Leads are essential to every organization, large or small. Converting leads into repeat consumers is necessary for businesses to expand. And in order to do that properly, you must gain thorough, organized insight into sales and marketing leads.
The goal of both your marketing and sales teams is to sell your service or product. Marketers pique interest, and sales teams lead potential customers to the checkout counter.
However, what happens between those two processes isn’t usually obvious. Lead management can help with it.
Learn everything there is to know about lead management on this page, including how lead management software may assist in turning leads into clients.
What is lead management?
Lead management, a part of pipeline management, is the process of gathering leads, monitoring their behavior at all points of contact with your company, such as chat, email, and website visits, and qualifying and interacting with them until they buy your product.
Sales teams rely on sales lead management to keep their sales engine in top shape. To maintain constant revenue development, it aids salespeople in creating momentum in their sales pipeline. Sales leads are classified according to the stage when they are managed as sales leads. With these sales leads, the sales team follows up as necessary until a deal is made or the lead is no longer relevant.
Since there isn’t really one, all-encompassing definition of a sales lead that applies to every firm, defining what a sales lead is can quickly become daunting when you think about sales lead production.
Anyone who downloads your free trial, for instance, would be seen as a potential client or sales lead if your company sells software that helps small businesses manage their money! This means that this individual may be a sales lead whenever someone encounters any information from your brand, whether physically or digitally (e.g., website visits, followers on social media).
As a salesperson, you can’t just assume that everyone who encounters information about your business could be a potential lead because doing so would cost you thousands of dollars merely to contact each one.
There are a lot of sales chances waiting on the other end, but they aren’t organized or prioritized, which is one drawback of having an overly broad definition for sales leads.
The good news is that organizations can frequently rely on specific solutions, like sales lead management software, to handle their data successfully when they wish to develop and extend their businesses. They can keep track of everyone this way and make more money as a result!
What is a sales lead?
A sales lead is a prospective client who might have shown some interest in your product or service. It may be either by subscribing to your newsletter or visiting your pricing page or enquiring about your product or service. Even though they might not likely become your future customer, they may still be interested in learning what unique value you have to offer.
Your responsibility as a sales manager is to assess sales possibilities and keep track of all sales leads so that we can determine which ones should be followed up on first.
You can categorize sales leads according to their stage using one of the many various sales lead management systems available.
Sales managers regularly assess their available sales opportunities and work to close them as soon as possible.
They require a method for segmenting the sales process into manageable units, and it’s crucial that they be able to prioritize those units as well.
The lead management process
Lead capture
You must first collect your sales leads before determining whether they are qualified or not. Lead generation can also be referred to as lead capture.
You can gather leads using a variety of strategies, including marketing campaigns, social media advertising, lead magnets such as the downloadable resources, etc. In exchange for a lead’s contact information, you can provide checklists and instructions that can be downloaded. A lead magnet is a term used to describe such an inducement.
You may not be able to tell if you are generating leads who are qualified or not while they are still in the lead capture stage. Whatever the case, you want to provide a steady stream of quality leads for your business over time.
This is due to the fact that when you capture leads, not all of them will convert, so you should nurture leads and assign leads to the right sales reps. Additionally, your conversion rate varies by industry.
Lead tracking
The second stage of the sales lead management system is lead tracking where you collect all their basic details. The information includes your lead’s first and last name, phone number, email address, residential address and their occupation and helps you track your leads and connect with them on personal level.
Although having this knowledge is useful, it is not sufficient. You should also collect behavioral information on your leads. Lead tracking is helpful in this situation.
Your sales and marketing teams can start preparing their strategy by keeping track of your leads. You should qualify your lead based on behavioral data, which might show you how willing a consumer would be to pay.
Lead Scoring
Your lead score is the number you have assigned each lead in your entire sales pipeline. It might result in a two-point advantage. You might award the lead five points if they went out of their way to speak with you on the phone.
It works both ways, as we just stated. You might deduct three points if a lead unsubscribes from your newsletter. You may take away 10 points if they agree to a meeting with you but fail to show up.
The leads with the highest scores are then determined by adding up all of the lead scores. You want to focus on this group first.
