The process of gathering and collecting lead information, as well as managing interactions with them, is known as lead management. It entails gathering leads from various sources, vetting them, and delivering them to sales representatives, as well as tracking and recording online and offline interactions including emails, ad clicks, website visits, phone calls, and face-to-face meetings. Lead management aids firms in better understanding the problems and demands of their customers. As a result, they will be able to provide a solution that will meet the needs of their customers.
Why is effective lead management crucial for online businesses?
Lead management’s main goal is to provide clients with the information they need to proceed down the funnel. Customers may receive duplicate or irrelevant information if several components of a business’ marketing organization are out of sync, or leads are not properly qualified, culminating in the death sentence for an otherwise on-track conversion. Simply managing leads efficiently, whether through a CRM or another B2B lead generating method, eliminates human effort and enhances the customer experience for an online firm.
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In 11 easy steps, you’ll be able to manage your leads
- Generating Leads
Advertising and getting leads are the first steps in the lead management process. There is little that can be done unless potential clients are identified. It’s one thing to run lead generating sales and marketing initiatives. Collecting and pursuing them is a very different matter.
Lead management connects your lead generation activities with sales prospects by aggregating leads from many sources into a single platform, together with pertinent information such as source, campaign name, and so on.
- Inquiries from customers
When customers respond in some way, indicating that they are interested in whatever being given, the management process actually begins. This usually occurs when a customer clicks on a link.
- Identity Retrieval
The next step in lead management is to figure out who the customer is. Some of this data can be gathered through Google Analytics, while others can be obtained by having the customer provide it to the company.
- Filtering of Inquiries
After capturing identities, they must be validated for accuracy.
This aspect of lead management aids the organisation in determining the accuracy of any data entered. Leads should be sorted based on their anticipated worth to the firm once their unique identity has been determined. Casual users should be prioritised over leads that are more likely to result in a sale — or that provide more value to the organisation.
- Qualification of the lead
Improper lead qualification results in a loss of 67 percent of sales. When non-sales-ready leads enter the pipeline, this happens. As a result, it’s critical to qualify leads based on the following criteria:
Fitment (does your product meet their needs?) Capacity to buy
It’s pointless to try to market to those who will never purchase.
However, you must keep track of this information (together with the reasons) for future use. Lead management aids in the organisation of qualification data that can be accessed at any time.
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- Distribution of Leads
Qualifying leads are passed on to the company’s marketing and sales teams, frequently with specific instructions and information. Customers with the highest potential value should, in general, be assigned to the salespeople who are most likely to turn them into customers.
- Make a sales call
Sales people must arrange their interaction in such a way that it encourages the lead to respond, and how that happens should be determined by the lead’s previous behaviour.
- Distribution of leads
Assume you have a sales team with representatives for various geographies and goods. This is where lead distribution comes in handy.
You can, for example:
- If the locale is California, give the lead to the US team.
- If they’re interested in Product A, you can pass the lead on to Jack.
- You can also develop your own lead distribution logic.
- Lead management ensures that the proper lead is assigned to the right sales agent and that information is shared throughout the organisation so that everyone is on the same page.
- Nurturing of Leads
Leads who reply to the Sales Contact should be incorporated into the lead nurturing process, which employs both automated and personal follow-ups to persuade them of the worth of purchasing. Lead nurturing is a method of cultivating relationships with leads in order to convert them into qualified prospects. Lead nurturing strategies have resulted in direct revenue gains for businesses.
Lead management entails creating and tracking nurturing initiatives with the goal of increasing sales.
Is lead management, however, finished once a lead becomes a paying customer?
No. It isn’t the case.
Previously, lead management was defined as a set of strategies, processes, and procedures for generating new business leads. However, it now includes customer retention techniques. As a result, the terms lead management and CRM (customer relationship management) are sometimes used interchangeably.
While there may be some differences in how you interact with leads versus customers, lead management remains the same. The distinction between a lead and a customer is highlighted in the table below.
- Sales Outcome
When a lead makes a purchase, the management process comes to an end. Return to Step Seven if you want to make repeat sales.
What are the advantages of efficiently handling leads for businesses?
Companies without a well-defined lead management procedure risk losing multiple sales opportunities as a result of:
- Lead activities, phases, and duplications are hidden due to a lack of visibility.
- Improper lead qualifying – reps wasting time chasing down the wrong leads
- Lead nurturing that is ineffective
- Companies who have a structured method and tools for managing leads, on the other hand, see an improvement in sales efficiency and conversions.
Lead management allows you to do the following:
- Data on leads should be retrieved and organized (identity, behavioral and engagement data)
- Leads should be assigned to salespeople, and interactions should be tracked.
- Real-time marketing and sales funnel visualization
- Align your sales and marketing efforts
- Manage leads and customers’ opportunities.
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