If you’re seeing more of your hard-earned leads failing to progress efficiently through the funnel and if the final conversion rate is dropping, too, it’s possible your product or service isn’t meeting the buyers’ needs. Keep in mind that the failure rate for new products is about 80%, and the product development process most companies follow is not ideal for identifying the real needs of the buyer. Whether your conversion rates are falling or not, it makes sense to reevaluate how your company develops market requirements for its products and services.
Posts Tagged ‘sale ready’
Lead Generation is a Marathon, Marketing Automation Makes it a Sprint
In truth, Marketing Automation tool, significantly shortens the time between lead generation and lead closure, not because it facilitates lead nurturing and lead nurturing programs (using email tools), but because it recognizes the buying process as a group activity and hence takes into account all activities by an enterprise at different times before qualifying them as a ‘sales ready lead’.
Is offering Free Trial ‘Green’?
Companies which opt for free trials do so because they are confident that their product is going to make a difference to their customers, who eventually, after the expiration of free trial phase are likely to buy the product because of the promise and value they see in it, after having tried it.
Free trials help a prospect gain familiarity with the product, its features; not just in a sandbox environment, but right in the production environment. If the prospect does not like something in the promo run, prospect can voice his opinion and feedback, which can find its way back to the vendor company, who may just be able to accommodate the suggestions in the paid version.
‘Intent’ Inference – Changing The Future of B2B Sales & Marketing!
Being able to find the intent of a website visitor will act as a boon for B2b companies. Since B2b decisions are driven by a lot of research, deliberation, negotiations and by multiple decision makers, knowing whats on your prospects’ mind will help companies to plan their marketing campaigns, Lead management programs around the needs of the prospect rather than their own solution. Actions can be taken in real-time and will save companies a lot of time and resources
Social media revolutionized the way B2C companies , did business, marketed their products and engaged with their end customers. It helped them understand the needs of their customers better.
‘Intent Web’ or ‘Intent Inference services’ will do the same for B2B companies – it will change the way they engage their prospects and pitch to them for business. Intent will drive customization at all levels, bringing the customer back into the focus, giving him only what is relevant to him, doing away with all the information clutter.
Can Sales & Marketing In B2B Organizations Gain From Each Other's Insight?
The Sales and Marketing disconnect is a reason of concern for most B2B companies. These two divisions which need to compliment each other’s effort often end up being at logger heads, with each under estimating the efforts of the other.
This disconnect between Sales and Marketing can be attributed to several factors – the most significant being, in most set-ups these teams work in isolation. Marketing’s job is to generate demand for the company’s solution, drive prospects down the sales funnel, and the Sales team’s job is to convert these prospects into sales. Both the teams work individually passing on the baton once their individual tasks are completed.
Finding a common platform, which enables these two teams to collaborate in real time can help bridge this gap between marketing and sales within an Organization. Initiating processes which help these teams share more with each other can ensure increased productivity and higher conversions for the Organization.
But the sharing will happen only when both see some advantage in making that extra effort, below we discuss ways which will help these teams to become more efficient, just by sharing some basic feedback.
Lead Scores – Your Data Minefield!
Two very important aspects of lead scoring that is often overlooked by most who use this process, is its role in defining the lead nurturing process and developing a more customized lead screening system.
10 Easy Tips To Nurture That ‘Lead’
Way back in 2006 Brian Carroll, CEO of InTouch and author of Lead Generation for the Complex Sale had found in a research that 95% of prospects on your website are not yet ready to talk with a sales rep, they are probably on the site to research your solution. Of these only 70% actually buy a product from you or your competitor.
The scenario is not very different even today. Many of the leads your marketing automation tool identifies may actually be dumped into trash or labeled useless by your sales team because the lead is not sale ready. In truth many of these leads could be turned into future sales if nurtured properly.
If I were to define Lead nurturing I would say its the art of building long term relationships with people who might at some point need and purchase your services. It is the art of adding that personal human touch to the entire lead management cycle.
It also requires a plan.
