What’s the very first step to make consistent sales, regardless of the product?
A constant flow of quality leads.
But getting leads is all good only if you can convert them into clients, consumers, customers, or subscribers.
Although, conversion rates vary from business to business, and industry to industry.
But failing to strike the sweet spot of conversion rate is like swinging a cricket bat blindfolded - might connect, but success is purely by chance.
If the scenario sounds similar, you need a precise and structured lead management system in place.
In this article, we’re going to walk you through the basics of lead management, along with the tools you’ll need for the best sales performance.
What is a lead management system?
A lead management system strategically outlines your future customers. It follows the complete movement of prospects in the pipeline, to define if the leads have been qualified successfully or not.
It begins with targeting your ideal clients. Once they show interest, the next part is capturing their information. This information lets you derive a personalized approach for better qualification, leading to better engagement.
Finally, they become qualified leads to become sales-ready.
What is the lead management process?
An LMS follows a lead management process which represents their complete journey. It follows a series of steps that bring in interested prospects and filter out uninterested ones until a successful buying decision is made.
Now, let’s talk about the complete stages of the lead management process
Lead Capture
A lead management system streamlines your lead generation initiatives by automatically collecting them from various sources into one single platform.
It also provides insights like the source of leads, demographics, the performance of campaigns, etc.
Once the information is captured in the system, the next step is tracking them.
Tracking Leads
Moving the leads through the sales funnel begins with this step. It involves identifying quality leads. Because only having their contact information is just one piece of the puzzle.
Here’s a few ways to identify their level of interest
Website visits - especially checking if they are clicking on the pricing page or section.
Number of times emails opened or clicked
Tracking social media interactions
Response to direct communication like calls, WhatsApp, etc
This also helps in future courses, in case uninterested leads may return later, the information stored turns out to be handy.
Qualifying Leads
Lead qualification is the process of filtering promising leads after tracking them. By targeting qualified leads, you’re more likely to connect with potential customers who have a genuine need for your offering.
This translates to higher conversion rates, as you’re presenting your solution to a more relevant audience.
It helps save time for your sales reps as they can prioritize their efforts and focus on leads with a higher chance of closing a deal.
Instead of wasting time chasing unqualified leads, they can concentrate on nurturing the most promising ones.
Distributing Leads
The next progression is distributing leads. An LMS software effortlessly enables you to assign leads to your sales team. It allows transparency so that everyone’s on the same page.
Let’s try to understand with an example
John is assigned “lead A”. He communicates with the prospect and gains some valuable insights about the latter’s pain points, preferences, and interests.
He further stores all this information in the lead management system and the prospect asks to give a product catalog information over email and schedules a call back the next day at 2 pm.
But, John has a week off at the time when the prospect is comfortable in communicating over call again.
The “lead A” is now assigned to a fellow sales rep, Mark, who does not need to start all over again. This makes the job easier for everyone.
Mark can now follow up from where John left.
And, the prospect is saved from starting over the conversation which could have left him frustrated and irate.
Nurturing Leads
Lead nurturing involves building relationships with prospects in order to move them toward lead conversion. This is the final stage which either makes or breaks the deal.
A lead management system maps out the complete journey and helps in making personalized efforts for the particular prospect.
Studies have shown that proper lead nurturing results in more return on investment and provides higher order value.
Let’s have an illustration.
Suppose, Steve signed up for a free trial of an approval management tool. He receives an automated email series with short video tutorials on key features. Each video tackles a common pain point Steve might have, like assigning approvals and tracking them. These videos demonstrate the tool’s functionality and its potential to solve his problems, encouraging him to upgrade to the paid version after the trial ends.
What Tools Your Lead Management System Must Have?
Direct Lead Capture
A lead management system must be able to directly import leads once a prospect has shown interest by filling out web forms from landing pages, social media, and other campaigns.
Centralized Lead Database
It must have a database where all the leads are stored easily. Data like contact information, location, interaction history, etc must be allocated in one place for sales reps to manage them without breaking a sweat.
Customizable and Scalable
A lead management software must have the capability to adapt to the needs of an organization. This includes having key features like creating custom fields, charts, and dashboards to meet specific requirements. Moreover, it must be easily scalable as per incoming lead volume.
Analytics & Reporting
An LMS must have reporting tools to analyze lead data, track performance metrics, measure the effectiveness of running campaigns, and identify areas for improvement.
Security Features
Enhanced data protection and safety must be implemented to protect the organization’s information. It must be encrypted and should have the feature of employers providing granular access to sales reps or employees.
Other important tools for lead management
CRM Integration
Mobile Accessibility
Workflow Automation
Lead Routing and Assignment
That’s All For Now
Getting quality leads into your pipeline without a robust system sounds like trying to fill a leaky bucket with water. It simply wastes your effort in lead generation.
If you are looking for a lead management system that fits right into your growing organization easily, we recommend exploring Buopso’s lead management system.
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