The value you give a lead when you score them indicates how likely they are to convert. To ensure that all leads are rated according to the same standards, it is crucial to have a consistent lead-scoring system that the entire sales team can use.
You may design your own lead scoring system based on factors like lead behavior, opportunity size, and contact details. Regardless of the plan you create, lead scoring aids the sales team in deciding which leads to pursue.
For illustration, suppose your lead provided you with their contact information when they subscribed to your newsletter. They might score one point for themselves. The lead then takes the time to reply to an email you have sent to them.
Lead Distribution
You now enter the lead distribution system, the fourth step, with more leads scored.
Your sales reps can be given leads in whatever way you see fit, including randomly, based on geography, company size, etc. Lead nurturing is the process of getting in touch with leads through the phone or email by the sales team. Later, we’ll go into more detail on this.
Use a drip campaign if you’re still unsure about your leads. Most qualified leads, especially those who have passed the sales- and marketing-qualification processes (SQLs and MQLs, respectively), ought to respond favorably to a skillfully handled drip campaign.
The knowledge and instruction the lead will acquire as a result of this campaign may influence them to either make a purchase from your business or to finish the customer journey early.
Lead Nurturing
Lead nurturing is the phase where you primarily concentrate on talking about the lead’s problems rather than trying to sell them something. Just because someone expressed interest in your good or service doesn’t indicate they are prepared to make a purchase.
You want to get to know the lead; learn about their problems and demands. Then, you may offer a solution (through your goods and services) that appears to be customized for the lead.
Lead nurturing and engagement don’t just have to happen over the phone. Email and in-person encounters are two examples of how to advance a professional relationship.
How to ace your lead generation?
Let’s go all the way back to the beginning of the sales lead management process now that you have a better understanding of it.
To start lead gen, you need sales leads. How exactly do you locate these leads? There are several reliable approaches, so we’ll go through some of the more significant ones here.
Online ads
Online advertising is another approach to connecting with prospective customers who could become clients.
One particularly advised route to take into consideration is pay-per-click advertising through Google AdWords. You create your advertisement and choose where it appears. Then, you can track clicks using PPC.
Online marketing doesn’t operate entirely on its own.
Since you’re sending customers to your website, it needs to be prepared to collect their information so you can proceed to the next step in the sales lead management process.
Remember that social media sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook all have their own paid advertising programs in addition to website advertising.
Webinars
Hosting a webinar is another way to draw in leads.
You can attract your leads’ attention by focusing on their connected businesses or areas of interest. Leads who are interested in viewing your webinar must register in order to do so and provide you with their contact information.
Additionally, you can generate interest by doing collaborative webinars with other businesses in the same industry. You may reach a bigger audience by hosting joint webinars.
Numerous emails about the webinar that serve as lead nurturing might be sent. You might email your registrants and ask what they’d like to hear in the webinar in addition to the standard “the webinar is in X days” reminder.
Send feedback requests following each webinar because your efforts risk being ineffective if you don’t know their impact.
Networking events
You’re not limited to obtaining leads from the Internet. Sometimes, at that expo or convention, your next big client is right in front of you.
Targeting events that are relevant to your industry or specialty is preferable. These events draw attendees who are interested in your area of study.
Make sure you print out plenty of business cards to distribute if you’re a guest at a networking event. It’s not necessary to start selling right away; instead, the focus right now is on starting a dialogue.
Cold emails
Email marketing is a lead generation strategy that your business should adopt, with email sequences being especially helpful at this first stage of the lead management system.
You can construct email sequences to reach your customers at the appropriate moment with the aid of lead management software.
The first email you should write should demonstrate how your business understands the lead’s problems. The value of your goods and services is then gradually introduced, but you avoid appearing pushy or salesy. Your goal here isn’t to convert leads but to educate and nurture them.
After maybe four or five emails, you finally suggest some goods and services that can assist the lead in getting beyond their problem so that their life is better, happier, or simpler.
The sequence would come to a conclusion after any necessary follow-up.
By this time, the lead should have purchased your good or service. If so, you can now begin a brand-new email sequence as they have been verified as a customer.
