24 Mar

Why Most “Spike” Marketing Campaigns Fail

Understanding 10-60-30 Rule of Demand Generation   Companies often initiate tactical “spike” marketing campaigns to overcome a quarterly sales or lead shortfall. “Spike” programs are a series of “one offs” that may yield short term numbers. However, they are largely a self-perpetuating, wasteful mistake that can be avoided if you understand the 10-60-30 rule. Anytime you initiate a demand generation campaign that includes outbound telemarketing, you will discover that the prospects you contact will always fall into three categories: 10% are right time, right place audience, i.e. prospects that are ready, willing, and able to engage now. Turning them into true “sales leads” requires confirming a need and motivating them to request a sales call. Technology marketers often refer to these prospects as “low-hanging fruit.” This category explains why conversion rate is low for “spike” marketers as their true universe is only 10% on every program that is being implemented. 60% of your target audience are in the ‘N” phase i.e. the nurture phase. They may be interested in (and need) your product but for a myriad of reasons – timing, budget, or other

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16 Mar

ALEA’s Universal Definition of A Lead

When Does a Lead Become a True “Sales Lead?” Your demand generation campaigns are bound to generate responses. But are these all leads, worthy of follow-up by your sales reps? Even inexperienced marketers know that the majority of responses are simply inquiries: people seeking more information or responding to a promotional offer. Distributing raw inquiries to your sales reps without at least some basic qualification mechanism to categorize the ones that are true sales leads can be a suicidal experience. So, the real question is: how do you identify a legitimate “sales lead?” Today, with the plethora of CRM and sales automation tools available to marketers, there is a tendency for marketing committees and consultants to overcomplicate the process and devise ever-changing formulas, scoring mechanisms, and rules to make this determination. At ALEA, we have found that, regardless of our clients’ business, a sales lead can ALWAYS be defined by five simple criteria: 1. Right company or demographic- They fit the profile of the organizations or people that are already your best customers. 2. Right person- A person who is a decision maker, champion, influencer or at least a

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10 Mar

Break Your Lead “Pusher” Habit for More Sales

“Pushing” sales leads out to field reps and resellers is a traditional industry habit for most B2B marketers that is terribly inefficient. Sales people, like all human beings, simply don’t value something as much if it is given to them without cost or condition. As a result, leads that are “pushed” to the field are often not followed up in a timely manner, resulting in poor conversion rates and lost sales opportunities. Implementing a “pull” lead management system, on the other hand, can produce dramatically better results. Because the lead has been specifically requested by the rep, it is much more likely to receive immediate follow-up. In addition, with a “pull” lead system, reps are far more apt to provide timely feedback on the status of the lead, enabling B2B marketers to accurately track conversion rates from different lead sources. This, in turn, gives them the opportunity to refine the message, offer, and audience targeting, which will further improve lead quality. Today, with the advent of secure, web-based tools, a “pull” lead management system is far easier to implement than it used to be. Are you still addicted to a “push” lead system?

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