ViewPoint

APRIL 14, 2017

Last week I published a blog that provided five ways to avoid getting burned by outsourced B2B sales lead generation, qualification and nurturing. So, they settle for a cheap solution—which is how mediocre sales lead generation firms survive. The need for sales pressures the CMO to deliver leads fast. You can read the blog here.

Lead Generation 176

Lead Generation Sales Qualified Leads Sales Leads Generation 176

ViewPoint

JANUARY 22, 2018

Can companies reach the holy grail of marketing—the perfect lead? Well, what is a perfect lead? What is wrong with these formulaic approaches to lead qualification? In fact, buyers perceive value in interacting with sales at every stage of the buying process—even the early stages.” All leads have warts.

Sales Qualified Leads 127

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking PointClear 127

ViewPoint

MAY 23, 2018

Lead nurture can triple the return on most marketing campaigns. By nurturing leads until they’re ready to turn over to sales, an organization can eliminate wasted marketing spend and increase sales results. Successful lead generation—inbound and outbound—requires nurturing. The numbers speak for themselves.

Sales Qualified Leads 149

Sales Qualified Leads ROI Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 149

ViewPoint

OCTOBER 5, 2018

No matter what he did, no matter how he spent the company’s money, the CRO would complain about lead quality (and quantity). Marketing was convinced that sales never effectively followed-up on any leads. What is a Lead? This blog about lead cost summarizes a lot of research I have done on the subject.

Sales Qualified Leads 136

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Generation Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 136

ViewPoint

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

A broken lead generation strategy could mean trouble for your sales and marketing team, but not just because of the fundamental misalignment between the two departments. Have marketing and sales decided on a shared definition for a qualified sales lead? Have marketing and sales decided on a shared definition for a qualified sales lead?

Marketing Qualified Leads 168

Marketing Qualified Leads Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads Lead Generation 168

ViewPoint

JULY 19, 2017

a prospect asked me, following our discussion about PointClear’s lead generation, qualification and nurturing services. We had just finished talking about the importance of marketing and sales coming together to mutually define a lead prior to starting a lead generation program. “What could derail this project?” Just ask!

Lead Generation 149

Lead Generation PointClear Sales Leads Generation 149

ViewPoint

AUGUST 16, 2018

Your sales team likes nothing better than getting leads with a high probability of closing soon. So much so that many reps often ignore every lead they don’t consider hot. Long-term leads often prove to be more valuable than those slated for a short-term decision. Here’s an example: Marketing spends $60,000 to generate 80 leads.

Lead Scoring 136

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads Leads 136

ViewPoint

MAY 24, 2016

Understand the price you are paying for your leads and then optimize. Document the cost per lead is the fourth of 7 Truths about Sales and Marketing that CEOs need to know. Today we will discuss how to document and then optimize the cost per lead, including the Sales Accepted Lead, the Sales Qualified Lead and Closed/Won business.

Sales Qualified Leads 174

Sales Qualified Leads Cost Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads 174

ViewPoint

JANUARY 31, 2012

One thing we can always count on is this: sales will always say they want more leads. I was struck by Dan McDade’s statement in his recent article, Sales Leads: Why Your Reps Need Fewer, Rather Than More , that sales reps are paid to sell—not interpret leads. and social technologies.

Process 120

Process Work Management Lead Ranking Enterprise Management 120

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

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

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. These companies are successful because of their established roles, processes, and responsibilities for their marketing and sales departments. Qualify Your Lead. Find the Pain.

Sales Leads 159

Sales Leads Sales Qualified Leads Leads Lead 159

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)?". Here is a distillation of the scores of responses I received: "To what extent are the leads qualified to begin with?".

Sales Qualified Leads 159

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Leads 159

ViewPoint

MAY 17, 2018

A senior marketing executive once got so frustrated with his sales counterpart that he offered the following choices for spending $100,000 on a lead generation campaign: Option. Content Aggregator “Leads”. Sales Qualified Leads. To be fair, marketing’s mandate was to generate more leads every year with shrinking budgets.

