Leadberry works as a B2B lead generation tool, and given the realm we operate in, we thought it would be useful to clarify a few basic terms, as so many people talk about it, that it’s good to know which term means what.
You can find the first part of our definitions series here, and now we continue with the second chapter: defining a lead itself.
The term ‘lead’ is one of the most overused words in sales lingo, having a somewhat CSI-ish association, as if we were hunting after a suspect and there is a sense of urgency in what we must accomplish (partially a true observation with regards to timelines). Warming up someone to go from visitor to lead to prospect to customer takes time and effort though. So what is a lead?
Salespeople tend to define a lead as a person likely to be interested in our product or service for the reason of resolving an issue or getting a task done with said product or service.
Leads can come about from various sources. The most common ones are buying lead lists from 3rd parties; cold calling people, based on various matching qualifications (for said target audience); and with the advent of ever more sophisticated automated digital sales tools, lead generation software connected with Google Analytics and your website is also a popular option for sales teams and small to medium sized company owners (Leadberry is one such B2B automated lead generation tool).
As sales and marketing budgets tend to shrink, automating sales processes seems to be the clever option for many, and there is a tendency to think in terms of how much a lead costs to convert into a prospect and then into a customer in the sales funnel. Not all leads are worth an equal amount of money, of course. Some may want to purchase a one-off item, while others might be hooked on your services for a longer period of time, supplying you with recurring revenues. Part of your qualifying process will hence be to determine which leads have the biggest potential as customers, so you can spend the majority of your time on them as leads, initially.
Leads typically come from a referral of an existing customer or through a direct response to advertising or publicity. Gaining sufficient information about leads is very important for getting in touch and offering them relevant services or products.
The arrival of digital marketing has brought up company-generated online content that target leads by way of speaking about an issue they are interested in – instead of directly proposing a solution for the lead in the beginning. Gaining the trust of target audience members (not leads!) will lead to creating awareness of your company in a positive way, instead of a pushy way. Inbound marketing content can include blog posts, videos, infographics and white papers that can turn someone with interest in a topic into someone with interest in your company.
Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments section!