Stop Debating, Start Selling.

by | Apr 14, 2011 | Sales Coaching, Sales Strategy, Sales Tips | 0 comments

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]A recent Google Search on “definition of a quality sales lead” turned up 1,700,000 results in 0.10 seconds.

It’s not a stretch then to say that there is a lot of buzz these days about what constitutes a quality sales lead – how to rank or “score” one, how to get sales and marketing to work collaboratively and how failure to do so can “doom” an otherwise successful lead gen campaign.

True, marketing and sales need to be in synch; true, they need to understand their goals and objectives and have the confidence in one another to deliver as intended. But do you need a one-sized fits all scoring system or do you need management that understands the buyer and a culture that values teamwork?

NuGrowth Solutions is selling organization that needs leads to support sales. What some people call leads, we call responses. A response is just like it sounds – an inbound electronic inquiry or phone call.

A good lead, on the other hand, is a company that resembles the characteristics of your current client profile with a budget, a timeline, interest and intent to change. Take that one step further and you have an opportunity – a prospect engaged in an active buying cycle.

The key is to know which category (RESPONSE, LEAD or OPPORTUNITY) a prospect falls in and work the account accordingly.

While some (usually those selling scoring systems) are strong proponents of lead scoring as a way to achieve some kind of universal lead definition, at NuGrowth, we believe that determining the quality of a lead is less about scoring and more about having an effective management team which understands buyer characteristics enough to define an accurate measurement system, create a common vocabulary and ensure consistency.

Combine that effective management team with inside and outside reps trained to effectively listen, qualify, nurture and close and you’ll spend less time debating how good a lead is and more time bringing on new business.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]