Search Engine Optimization
You should work to rectify this right away if your company’s website isn’t already at the top of the list when a user searches for specific keywords.
Which websites rank at the top is determined by search engine optimization, or SEO, and this is crucial for lead generation.
The finest SEO tactics are constantly evolving as Google updates its algorithms. It would be excellent if you could discover the variables that affect your company’s ranking the most so that you could make the necessary adjustments to improve your website.
If you haven’t already, it’s a good idea to start using the following SEO strategies:
- Have a social media presence that is active and consistently posts informative stuff.
- Give your website’s loading time top priority.
- While you should make your site SEO-friendly, don’t forget that the user experience is most important.
- Create engaging and educational blogs, and publish them frequently.
- Make sure your website is optimized for mobile.
Live chats and chat bots
Do you have a live chatbot on your website? If not, you should consider adding one as soon as possible using a chatbot builder.
When leads visit your website, this chat widget will welcome them. The chatbot will provide a helpful response if the lead has a query about your business, what you do, and what you sell.
The chatbot might be used to communicate, share pertinent phone numbers, and even set up meetings, in addition to just responding to questions.
You can discover the topics and pain areas your leads frequently ask about by keeping a log of all the chat recordings the chatbot receives on a daily basis.
Social listening
You can utilize social listening technologies to generate leads if you are aware of the important search terms that your leads use to find your business. You can use a variety of social listening capabilities provided by lead management software.
You may keep an eye on the conversations surrounding your company, engage with consumers, respond to their questions, and promote involvement. It’s a fantastic approach to develop a brand’s reputation.
Affiliate marketing campaigns
The most convincing type of advertising is still word-of-mouth. Customers rather than your SDR or BDEs are directly involved in this process.
Reach out to some of your most devoted, long-term customers and ask them to ask their friends and family to recommend you to potential clients.
You could provide the customer with something in exchange for their assistance, like a special discount code or even a free gift.
Advantages of sales lead management software
These are a few advantages of investing in a sales lead management software;
Save time and resources
When you use sales automation functionality to manage prospects, time is saved by automating much of the work that your team members would otherwise have to do manually.
These platforms remove hours of laborious effort by doing everything from adding new contact information to your database to notifying sales reps of fresh qualifying CRM leads automatically.
Convert more leads into sales
By giving the customers who are most likely to make a purchase priority, lead software enables you to convert leads and increase sales.
Imagine it as a set of archery targets.
You won’t waste arrows or energy trying to hit targets you can’t reach because software only illuminates the targets that are in your line of sight and range and helps improve your lead conversion.
Improved team communication
The optimization of the sales process depends on effective departmental communication. You may connect marketing and sales directly with the help of lead management software, which also gives you a better understanding of how the actions of one team affect those of the other.
Accurate client insight
Improve your knowledge of your consumers’ preferences, responses, and behavioral patterns. Finding the practices that aren’t working is crucial so you can either improve your current strategy for a better response or develop a new strategy utilizing the power of data.
Some features of top lead management tools
By using lead management tools, you may react as soon as a potential customer expresses interest in your goods or services. A sales lead management software solution exists to make every activity you might possibly do simpler, quicker, and more effective.
These are some of the features a sales lead management software should typically have.
Integration
You can save from the hassle of juggling between multiple tools to track your sales activities and easily integrate all your business tools in one CRM software. It increases your productivity and clos more deals in less time and effort.
Sales process monitoring
A tool for activity tracking keeps track of potential clients’ interactions with your company.
This kind of solution tracks their participation as they progress through your sales funnel, from in-person meetings to email exchanges.
Such information enlightens you further on their preferred communication channels.
And enables you to see where they might be snagged in your sales process.
Lead capturing
Lead capture gathers information about potential clients, such as contact information, behavior, and preferred communication routes, and keeps it safe in a database.
Your sales reps will have a wealth of knowledge to get things started when they eventually reach the lead nurturing stage where you make more qualified leads.
Reporting and analytics
You can see the precise figures and patterns underlying each success and failure with analytics and sales reporting solutions.
