ViewPoint

MAY 26, 2016

Keep leads from being ignored is the fifth of 7 Truths about Sales and Marketing that CEOs need to know. In the last blog we discussed the importance of cost per: Lead, Sales Accepted Lead, Sales Qualified Lead and Closed Deal. How much did you spend for the leads? How many were generated?

Sales Qualified Leads 189

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Leads 189

ViewPoint

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

James Obermayer, founder of the Sales Lead Management Association , recently spoke with SLMA Radio program host Paul Roberts on how lack of a sales lead management process hampers company growth. JO: So, the first thing [you've] got to [do is] define what a sales lead is. Following are highlights of the interview.

Lead Management 149

Lead Management Sales Leads Marketing Management Sales Qualified Leads 149

ViewPoint

MARCH 22, 2018

I practice it every day in my role as lead salesperson for the company. (We See this blog for a build vs. buy analysis that takes that argument off the table.). The challenge is that lead generators with happy ears don’t ask the questions that might effectively disqualify an account. We are not the low-price leader.)

Lead Scoring 189

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Work Management Paid Search Agency 189

ViewPoint

OCTOBER 20, 2017

This is the second of a 2-part series that borrows Miller Lite’s super successful Tastes Great, Less Filling campaign theme to make a point about sales lead generation. We’ve done the analysis that shows that PointClear’s outsourced lead generation approach generates 92.35% more revenue. How many do yours make?).

Sales Qualified Leads 149

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Generation Sales Leads Lead Scoring 149

ViewPoint

APRIL 7, 2015

“Cost of sales is determined by a lot of things,” Jake said, “But lead management isn’t one of them.” First, I got Jake to agree that sales lead follow-up was low in his direct sales force, and that if follow-up increased, so would the closing ratio. Jake finally admitted: Sales lead follow-up will yield greater sales.

Lead Management 120

Lead Management Sales Qualified Leads Sales Leads Lead Scoring 120

ViewPoint

APRIL 6, 2017

Based on my experience over the past almost 30-years it seems that everyone has been burned by outsourced lead generation. The main reason for these failures is that there is a LOT of mediocrity in the lead generation industry, which is why some say outbound is supposedly “dead.” Often multiple times. It isn’t dead.

Lead Generation 192

Lead Generation B2B Sales Sales Qualified Leads Sales Leads 192

ViewPoint

JUNE 21, 2018

Accurate lead/revenue projections are a powerful tool that all B2B organizations need to manage sales and marketing. Problem is, most lead to revenue calculators out there are overly simplistic. And an excellent tool provides you with insight into the value of inbound vs. outbound leads. Guess what. This is a key benchmark.

Lead Ranking 120

Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads PointClear Lead Scoring 120

ViewPoint

OCTOBER 19, 2017

Tastes great, less filling—that’s not only one of the greatest campaigns ever ( AdAge says it’s 8 th on the list), it has a corollary in the sales lead generation space. By outsourcing your lead generation, qualification and nurturing activities you get better results for less cost, and I can prove my claim.

Lead Generation 149

Lead Generation Cost PointClear Generation 149

ViewPoint

JUNE 2, 2016

Nurture leads until they’re ready to turn over to sales is the sixth of 7 Truths about Sales and Marketing that CEOs need to know. In the last blog in this series we discussed how to keep leads from being ignored and going into a black hole by using something I call the judicial branch.

Lead Nurturing 120

Lead Nurturing Top of Funnel Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring 120

ViewPoint

NOVEMBER 16, 2017

Those of us who use the phone to successfully generate sales leads have picked up an essential trade secret. Sometimes, this leads to a future appointment, often it neutralizes their attitude and allows me to continue. I want to clarify to those reading this blog that I am not apologizing for the purpose of my call.

Lead Generation 120

Lead Generation PointClear Sales Leads Lead Scoring 120

ViewPoint

OCTOBER 10, 2016

The biggest disconnect between marketing and sales is the hand-off of marketing qualified leads (MQL’s) to sales and the acceptance of those leads (SAL’s) by sales. That’s more than 100 percent higher performance for companies that have the rigor of sales acceptance in their lead management process.

Marketing Qualified Leads 120

Marketing Qualified Leads Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads Top of Funnel 120

ViewPoint

FEBRUARY 24, 2015

There will be a ton of ink (and cyber ink) dedicated to lead nurturing this year. Most of it will be about using marketing automation to nurture leads. But that’s not what this blog is about. Lead Nurturing' In and of itself, marketing automation is not a bad thing.

