leads than email campaigns, you might decide to invest more in social media. Regular reviews ensure a higher return on investment and a more streamlined lead generation process. Identifying the best marketing channels allows you to focus on strategies that work best, optimizing your lead management efforts. Using lead management software can also provide valuable insights for this analysis.

Implement lead feedback loops

Creating feedback loops between sales and marketing teams can enhance lead management. After a lead goes through the sales process, gathering feedback from the sales team on the quality and conversion potential of the leads provided by marketing can be very useful. For example, if the sales team finds that certain leads are not ready to buy, this information can help the marketing team refine their strategies. Improving the quality of future leads makes the lead generation and management process more cohesive and effective. Regular feedback ensures both teams are aligned and working towards the same goals, enhancing overall performance. Integrating customer relationship management systems can facilitate this feedback loop.

Utilize customer data for targeted campaigns

Customer data can help create more targeted and effective marketing campaigns. Analyzing data on customer behavior, preferences, and demographics allows you to tailor your messaging and helps you better meet the needs of your leads. For instance, if data shows that a segment of your leads prefers educational content, you can create more informative blog posts and webinars for them. Tailored campaigns increase engagement and conversion rates, making your lead management more successful. Understanding customer data provides insights that help with designing campaigns that resonate with your audience, enhancing lead nurturing and conversion. Effective use of lead management systems can significantly improve your targeted campaigns.