I’ve been in the lead generation game for a long time, and whether it’s our webinar-based software or services, Elastic Solutions is laser-focused on quality lead generation. Because of that, our conversations with our clients and prospects always center around the topic of lead-gen. We’re increasingly hearing marketing and sales leaders say that their qualified leads aren’t converting, and after peeling back the onion we’ve found three common themes:
- It was never qualified to begin with – this above all else, and most of the time it’s because the organization doesn’t have a clear definition of what a qualified lead is. They weren’t dealing with the ultimate decision maker, aka the person that is going to sign the contract; they didn’t confirm that there is a true intent to purchase the type of solution that they offer; they don’t even know if this ‘lead’ can afford what they’re selling, regardless of how bad the need may be. You get the drift. Add in the fact that the majority of ISRs/BDRs – typically the roles that are tasked with qualifying leads – get happy ears when a prospect says ‘yes’, without qualifying them further, and it’s no wonder that ‘qualified’ leads not converting is a headache for marketing and sales leaders
- Not all of the stakeholders are being touched – according to multiple studies and surveys, on average there are 6-8 stakeholders involved in an enterprise B2B deal. And chances are you’re not touching all of them. Just because it’s important to Jim the COO, doesn’t mean it’s important to Suzie the CFO. Samantha the SVP might be faced with this challenge, but another challenge is keeping Danny the EVP up at night. Are you marketing and selling to all of these pains? In today’s marketplace, it’s imperative that you A) understand who all of the decision makers are at the outset B) figure out the unique challenges that these decision makers are faced with, and C) present a business case as to how your solution/service can solve these challenges and generate ROI for all stakeholders involved. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen deals lost, that could’ve been won, because this wasn’t properly vetted upfront
- You’re just checking in – let’s assume that everything is properly vetted. You’re dealing with the key folks; you know their challenges and have a solution in place that can solve them; the intent to purchase a solution like yours is there. And then…crickets. The deal goes cold on you and you find out that it went to a competitor. Where did it all go wrong? We’ve found that many times this happens because organizations are ‘just checking in’ and stop marketing and selling. Active opportunities need to be nurtured every step of the way until close. Instead of ‘just checking in’ – three words that decision makers hate, FYI – send them something of substance. Invite them to a webinar or send them a video. Send them a recent whitepaper or pass along an article that speaks to them and the position they’re in as a buyer. Give them something that matches up to where they are in their buying journey. Trust me, your conversion percentage will thank you for it
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Jason Stegent is the Founder & President of ElasticSolutions. Email him @ jstegent@elasticroi.com