19 Oct |
Working the Pipeline: A Zonal Approach |
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In my previous blog post on pipeline acceleration I talked about implementing an effective process and strategy for demand generation or lead management and improving revenue. Specifically, rapid market entry and how to gather the low hanging fruit. However as we all know, that only represents 10% of the whole orchard. So let’s get down to the major chunk of clients that fall between the hot prospects and deals that really challenge us in the last mile. If you acknowledge that 60% of your leads need to be cultivated, you will agree that the middle stages of your pipeline acceleration or
Read more...08 Jun |
Make Sales Leads a Privilege, Not a Right |
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Want to significantly increase your B2B lead conversion rates and get your salespeople to provide near 100 percent feedback on lead status? Then stop sending them sales leads— seriously! Instead, set up an online lead distribution system that requires them to request each and every lead. This simple change can have a profound effect on your conversion rates. Why? It starts with human nature: all of us value something more if we have to pay for it or request it. When something is given to us for free or without consideration, we tend to value it less. Similarly, sales leads that are
Read more...02 Jun |
Overcoming Lengthening B2B Sales Cycles |
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Recent research from a number of sources confirms what all of us in demand generation have suspected for some time now: (1) In spite of the proliferation of new marketing communications tools like social media, companies report that generating qualified sales leads continues to be their biggest challenge and (2) The sales cycle, especially for technology marketers, is getting longer. What significance do these findings have for B2B marketers? Companies (and especially their field sales forces, dealers, and resellers) have always wanted more qualified leads, not more leads, so this isn’t
Read more...25 May |
The Missing Link in Lead Qualification Systems: Sales |
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Demand generation marketers often spend countless hours designing and fine-tuning their lead handling systems. Complicated flow charts are created, lead questionnaire content is debated endlessly, forms are designed, and telemarketing and email scripts are reviewed ad nauseam. Yet, many of these sophisticated marketers overlook the single, most crucial element of a successful lead qualification system. What is it? Field buy-in is crucial For some reason, the sales force is often left “out of the loop” when it comes to lead planning. This only adds to the age-old distrust and outright
Read more...26 Apr |
Social Media for Demand Generation: Silver Bullet or Snake Oil? |
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Social media sites like FaceBook and Twitter are revolutionizing the way companies market their products and services— or, at least, that’s what the internet marketing consultants, evangelists, gurus, and camp followers have been preaching to us for about two years now. What’s the reality behind the hype? Should social media be an integral part of your demand generation campaigns? Is it producing significant, measurable ROI for anybody out there? Let me know your real-world experiences at lfoong [at] thealeagroup.com. Debunking the Famous Dell Case Study Yes, like you, I’ve read the
Read more...24 Mar |
Why Most “Spike” Marketing Campaigns Fail |
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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,
Read more...16 Mar |
ALEA’s Universal Definition of A Lead |
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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
Read more...10 Mar |
Break Your Lead “Pusher” Habit for More Sales |
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“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
Read more...05 Feb |
Lead Generation….Clarity of purpose |
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One of the issues surrounding lead generation is the lack of clarity around what constitutes a lead. In our practice, we hear people refer to leads as a purchased list, a tracked visit to their site, tradeshow “leads”, response to an email and or direct campaign etc. This lack of clarity will cause a whole series of challenges down the road. A company should categorize their funnel in different buckets or levels and only the most qualified leads should ever make it to sales. There should be a migration path from bucket to bucket and a consistent process to build organizational
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