If You Are Serious
If you are serious about wanting to know which of your lead sources performs best. Then you need to have that give you easy access to a couple of key facts. You need to know how much you are spending on each of your lead sources. You need to know the qualification and close rates of every lead acquired via that lead source. And to make explicit something that is implied in this comparison is that you need to be sure the leads from each campaign are being worked with the same diligence by your sales reps. If sales reps are ignoring leads from the X campaign, because they believe leads from the Y campaign are more likely to close, then the comparison is not apples to apples. So it’s important to be able to not only have an accurate reckoning of “cost per lead”, but also some evidence that leads are being worked consistently, and in accordance with established best practices.
If you are serious about want your reps to be the first on the phone with the lead. Then you need to know that it is simply not possible to be the first sales rep on the phone without using the right technology. No matter how smoothly your sales floor runs, no matter how efficient a sales manager, leads received and distributed by email are taking a comparatively slow path from inquiry to response. That may sound shocking, because most people think of email as fairly instantaneous. But in fact, email is slower than a system that can receive leads that are received via xml or http post. Not to mention that if there are multiple email stages, i.e., 1) Lead is emailed to Sales Manager, 2) Sales Manager decides which rep gets it and emails it to the rep. No matter how efficient the team, there are human delays.
The quickest way to get a lead on the phone is by using a lead management system that:
1. Receives leads in real time via xml or http post from the lead source to you
2. Automatically and intelligently distributes leads to your reps based on configurable rules
3. Has an integrated lead dialer that connects lead to rep upon lead assignment
If you are serious about not wanting any leads wasted. Then you will need to have automated lead follow-up that prioritizes leads in accordance with established best practices. Having a repeatable winning sales process ensures that every lead is worked right. This is particularly true and especially necessary when reps are responsible for a large number of leads.
If you are serious about a software solution that is a business partnership, committed to your success. Lead Management Software as a Service is different than an out of the box software solution in many ways. But the bottom line is this: For an out of the box software solution, the company selling it wins when you buy it. That’s where they make their money, so that’s what they are set up to do; sell you on a one time purchase. With Software as a Service, the company selling it makes their money when you remain a customer. Software as a Service providers know that you won’t remain a customer if they are not adding value. So SaaS is set up to help you succeed, since they only win if you win.
