If you run a B2B sales team, then the sales reps and channels partners on your roster have a message for you, and they’ve asked us to put it in capital letters because it’s pretty important: PLEASE GIVE US MORE QUALIFIED B2B LEADS!
Indeed, as noted by Inc. about 50% of sales reps miss their yearly quota. And while there are many factors that contribute to this dismal statistic, a lack of qualified B2B leads is usually on top of the list.
And we emphasize the word “qualified” here, because sales reps can’t be blamed – though they often are – for not closing deals with prospects that, frankly, aren’t prospects in the first place. It’s like blaming a waiter for not being able to take an order from a customer that isn’t hungry, or blaming a pilot for being unable to transport a passenger who doesn’t want to go anywhere. That’s not a conversion. That’s an abduction!
Fortunately, supplying sales reps with glorious, glorious b2b leads is not an uphill struggle – provided that your organization has the right tools, technologies, strategies and processes in place. Here are 7 tips to point your sales reps and your organization in the right direction:
- Implement a lead nurturing process. Nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads (Source: The Annuitas Group).
- Have a process in place to re-ignite stalled leads. Up to 50 percent of qualified leads are not immediately ready to buy (Source: Gleanster Research).
- Automate your lead management process. Companies that automate lead management experience a 10% or higher increase in revenue within 6-9 months (Source: Gartner Research).
- Realize that in B2B sales there is typically more than one decision-maker. In a typical firm with 100-500 employees, an average of 7 people are involved in most buying decisions (Source: Gartner Research).
- Don’t just train your sales reps to describe features and functions – equip them to tell memorable stories that target prospects’ pain points and aspirations. After a presentation, 63% of those in attendance remember stories, whereas only 5% remember statistics (Source: Dan & Chip Heath).
- Don’t underestimate the importance and value of content to usher customer’s forward on the buyer’s journey. A whopping 95% of buyers chose a solution provider that provides them with ample content to help navigate through each stage of the buying process (Source: DemandGen Report).
- Implement a targeted inbound marketing system. Inbound leads cost 60% less than outbound leads (source: Search Engine Journal), and B2B companies that blog generate 67% more qualified leads than those that don’t (source: Social Media B2B).
Learn More
To learn more about dramatically increasing your B2B leads — and putting your sales reps in position to meet or exceed quota quarter after quarter — contact the Agile & Co team today. Your consultation with us is free.
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