In order to grow, all businesses need to attract and convert new leads.<\/p>\n
But how do you know which leads will buy from you?<\/p>\n
On this page, we\u2019ll take a look at the importance of lead qualification and some tips you can use to attract and convert more quality leads.<\/p>\n
As soon as someone gives you their contact information, they become a lead.<\/p>\n
But just because someone shows interest in your company doesn\u2019t mean they have the budget or authority to make a purchase.<\/p>\n
Lead qualification is the stage of the lead generation process where you identify people who are most likely to convert into paying customers.<\/p>\n
Then, you can spend your time and money marketing to them to earn a better ROI.<\/p>\n
According to research, only 25% of leads<\/a> are qualified to advance to your sales team.<\/p>\n With lead qualification, you can stop wasting time and money on people who won\u2019t buy. The sooner you determine whether a lead is qualified, the less time and money you waste.<\/p>\n Now that you understand the importance of lead qualification, we\u2019ll take a look at how you can qualify leads to make sure you\u2019re targeting your most valuable prospects.<\/p>\n First, it\u2019s helpful to create buyer personas that describe your ideal customer. Put together a list that includes a customer\u2019s background information, industry, company size, etc. Then, you can evaluate how closely a lead matches your ideal persona.<\/p>\n Is the lead from a company or are they a private citizen? Are you dealing with an executive or junior marketer? What is their age, income, and occupation?<\/p>\n Understanding the answers to these questions helps you determine how likely a lead is to become a customer.<\/p>\n For example, if someone is a junior marketer at a B2B company, and you\u2019re trying to target executives at B2C companies, you know that the lead is most likely not qualified.<\/p>\n You also need to identify customer problems that your company solves.<\/p>\n In other words, what are the lead\u2019s pain points? What do they need to do, and how can your business help them?<\/p>\n Understanding your company solves a lead\u2019s pain points helps you communicate with them, answer their questions, and encourage them to buy. It also helps you to determine whether the lead is a good fit for your business.<\/p>\n For example, if a lead needs to develop a mobile app but your firm specializes in search engine optimization, that lead is a poor fit.<\/p>\n You can also observe people\u2019s behavior on your website to determine whether they\u2019re qualified leads.<\/p>\n When people visit your website, they leave digital footprints that let you analyze and evaluate their behavior.<\/p>\n Did they look at your product pages for an hour? Or did they look at one blog post and then leave?<\/p>\n This helpful data lets you determine whether a lead is likely to purchase your products and services.<\/p>\n During the lead qualification process, it\u2019s essential to understand the difference between interest and intent.<\/p>\n For example, someone may be interested<\/em> in learning more about your company, but that doesn\u2019t mean they intend<\/em> to buy something.<\/p>\n Tracking visitors\u2019 activities on your website is the best way to distinguish interest vs. intent.<\/p>\n Are visitors looking at blog posts and guides? This is a sign that the person has an interest in your company, but it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that they\u2019re ready to make a purchase.<\/p>\n On the other hand, if someone enters their email address on a pricing page or requests a product demo, they are showing intent.<\/p>\n Leads who show intent are most likely to buy, and they\u2019re almost certainly qualified leads.<\/p>\n You will also need to understand [your \/ your customer\u2019s] timeline.<\/p>\n For example, if a lead just signed a five-year contract with a competitor and they are researching options for the future, they\u2019re not a qualified lead.<\/p>\n Instead, you can answer their questions and wait to move forward until their contract expires.<\/p>\n Learning more about a lead\u2019s timeline and when they need to address a problem makes it easy to determine if they\u2019re worth your time.<\/p>\n Customer relationship management (CRM) software helps you qualify leads and streamline communication between your marketing and sales teams.<\/p>\n This ensures your sales team doesn\u2019t work with multiple leads from the same organization.<\/p>\n Quality is more important than quantity, and sometimes you have to disqualify leads.<\/p>\n Disqualifying a lead means no longer supplying a lead with information to make them a customer. This lets you cut your losses and spend your time on more qualified prospects.<\/p>\n If someone lacks the budget, authority, or need for your business, you can disqualify them.<\/p>\n Some salespeople are wary of disqualifying leads because leads are essential to growth.<\/p>\n However, if you want to reach your top prospects, it\u2019s important to disqualify leads who truly aren\u2019t interested in what you have to offer.<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t mean that you should stop your lead nurturing efforts completely, though.<\/p>\n Not everyone is going to be ready to buy when they first hear about your business, and lead nurturing provides them with the information they need to become paying customers.<\/p>\n Did you know that 50% of qualified leads<\/a> are not yet ready to make a purchase?<\/p>\n One of the best ways to earn qualified leads is to launch lead nurturing<\/a> campaigns.<\/p>\n For example, someone might give you their email address after reading one of your pricing pages. Then, you can follow up with helpful emails and provide them with the information they need to become paying customers.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a look at some lead nurturing tips to earn more qualified leads.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to publish helpful content on your website.<\/p>\n Your site is often your first interaction with potential customers, and it has to provide information to potential leads so they\u2019ll convert.<\/p>\n Providing helpful information and resources moves leads to the top of the sales funnel and gives them the information they need to make a purchase.<\/p>\n Social media is a great way to nurture leads and interact with potential customers.<\/p>\n Just like on your website and blog, you can create and publish helpful information.<\/p>\n Then, if someone has a question about your business, they can ask you directly on social media. (It\u2019s smart to designate a team member who responds to questions and comments quickly.)<\/p>\n This shows that you care about your customers and you\u2019re committed to great customer service. It also helps qualify more leads as they become more interested in your business and show purchase intent.<\/p>\n Email marketing campaigns are a popular form of lead nurturing.<\/p>\n Email keeps you in contact with potential customers and provides them with important updates about your business, products, and services.<\/p>\n You can even automate your emails to send different information based on how you got a lead.<\/p>\n For example, if someone enters their email address on your site to download a guide, you can respond with a series of emails that nurture that kind of lead, specifically.<\/p>\n First, you can send them a welcome email to familiarize them with your company.<\/p>\n Then, you can follow up with more detailed, specific information related to their needs.<\/p>\n Last, you can send a message that encourages them to buy.<\/p>\n Interested in learning more about how lead qualification can help you attract and convert more valuable business prospects?<\/p>\n We drive results for businesses in a number of different industries, and we\u2019re excited to work with you!<\/p>\n Contact Start Lead Gen<\/a> today to speak with one of our lead generation experts.<\/p>\nHow to Qualify a Lead<\/h2>\n
Create Buyer Personas<\/h4>\n
Identify Pain Points<\/h4>\n
Observe Behavior<\/h4>\n
Understand Interest vs. Intent<\/h4>\n
Evaluate Timeline<\/h4>\n
Use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software<\/h4>\n
When to Disqualify Leads<\/h2>\n
Getting More Qualified Leads<\/h2>\n
Create Content on your Website<\/h4>\n
Use Social Media<\/h4>\n
Launch Email Marketing Campaigns<\/h4>\n
Want to Learn More?<\/h2>\n