What is a Good Lead?
We are borrowing concepts from the book “Lead Generation for the Complex sale” by Caroll. Here is the basic definition of a GOOD LEAD:
B = Budget, the prospect has it, or can get it.
A = Authority, the prospect can decide on the matter.
N= Nees, the prospect clearly has a need for our service
T = Time frame, normally, the prospect wants to implement this within 3 months
S = Sales Ready, the prospect is ready to meet face to face with a sales rep.
Now, if we are to split the functions of the lead research team and the Lead Nurturing team (contact center agents), the lead research team’s responsibility is to find the “A” or people in authority to decide ie. get their right contact details, company background, and possibly, the “N” or the Needs of that company.
Whereas the contact center agents’ role would be to find out the B,T and S. This means that the Contact center agents must do Lead Nurturing. The team needs to build solid long term relationship to be able to find out how they can help the prospect and get the Budget, time frame and gauge the ‘Sales readiness’.
Only when all 5 are present do we consider this a “Good Lead”.
Here are some ways to measure the effectiveness of the Lead generation efforts:
- Total cost / number of “Good Leads”
- Total cost / Closed Deals (actual billable clients)
- Number of Leads require to generate a single closed deal.
- Lead to sales conversion ratio
Please feel free to comment and share your experiences by posting your comments here.