Sales Qualified Leads 120

Sales Qualified Leads Buy Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 120

ViewPoint

AUGUST 9, 2016

Your sales team likes nothing better than getting leads with a high probability of closing soon. So much so that many reps often ignore every lead they don’t consider hot. In reality, long-term leads often prove to be more valuable than those slated for a short-term decision. In many cases hot opportunities are already baked.

Sales Qualified Leads 120

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Demand 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

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. Because the chances are pretty low—probably 3% to 4% at best—that any of these names are bonafide opportunities if you are a B2B company with a complex sales process. Leads aren’t leads unless: They’re qualified.

Sales Qualified Leads 120

Sales Qualified Leads Forecasting PointClear Enterprise Management 120

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? How many are progressing?

Sales Qualified Leads 189

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Leads 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

OCTOBER 11, 2012

Carlos is a recognized thought leader in B2B marketing and known for his keen insights on the development and implementation of lead management processes, as well as marketing automation. The Core Issue: It’s Not Alignment – It’s Driving the Demand Process. 2012 Trending: Marketing Is Ahead of Sales in Understanding Buyer 2.0.

Demand 120

Demand Process Work Management 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

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.

Lead Scoring 189

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Work Management Paid Search Agency 189

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.” I just have to get this order processed and I'll be even closer to goal!'. "So That's not to say that inbound leads are less valuable than outbound leads.

Sales Qualified Leads 120

Sales Qualified Leads Work Management Lead Ranking Marketing Management 120

ViewPoint

JANUARY 17, 2012

Are marketing resources or sales reps the right resources to do lead qualification and lead nurturing in the B2B complex sale? But first, let's take a look at some lead generation challenges. Cahners Research has shown that 45 percent of qualified leads will end up buying a solution from someone within a year.

Lead Qualification 120

Lead Qualification Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Leads 120

ViewPoint

JANUARY 17, 2012

Are marketing resources or sales reps the right resources to do lead qualification and lead nurturing in the B2B complex sale? But first, let's take a look at some lead generation challenges. Cahners Research has shown that 45 percent of qualified leads will end up buying a solution from someone within a year.

Lead Qualification 120

Lead Qualification Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Leads 120

ViewPoint

MARCH 2, 2011

But doing these things won’t help your business generate leads and convert sales using social media. Here's a 3 step process that will. And who said you cannot use LinkedIn to generate sales leads? They’re generating leads using these 3 practical success principles. Try applying this 3 step process tomorrow.

Sales Management 120

Sales Management Social Media Work Management Process 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

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. The most common problems that confront sales and marketing organizations in the process of lead generation, qualification and prospect nurturing 2.

Web 2.0 120

Web 2.0 Leads Lead Marketing Qualified Leads 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 5, 2015

In the first 2 parts of this series we discussed the role of executives and best practices for planning and preparation when outsourcing your lead generation program. I n the first two weeks of the program you will see disproportionately more unqualified dispositions than qualified dispositions or leads. (In

Sales Qualified Leads 120

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Generation PointClear Lead Qualification 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 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

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. The planning involved in setting up a lead generation program incorporates the same principle.

Lead Generation 120

Lead Generation Generation Work Management Leads 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

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. Unfortunately, few B2B organizations focus on creating, implementing and executing a defined marketing and sales process. Hired a social media marketer.

Lead Scoring 120

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Top of Funnel Leads 120

ViewPoint

JULY 31, 2012

Generating sales leads that are actually followed up by sales is a basic business process that is broken in most companies. What constitutes a good lead? Ensure that leads are passed back for reheating, nurturing or re-qualification rather than having them simply stalled out in the pipeline which is usually a black hole.

Sales Qualified Leads 120

Sales Qualified Leads Sales Leads Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads 120