It becomes obvious which messaging appeals to different audience groups and where people are leaving or moving faster in the funnel.
Your managers can adopt data-driven solutions and monitor their effectiveness in real-time using analytics and reporting.
Latest trends in lead management software
A rapidly developing area of the technology sector is software development. As a result of increasing consumer demands and fiercer competition, it evolves. Don’t ignore these significant sales lead management software trends as you look for the ideal tracking tool for your company.
- Data on buyer intent allows you to track what a consumer looks at on your website; whether it’s a pricing page or a blog.
- Instead of trying to grab everyone’s attention, customer-centric marketing enables you to build campaigns that genuinely connect with your ideal client.
- Using video content with personality and ease of use, you may attract more new leads to your brand.
- Live chatbots that take a hands-off approach to interacting with visitors and collecting data.
Top 3 sales lead management system/CRM software
Sloovi Outreach
Sloovi Outreach is the next-generation sales engagement platform for your business that lets you to add, manage and categorize thousands of leads, build stronger realtionship with them and turn them into your customers.
It helps your sales and marketing teams to carry over all their sales and marketing realted activities in one single platform, saving them from all hassles. You can easily track the performance of your campaigns and your team with data-driven reports and optimize your strategies to enhance your sales process.
Sloovi Outreach eliminates the hassle of tussling between multiple tools to make sales. Get an all-in-one platform to manage leads, automate outreach and double up your revenue.
Features
Manage all leads in your sales funnel one centralized hub
- Manage all your leads in one unified platform from the first contact to the closure.
- Fill the platform with thousands of leads.
- Find the leads you want in seconds.
- Prioritize leads with dynamic Smart Views.
Track each interaction you had with the leads in one visual timeline
- Get more meetings booked with automated prospecting outreach via emails, global calls and SMS.
- Scale outreach with mass personalization and automated follow ups.
- Book more meetings and win more sales in less time.
- Track the campaigns that outdos the most.
Focus on the metrics that matter
- Customized, flexible & intuitive reports.
- Measure individual and team performance.
- Dynamic leaderboards to foster healthy competition.
- Extract time based reports to act on priority metrics.
Hubspot lead management software
Hubspot lead management software is a cloud-based CRM solution that strives to support enterprises and organizations of all sizes to reach their growth summit.
HubSpot CRM software is useful for a wide number of businesses, including marketing and accounting as well as construction and retail.
HubSpot was initially just a straightforward marketing tool, but it has subsequently expanded into a much bigger platform.
Since it was first offered as a best-in-class platform, marketing, CRM lead software, and customer service have all witnessed major advancements.
Features
- Live chat
- Demo scheduling
- Email notification and analytics
- Reporting dashboard
- Email follow-up tracking
- Mobile app
LeadDocket
The best users of Lead Docket’s lead flow software are individuals, mid-sized organizations, or corporate companies. Web forms are available for gathering contact information from new prospects, and automatic communications follow-ups enable sales reps to keep potential customers informed and involved at every stage of the buying process.
It also includes marketing optimization so users can monitor the effectiveness of their campaigns and determine where their leads are coming from.
With enterprise applications like DocuSign, MailChimp, and CallRail, Lead Docket offers connectors. Information regarding pricing is available upon request.
Features
- Campaign management
- Online forms
- Data extraction
- Sales pipeline management
- Prospecting tools
Manage your sales with one of the best lead management software – Sloovi
Are you trying to manage your sales leads more effectively?
You’re probably losing time and money on inefficient lead handling if you’re not using a CRM system. Your sales team will have a difficult time managing their pipeline if you don’t have the appropriate tools in place.
We discussed every facet of sales lead management in this blog post and the significance of putting in place a strategy and using a CRM system that works for your company.
To ensure that everyone on the team is aware of where they stand in relation to achieving objectives and quotas, an effective sales lead management system should aid in enhancing communication between team members.
In order to prevent anything from slipping through the cracks or getting lost along the road, it should also give correct information about each prospect from the point of initial contact until deal closing.
Want top-notch tools for managing sales leads? Find out how Sloovi Outreach can benefit your company. Book a demo now.