Lead Nurturing 120

Lead Nurturing Leads Lead Marketing Qualified Leads 120

ViewPoint

JUNE 7, 2016

Nurture leads until they’re ready to turn over to sales is the sixth of 7 Truths about Sales and Marketing that CEOs need to know. In the last blog in this series we discussed lead nurturing , and how an advanced lead generation program that includes nurturing can triple your sales. Set sales straight—it’s a win win.

Sales Qualified Leads 120

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads PointClear 120

ViewPoint

JANUARY 27, 2017

During the last week of December I asked a panel of experts for feedback on our Leads to Revenue Calculator. The above graphic is a sample from our Lead to Revenue Calculator. Most people see nurtured leads as converting to a MQL/SQL--which you are already counting. I was surprised at the level of detailed feedback I received.

Lead Ranking 120

Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring 120

ViewPoint

JUNE 16, 2015

What’s a good lead rate? How much should a lead cost? The lead rate for high quality, enterprise opportunity leads has been roughly flat.) That said, for several years the elephant in the room has been inbound marketing and inbound marketing lead rates. I have seen inbound lead rates reported as high as 11 – 14%.

Lead Scoring 120

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Cost per Lead PointClear 120

ViewPoint

FEBRUARY 23, 2018

What is a lead? While all of these scenarios have potential, none could be called a lead. Sales won’t spend the time it takes to cull through 100 so-called leads for 3 to 4 good ones. Which means those “leads” land in a black hole, and the money spent to generate them is wasted. Is this a person with authority to buy?

Sales Qualified Leads 120

Sales Qualified Leads Forecasting PointClear Enterprise Management 120

ViewPoint

JULY 7, 2015

Marketing Automation makes it easier than ever to deliver more poor-quality leads to sales. A key to this trend is lead scoring. According to SiriusDecisions’ Research Brief 1 , the problem with lead scoring at many organizations is as follows: Lead scoring models are based on assumptions or inadequate sales input.

Lead Ranking 120

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Ideal Customer Profiles Sales Qualified Leads 120

ViewPoint

JULY 17, 2012

Knowing the B2B lead generation market like I do, here is what I expected to see : “The inbound lead is better because outbound is dead.” That's not to say that inbound leads are less valuable than outbound leads. I asked this question on Focus.com a few weeks ago and got answers that surprised me.

Sales Qualified Leads 120

Sales Qualified Leads Work Management Lead Ranking Marketing Management 120

ViewPoint

MAY 28, 2015

As an outsourced lead generation company, one of the ways we can best serve our clients is to offer insight on what they can do to maximize the results from their program. Over ten years ago I put together a comprehensive list of the top reasons outsourced lead generation programs fail. (Those kinds of relationships really suck.).

Lead Generation 120

Lead Generation PointClear Generation Leads 120

ViewPoint

JANUARY 9, 2014

Last August I wrote a blog for Top Sales World titled “Lead Generation Hogwash: The Top 7 Lies.”. I detailed 7 lies to be aware of to avoid a lead generation disaster (read the blog for the specifics): Any list will do. Automated systems accurately score (prioritize) leads. More leads are better than fewer leads.

Sales Qualified Leads 120

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Generation Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 120

ViewPoint

MARCH 13, 2014

The interviews are available on our blog and YouTube channel. In the blogs each interview is broken down into smaller segments that allow you to watch brief clips around a specific topic. Matt Heinz, Heinz Marketing, The Quality of Sales Leads is Abysmal. The quality of leads being generated nowadays is abysmal.

Lead Ranking 120

Lead Ranking Social Marketing Paid Search Agency Leads 120

ViewPoint

SEPTEMBER 11, 2012

This is the third in a series of four blogs about lead generation, marketing and sales metrics, and proverbs. In the last blog we talked about qualified rates. Qualified Rate includes leads, pipeline (specific action required by PointClear) and nurtures (qualified companies with no immediate pain/need or interest).

Lead Generation 120

Lead Generation Sales Qualified Leads Generation PointClear 120

ViewPoint

APRIL 24, 2012

As much as marketing and sales best practices—not to mention just plain common sense—dictate that cost-per-lead not play a prominent role in managing and measuring B2B lead generation investments, the metric continues to prevail. The problems and costs of a cost-per-lead approach.

Cost per Lead 120

Cost per Lead Sales Qualified Leads Lead Generation Cost 120

ViewPoint

AUGUST 18, 2015

Proper alignment is the result of a documented, effective, efficient and measurable process for capturing, engaging, nurturing, managing and converting leads into customers. Increased spending on lead generation. Purchased technology to score and nurture leads. Hired a social media marketer. Hired a social media marketer.

Lead Scoring 120

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Top of Funnel Leads 120

ViewPoint

JULY 14, 2015

This is the final installment of a three-part series in response to the following question: As we enter the second half of 2015, have companies made the adjustments necessary to utilize lead scoring or is the status quo killing results? Because we care about quality leads. Lead scoring models are: Based on assumptions.

