Tips, tools, and best practices for B2B marketers.
Should Marketers keep leads longer before giving to Sales?
December 1, 2008 | Posted by: Lee
In most B2B companies, a key job of Marketing is to generate leads. Typically, a lead is defined as someone who makes in inquiry regarding a product or service. Whether it's downloading a whitepaper, signing up for a webinar or an eNewsletter, once Marketing has a name and email, it is typically thrown over the wall to sales.But should it be? Is that too soon in today's social media world?
Today's buyer doesn't want to be bothered.
Today, buyers are able to get smarter about what we have to offer and what our competition offers, all without having to interact with anyone at our company. They're putting off face-to-face meetings with sales until much later in the buying process (typically after the short list has been created).
They're trolling the web, reading, learning, and downloading information from multiple sources. They're likely not ready to be contacted, yet. So how long should Marketers hold on to leads?
Don't pass them off to sales until they've been warmed up.
With complex B2B sales, buyers need to "consume" 3-5 pieces of content about your company before they really understand what you have to offer. Wouldn't it be better to track what potential buyers are doing online, feeding them relevant content, until they've been hit 3-5 times, then push them over to sales once they're ready to engage?
By keeping leads in Marketing, you'll have the opportunity to better qualify them and ensure that they're ready to engage with your sales team. You'll likely pass off less leads, but they'll be more qualified, and more ready to engage.
Today you must adapt to your buyers.
Social media is empowering the buyer. Marketing and Sales need to adapt to how the buyer wants to interact with us. That means, allowing them to get to know us through our web site and content versus through our sales team.
Your web site and your content are taking on the role that an initial sales meeting would have in the past. To be successful and truly drive valued leads to sales, Marketers need to engage longer and in more relevant ways with potential buyers. Weed out the ones who aren't right, nurture the ones who are in the 1st stages of the buying process and pass on the ones who are ready to engage.
Thoughts?
Tags for this post:
social media b2b marketing
Categorized in: Marketing, Social Media
12120 Sunset Hills Road
Comments
December 02 2008 - 10:29 AM | by Michael Hackmer
I think this touches on a long-standing challenge companies face with their sales and marketing teams - namely that they are often separate and not as integrated as they should be. I also would make the point that better qualifying leads is even more important in a down economy, because companies are trying to do more with less personnel and resources. A company has to resist the temptation to push things quickly to sales in an effort to generate revenue. With that last comment in mind, I think a company should look at this strategy of engagement or relationship building in the same way it has built its most successful business relationships: take time and do it right from the start. If you help to inform and build a connection with a prospective buyer, you are much more likely to make that relationship a long-term business partnership.
December 02 2008 - 07:54 PM | by Lee Erickson
Michael, well put. The old battle between Marketing and Sales still rages on.
Marketing needs to think about ways to extend the personal touch to the web to “inform and build a connection with a prospective buyer” as you mention. Sales needs change their approach to adapt to better informed buyers who are further along in the buying process.
Have you had any luck with programs that do either?
December 03 2008 - 11:30 AM | by Neil Callanan
@Lee & @Michael,
Great points. I think its a tough call; as marketers should we hold onto the leads for a bit longer, or are we better off helping the sales folks be more effective at taking bit passive approach from the start.
Or is “passive approach to sales” and oxymoron?