Some businesses think that slow returns and stagnant revenue are due to not having enough leads. But in reality, poor lead management is often the true culprit.
According to a recent study, more than 80% of generated leads are lost, discarded, or ignored. Now, that’s a lot of potential revenue out the window simply because of poor lead management strategies.
For B2B companies, this magnitude of loss is even bigger. Just think – you’ve spent a considerable amount of time and resources generating and capturing leads, and yet your efforts all go to waste. Not all leads acquired are ready to purchase, meaning that these leads need to be nurtured to push them further down the sales funnel.
That’s exactly what lead management does. Lead management is the complete process by which prospects are tracked from generation to acquisition, to nurturing, to conversion.
Some prospects need more time and information before purchasing, which leads to delayed conversion and a longer sales cycle. But, by sticking to the fundamental principles of lead management, you can maximize ROI and make the most of the leads you generate.
Lead management helps businesses and organizations determine where their leads are coming from and which lead generation source is generating more conversions. This will help you track sources with a higher chance of conversion so you can focus your efforts and resources appropriately.
Businesses can also track a customer’s complete history of interactions and engagement. This allows you to analyze data and determine how a person was converted from prospect to lead, and eventually, to a customer. The result is a better understanding of how to manage your leads.
The 7 Principles of Lead Management
- Get Permission. People don’t like being interrupted in their daily lives. Don’t spam users just to generate leads. Ensure that you establish permission to send those emails and messages.
- Use a Multi-Channel Approach. Combine both inbound and outbound tactics to engage with your audience. Send them an email, direct mail, or even an SMS. Use social media platforms to your advantage by regularly posting valuable content. Mix it up by contacting them by phone or by setting up a face-to-face meeting.
- Optimize your landing page. When interacting with your prospects, lead them to a targeted landing page instead of your homepage. Eliminate fluff and distractions on your landing pages so your prospects can immediately see the value in what you’re offering.
- Provide value. Provide material that educates, inspires, or entertains at every touchpoint to keep engagement levels up and stay top-of-mind. This also helps you build trust and position your brand as an authoritative industry source.
- Follow up immediately. Users are less patient nowadays, and they seek immediate responses to their inquiries. Prospects who don’t get a swift response will often simply move on to another vendor. InsideSales reports that 50% of buyers go with the vendor that responds first so make sure that vendor is you.
- Regularly check their engagement. With data-driven marketing and lead management tactics, you can regularly check your prospect’s activities on your website. Analyze their buyer intent and determine whether they are ready to buy. This will help you channel your efforts to prospects who are ready to buy. Convert them immediately with an irresistible pitch.
- Give them a way out. You don’t want to keep sending messages to someone who doesn’t want them. Include an opt-out or unsubscribe button in your emails, so you can determine which prospects are interested in a purchase and which ones have gone another route. However, it’s important to let them know that you will be there should they decide to change their minds.