“How Do I Manage Leads Successfully?”
It is a proven fact that the most successful business owners are tracking and managing certain aspects of their sales and marketing in order to run and grow profitably. When you put a good lead management (CRM Software) system in place, you are allowing yourself and your company to become accountable.
Accountability Brings Profitability
The first step in lead management is to just start tracking!
It doesn’t have to be that complicated, and the first and most important step is to decide to get going and then take action. If you had any idea how much money you’re missing out on just because you’re not tracking, you’d wish you started long ago.
Before you start tracking, though, it would make the most sense to find a system that will monitor not just the leads, but the results!
Here are some pieces of information your “lead management” system should give:
• Where are the leads coming from?
• Who is closing those leads, and at what cost to you?
• Who is NOT closing those leads, and at what cost to you?
• What kind of leads and sales are coming from each type of advertising?
• What sort of followup is happening for each lead?
• How should you adjust your mailing campaigns and sales messages to meet the needs and wants of your prospects?
• What are the closing ratios for every lead source?
• What is the average sale and total for every lead source?
• How easy is it for your salespeople to have access to their leads?
• Are your salespeople able to see where they are in comparison to company expectations?
• What is your average sales cycle? Lead – Sales – Billable Sales
• What about the leads that do not close now; how do you use them in the future?
There is a lot more that goes into managing leads successfully, but as you can see from the points above, successful lead management has a direct connection to your marketing. This is where most lead management systems have failed, and this is where you, as an owner or manager, need to choose carefully!
A Successful Lead Management System Must Provide for Constant Communication Between Sales & Marketing.
In lead management there has to be a way to get the data necessary to make informed and relevant decisions about your sales and marketing. Instead of thinking so much about the typical “lead management system”, start focusing instead on setting up a good lead, sales and marketing tracking system that will give you the information you need in order for you to be able to keep your finger on the pulse of what is going on in your business at any given time.
That’s it, folks! It’s all tied into one, and all those numbers brought together can make all the difference between your business barely surviving or thriving.
Sincerely,
Susan Raisanen
President
P.S. Lead Management will not be successful unless it includes both sales and marketing.
P.P.S. The most important part of successful lead tracking is to just get started…with the right system.
P.P.P.S. Most lead management systems have failed because they do NOT include the analytics required to properly manage your sales and marketing.