Are you aligned with your sales team on more than just qualifying leads? What about when it comes to converting leads into opportunities? Here are ten tips to help forward-thinking marketers support the qualification and conversion of leads.

1. CHECKLIST
10 Tips For Connecting and Converting
Leads To Accelerate The Sales Cycle
Marketers have traditionally been charged
with generating high-quality leads for the
sales team. Modern marketing teams are
now partnering with sales to move as many
opportunities through the pipeline as possible.
In fact, IDC’s CMO Advisory Service reported
that up to 70% of companies planned to
increase organizational alignment between
marketing and sales in 2012. In addition,
Aberdeen reported that 40% of the sales
forecasted pipeline is generated by the
marketing department.
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Here are 10 tips to help marketers qualify
and convert more leads to accelerate the
sales cycle:
Bring intelligence — not just product
information — to the table.
Make it easy to find the
right resources.
With a central hub for all of the content,
subject matter experts, sales tip sheets and
other information, marketers can serve up the
right information to support the sales team’s
efforts to accelerate opportunities.
In many organizations, salespeople rely on
a customer relationship management (CRM)
system for all of their daily activities.
Prioritize the right leads.
All leads are not created equal. According
to MarketingSherpa, 61% of B2B marketers
send all leads directly to sales, while only
27% of those leads will be qualified. A lead
scoring system jointly developed by marketing
and sales can improve lead conversion and
accelerate the sales cycle.
2.
Marketing departments have to develop
trustworthy and unbiased content at all
stages of the process. In the B2B 2013
Content Preferences Survey, 61.6% of survey
respondents said that “sales heavy” content is
a problem.
The marketing department has to create
content to help salespeople converse with
prospects about industry trends and identify
situational selling opportunities.
Alignment between the marketing and
sales teams is crucial in ensuring that the
investments made in developing leads
actually result in revenue. Revenue growth is
cited by 66% of marketing executives as the
top goal driving their strategies, according to
Aberdeen.
1.
The sales and marketing teams need to
collaborate so the salesperson is presenting
the buyer with content and resources that
address their needs.
4.
Meet buyers where they are in the
buying journey.
A buyer may have attended a webinar,
visited the web site and downloaded a white
paper before ever talking to a salesperson.
Corporate Executive Board estimates
that 57% of the purchase decision is
complete before a customer even contacts
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2. a supplier. Because buyers are coming to
the conversation more educated than ever,
marketers need to be ready to connect
with them at whatever point they are in
the process.
5.
Develop processes that can be applied
in multiple situations.
Flesh out scenarios for different types
of buyers and different industries to address
key concerns and objections. Groups of
buyers and buyers at similar points in the
buying journey often behave in similar,
predictable ways.
SiriusDecisions calls these “observable
outcomes,” and defines them as measurable,
verifiable actions or responses from a buyer.
For example: Has the buyer identified a
budget is available? Has the buyer provided
decision criteria? Did the buyer schedule a
follow-up meeting for a demonstration?
6.
Adapt to different selling situations.
While being adaptable seems to contradict
point No. 5, people still buy from people
and every purchase has its own set
of requirements.
7.
Foster a collaborative relationship
between marketing and sales.
As marketing looks to improve the lead
conversion process and sales looks to
accelerate the sales cycle, responsibilities are
blurring. The goal is more closed deals.
8.
Become a trusted advisor.
Buyers don’t need sales reps to spout the
features of their product, as they have already
done as much as 70% of their research online
before engaging with a salesperson. Buyers
are looking for partners who understand their
industry and its particular challenges. Vendors
who support buyers by providing subject
matter experts and other resources will have
an edge.
9.
Communicate efficiently
and effectively.
The salesperson has just one shot on that
first call to capture the attention of the buyer.
Marketing and sales have to work together on
the right materials to ensure that the first call,
and future calls, are productive.
Speed of response is also essential.
According to research conducted by Dr.
James Oldroyd, Ph.D., the chances of
entering the lead into the sales cycle increase
21 times if called within five minutes of the
sales rep receiving
a message from the buyer compared to
30 minutes.
10.
Continue to support once the deal
is signed.
The sales team will continue to check in with
current customers to see how their needs
have changed and what challenges they are
facing. Be adaptable to any adjustments
and continue to offer relevant collateral and
coaching as the sales cycle evolves.
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3. When marketing makes it easier and
faster for sales reps to take the lead with
confidence, companies are better positioned
to improve conversion rates and reach
their revenue targets. To learn more about
bridging the gap between lead generation and
conversion, visit www.savogroup.com.
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