Here are three ways to monitor your sales leads more effectively, and determine which sources provide the most bang for your buck:
- Rate receptiveness. It’s important to keep track of how receptive leads from a certain source are to your initial contact. Rate prospects’ receptiveness to the initial cold call on a scale 1-5. If prospects score high on that scale, shorten the intervals between points of contact. If not, delay following up with them and focus on more high-probability prospects.
- Create a cost/impact scorecard. Assign a numeric value to every way you communicate with prospects, based on how effective it is. For example: face-to-face meeting = 5 pts, a phone call = 3 pts, an email = 2 pts, a direct mail or fax = 1 pt. By keeping track of each contact, you can start to see how many “points” it takes to close a sale. This way salespeople won’t waste as much time with stalling prospects, and you’ll be able to see if there’s some part of the selling process reps need to tighten up.
- Look at buying history by source. Keep a record of all the interactions prospects have with your company, so you can get a feel for which lead sources are the most reliable, and which ones aren’t cost-effective.
Source: “Three Ways to Improve Your Lead-Nurturing Strategy,” by Kathy Rizzo, www.marketingprofs.com
