ViewPoint

JUNE 9, 2017

While some sales people stop after placing one or two calls (if they don’t get the prospect on the phone or don’t get a call back, they deem the lead no good) our sales support associates keep trying. We persevered—and then turned over a Sales Qualified Lead which closed for $1,000,000,000 five months later. We didn’t stop.

Lead Qualification 220

Lead Qualification Touchpoints Sales Qualified Leads PointClear 220

ViewPoint

OCTOBER 3, 2017

Standard B2B lead-generation programs produce an average 5% lead rate while advanced lead-generation programs (which include lead nurturing) produce an average 15% lead rate—three times higher. That is why you frequently hear sales say: “the leads suck.”. In it I state: “How much should a lead cost?

Top of Funnel 168

Top of Funnel B2B Sales Sales Leads Sales Qualified Leads 168

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 28, 2016

First, here is the question as posted: "What is the minimum acceptable close rate for leads provided to sales in a complex selling situation (long sales cycle and multiple decision-makers)?". One thing I like about LinkedIn is that there are lots of people who genuinely want to help! All you can do is look at the statistics over time.

Sales Qualified Leads 159

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Leads 159

ViewPoint

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

In the search for the holy grail of marketing KPIs, we want ones that correctly emphasize ROI over lead cost, tie lead generation to overall revenue and profits, identify the most successful marketing initiatives and deliver insights that can be leveraged to run future high-return activity. Lead-to-Pipeline Conversions (MQLs-to-SALs).

Cost per Lead 189

Cost per Lead Sales Qualified Leads Cost Lead Scoring 189

ViewPoint

FEBRUARY 16, 2016

These companies have a very high demand for their products and services, but they still need strong lead generation and qualification processes. Effectively turning sales leads into revenue means each department responsible for revenue (Marketing and Sales) has clear responsibilities. Qualify Your Lead. Find the Pain.

Sales Leads 159

Sales Leads Sales Qualified Leads Leads Lead 159

ViewPoint

AUGUST 11, 2016

While cost-per-lead measurement has been the de facto favorite for evaluating marketing programs, we are seeing radical and positive shifts in how marketing is evaluating qualified leads. Marketing must align its B2B lead generation activities and resources with deeper-in-the-funnel outcomes. Cost-Per-Lead.

Cost per Lead 120

Cost per Lead Sales Qualified Leads Lead Generation Cost 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. Instead, my sincere words “I am sorry to catch you at a bad time,” can lead to a productive conversation.

Lead Generation 120

Lead Generation PointClear Sales Leads Lead Scoring 120

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

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

MARCH 22, 2018

I practice it every day in my role as lead salesperson for the company. (We The challenge is that lead generators with happy ears don’t ask the questions that might effectively disqualify an account. A so-called lead with a company that will never buy is going to end up being a waste of a field sales rep’s time. Tom Hopkins.

Lead Scoring 189

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Work Management Paid Search Agency 189

ViewPoint

APRIL 11, 2018

He landed a huge lead for our client (with a $1 billion company). There are six dispositions that we assign a prospect: Lead, Pipeline, Nurture, No-response, Not Qualified and Bad. Obviously our objective is to deliver Leads, which are ready to be turned over to sales now. If they want to talk to us now, they’re a Lead.

PointClear 136

PointClear Sales Qualified Leads Leads Lead 136

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

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

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

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

My session, “The Truth About Leads”, addressed the fact that lead generation is a basic business process that is broken in most companies. This 45 minute webinar covers topics that will help you fix what is broken, including the following: 1.

Web 2.0 120

Web 2.0 Leads Lead Marketing Qualified Leads 120

ViewPoint

JUNE 2, 2015

What makes some lead generation programs fail and others flourish? As an outsourced lead generation company we see a wide array of scenarios, which allows us to offer insight into what clients can do to maximize results. There are certain responsibilities specific to the client that can help make their program a success.

Lead Generation 120

Lead Generation Generation Work Management 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

MAY 28, 2015

I’m always pleased when a prospect asks, “What can I do to help ensure my program’s success?” 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. It’s a great question. Those kinds of relationships really suck.).

Lead Generation 120

Lead Generation PointClear Generation Leads 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

OCTOBER 8, 2013

If you are using BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeframe) to define a sales-ready lead, it’s time to STOP! Watch today''s PowerMinute to learn how to establish a meaningful lead definition that matches today’s buy cycle. BANT is an outdated methodology responsible for more lost opportunities than your CEO and CFO care to hear.

Lead Scoring 120

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Leads Lead 120

ViewPoint

SEPTEMBER 23, 2011

PointClear’s success doing lead generation, lead qualification and lead nurturing for our clients is grounded in proactively reaching out and connecting with prospects via a one-on-one telephone conversation. A live encounter leads to each party gaining better understanding of the other’s position more quickly.

Lead Qualification 120

Lead Qualification Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring 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

OCTOBER 6, 2015

Is ABM the Holy Grail for 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? Here's the thing: Account-Based Marketing is not really about lead generation at all. It’s also more than just lead generation.

Account Based Marketing 120

Account Based Marketing Lead Generation Lead Ranking Lead Scoring 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

APRIL 28, 2015

The ways sales executives follow up on leads is a little like trying to win games with the Hail Mary. There are three main reasons why sales rep follow-up on leads is relatively ineffective: The leads suck. If you are sending raw, unfiltered and mostly unqualified leads to sales they will never follow-up on them.

Lead Scoring 120

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads Sales Leads 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

JULY 10, 2012

We all wish we could predict the future, and for more than ten years PointClear has compared lead rates to the GDP in hopes of finding a way to predict future lead rates and, maybe, the GDP. It would be cool if we could do both, but as you will see it appears that lead rates are the result of GDP, not the other way around.

BtoB 120

BtoB PointClear Lead Generation Terms and Conditions 120

ViewPoint

OCTOBER 23, 2013

Are your sales reps rejecting your marketing leads? Far too many companies evaluate marketing’s success by the number of leads they hand over to sales. Many of the same companies fail to hold sales accountable for closing the good leads and reporting back results that feed the marketing and sales model. By Dan McDade.'

Lead Ranking 120

Lead Ranking Video Marketing Leads Lead 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? As with other technologies, automating a bad process just leads to more bad results. Focus on the right accounts to move the needle.

Account Based Marketing 120

Account Based Marketing Lead Generation ABM Lead Scoring 120

ViewPoint

MAY 3, 2012

The introductory post in this series addressed the problems and costs of applying the cost-per-lead metric to measure the success of B2B lead generation investments. In the second post, we looked at elements of a complex sale that impact B2B lead generation costs. Leads must offer high potential close value.

Cost per Lead 120

Cost per Lead Sales Qualified Leads Lead Ranking Lead Generation 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

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

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

James Obermayer, Executive Director and CEO of the Sales Lead Management Association and President of Sales Leakage Consulting is a regular guest blogger with ViewPoint. “Of Is your lead generation plan based on the forecast by product? Lead Generation Based on Forecast? Closed Lead Cost? 35 leads will find 15.75

Lead Generation 120

Lead Generation Planning Sales Qualified Leads Generation 120

ViewPoint

APRIL 17, 2012

James Obermayer, Executive Director and CEO of the Sales Lead Management Association and President of Sales Leakage Consulting is a regular guest blogger with ViewPoint. Tony Tissot of eTrigue remarked that lead generation is the responsibility of marketing, but getting the outcomes agreed upon should be the goal.

Lead Generation 120

Lead Generation Sales Qualified Leads Generation Leads 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