Lead Ranking 120

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Top of Funnel Leads 120

ViewPoint

JULY 20, 2015

As I closed my part of the program by projecting an ROI (number of raw inquiries, qualified leads, and projected sales) from our new lead generation program, I innocently asked if there were any questions. The leads she was getting maybe weren’t turning into a sale for her, and that was a different problem.

Sales Qualified Leads 120

Sales Qualified Leads Leads Lead Marketing Qualified Leads 120

ViewPoint

OCTOBER 2, 2012

Over the past few months I have had the pleasure of interviewing nineteen influential B2B sales and marketing leaders to discuss their views in areas like traditional and new media strategies, current and future trends, B2B lead generation, and sales lead management.

Sales Qualified Leads 120

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Generation Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads 120

ViewPoint

DECEMBER 9, 2010

There is a counter-intuitive relationship between lead volume and sales performance. With sales organizations facing lower numbers, it seems logical to turn to volume lead generation to fill their pipelines with more and more sales leads in hopes that some will turn into sales.

Sales Qualified Leads 120

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Generation Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 120

ViewPoint

MARCH 1, 2012

Lack of clarity and erroneous assumptions about demand generation, lead management and marketing automation are effectively addressed in two recent Software Advice whiteboard videos by Carlos Hidalgo, CEO, Annuitas Group , and Executive Director, Marketing Automation Institute. Nonexistent lead management processes.

Demand Generation 120

Demand Generation Work Management Marketing Management Lead Management 120

ViewPoint

MARCH 20, 2014

You know when you get excited about new inbound leads. Well, I called 185 inbound leads like that, in one week. After making that many calls, you start to recognize behavioral patterns in the leads. You start to see unique trends based on the specific source of the leads. What Was Wrong with Marketing''s Inbound Leads.

Marketing Management 120

Marketing Management Leads Lead Marketing Qualified Leads 120

ViewPoint

SEPTEMBER 22, 2015

Is ABM the Holy Grail to lead generation or just another black box solution destined to cost a lot of money, distract marketing and end up getting more bad leads to sales faster than ever before? The remaining four stand-alone blogs will follow. As with other technologies, automating a bad process just leads to more bad results.

Account Based Marketing 120

Account Based Marketing Lead Generation ABM Lead Scoring 120

ViewPoint

DECEMBER 14, 2010

Conventional wisdom—that something called a “lead” can and should be had at consistently lower price points where it will still deliver value—is at the root of a host of sales and marketing problems and deserves a closer look. Perfection, of course, is that 100% of MQLs become SALs and 100% of SALs become SQLs.

Cost per Lead 120

Cost per Lead Sales Qualified Leads Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads 120

ViewPoint

AUGUST 14, 2012

This is the first in a series of four blogs about B2B Lead Generation marketing and sales metrics, and proverbs. This first blog is about the difference between inbound and outbound marketing results and the proverb or expression “Kill not the goose that lays the golden eggs.”.

Lead Generation 120

Lead Generation Sales Qualified Leads PointClear Generation 120

ViewPoint

AUGUST 20, 2015

In part one , I provided insight into the why and what of a lead-to-revenue assessment. These include: Lead and demand generation: How are we attracting and engaging the target audience in building a consistent flow of prospective buyers? In my world, there are four distinct steps in conducting a lead-to-revenue assessment.

Marketing Qualified Leads 120

Marketing Qualified Leads Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads MQL 120

ViewPoint

JULY 16, 2013

Top performing B2B sales organizations rarely employ just one lead generation tactic. According to recent research, B2B companies are using multiple lead generation tactics including, email marketing, search engine optimization, teleprospecting, inbound marketing, direct mail and trade shows. Lead Quality Drives Increased Revenue.

Lead Generation 120

Lead Generation Sales Qualified Leads High Quality Lead Budget Programs 120

ViewPoint

DECEMBER 14, 2016

Should marketing and sales agree on the definition of a lead? According to James Obermayer ( Sales Lead Management Association ), the fact that there is no agreement between marketing and sales on lead definition results in these problems: Salespeople say that they are not getting enough qualified leads.

Account Based Marketing 120

Account Based Marketing B2B Sales ABM Sales Qualified Leads 120

ViewPoint

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

This is the fourth (and last) in a series of four blogs about sales leads, marketing and sales metrics, and proverbs. Why it is important to nurture qualified companies that do not represent immediate opportunity—a step missed by many if not most companies leading to wasted marketing spend.

Sales Leads 120

Sales Leads Sales Qualified Leads Leads Lead 120