Magnus Marketing Blog

So, how do you get those qualified leads? It is a simple and easy process. First, lets define what a qualified lead is:

A qualified lead is an ACTIONABLE opportunity. This means there is defined need or interest that can be further defined and paid for by the inquirer or respondent. Example: A retail cashier worker can dream of owning a Porsche and could want a Porsche, but cannot afford it. They may want to look at a new Porsche model and receive literature, but will never, ever buy one (unless they hit the lottery). An executive at Amazon however can own a Porsche or any other fast car s/he desires. This is a qualified lead, particularly if they inquire about the new model. Time is of no real value, sales cycles can be long and can be influenced. Authority also could be of no value, because if a product or service is of interest, a decision-maker can make the business case to re-allocate funds to obtain it. This is why BANT isn't necessary to qualify a lead - only the Budget and Need dimensions are critical to a purchase. How many times have you heard a parent say to a kid, look kid - when you get a job or save your allowance - then you can get that toy? This same principle applies. The kid wants/needs the toy and finds the money for it. A kid could save up over the summer to buy a particular video game or used car - time is fluid. Even though the kid has a parent, he is the primary buyer - authority is irrelevant. Same in companies.

The development of a qualified lead starts with a profile based on those two dimensions. Does the company have enough revenue overall to support a purchase? A million dollar firm is unlikely to buy a $100,000 software, unless it is critical to the operations (this is 1/10 total revenue), a $100,000 sole proprietor is not going to invest in a $50,000 services deal (1/2 revenue). Then, finding the "kid who is saving up" is important - who either makes the decision or can influence it.

That profile will drive your list. Most acquired lists are of tremendously poor quality and will need some internal cleansing. This is not a job for your salespeople, do not give it to them. This is for your marketing or administrative support to do - they are not to sell either, just ensure that the information matches the profile.

Once the list is solid, then you can market to it. Most assuredly the inquiries that come in will be ones that should be worth pursuing. The main question will be, is this product or service a fit with the real or potential needs of the company and what is the respective timeline, also competitive factors come into play. If a purchaser has looked at other solutions, then there is an active interest in acquisition. If not, they are either tire-kickers or "researching" without a solid need defined. Still worth contact with those folks, however, they should be deprioritized overall in favor of real actionable opportunity.

Things change rapidly in companies also. Today, a company may not be qualified or have a need, tomorrow - they could be. It is important to monitor the central list for changes. Also, peripherally or marginally profiled organizations should be kept around for that same reason, today - revenues do not prove out purchase power - tomorrow that could change.

Lead generation is a fairly complex process. Most folks think send out stuff, make a call, make a message, get a list - that's it. But there is OH, so much MORE and it takes time. Once a Lead is generated on the two dimensions, then the A,B,C designations can be assigned. Lead generation is a multiphase process.

This is why I advocate a marketing function, a lead generation function, a sales function - where inside sales or lead gen is a separate integrative division falling BETWEEN marketing and sales. Marketing is the creative and the initial contact, lead gen (which stands ALONE) focuses on developing and nuturing leads - it drives marketing to a degree (Lead gen should run marketing, not the other way around!), and sales closes business. It really is simple, if you think about it.

As mentioned in a previous post, Pay for Performance tends to generate more unqualified leads. In fact, a good friend of mine whose company engaged a PFP company noted that the sales reps repeatedly complained about running after unqualified, zero quality leads. Unqualified leads are the bane of any salesrep and organization.

As an illustrative example - a client who shall remain nameless, recently ran a campaign to generate interest. An email went out to a list. I received what was initially thought to be 30 leads - the deal here is - these people expressed interest in the service and would receive a gift in exchange for sitting through a presentation. Well, these people are all in the industry and have an interest in learning, so they are leads, right? Maybe a few would want the gift, but the gift wasn't of too much value.

In addition to the time spent calling and emailing these 30 people, I did about 10 hourlong presentations. Only 2 became actual potentially measurable opportunities - they are in "the pipeline" and being worked to tangible opportunity.

Cost: my "salary" + phone expenses + time that could have been spent persuing real potentials. If this were Pay for Performance, take 8 X 600 - then my company made $4,800 for setting the appointment, company made ZERO.

Just to give you an idea of unqualified: a 75 year old professional who was on the brink of full retirement, a guy who was working 5 hours a week on related stuff, a sole proprietor who had trouble paying bills, and a guy who just got a job in a completely different field. Can't get any worse than that.

The campaign manager told me, well use it as an opportunity to develop relationships for future business. He is right, if the profile contacts were people who could actually BUY the stuff. If they are decision-makers and key influencers, then I don't mind spending my limited time contacting them and "campaigning" in my own way. I am not going to ever get any business from a 75 year old retiree.

It is important for marketing to qualify, qualify, qualify and drop off the list or in initial inquiries people who don't fit. It is important for sales to do the same thing, which is again why, this should not be about numbers or quantity, but quality.

We'll delve more into what Qualified means in the next post.

I am amazed, always amazed, at the level of dishonesty expressed in the employment process. Usually this happens on both sides of the coin and is equally damaging, but the blatant examples of employees "covering up" just blows me away. This is one nice thing about social media - like LinkedIN, because you actually can see people who you know and worked with who probably outright lied and landed a position.

I know of people who I worked with who conveniently dropped positions out of their profiles, I bet you off the resume, to "forget about it". The likely story is that they were "home with kids and family" or "transitioning from one thing to another", when in fact they wreaked havoc or displayed such incompetence that no one should hire them for anything. The immature girl who had freaked out with regard to taking criticism, for example, dropped the experience right out and went into a marketing job. Yikes! Like that will change anything, it will catch up to her at some point, I am sure. And there are others. Gee, I guess you can't call or email me to ask about these people's real performance on the job, huh? They were home with their kids.

What is worse is that honest people are slammed the other way because there are "too many jobs" on the resume or had situations. I personally would rather have the whole story and the real story, then risk working with someone who "covers up" experience.

I wonder how people get jobs sometimes. The guy who was probably one of the worst managers I have ever known, I mean the worst: his idea of conflict resolution is to fire people, his decisions led to legal action and intention, and he pitted people against each other in the name of "teambuilding", plus hired people in the wrong positions - is now a key manager at a company. Uh, no one talked to me about this guy's performance. The marketing manager that professed every time an initiative was proposed "this is not the way we do that here", was so rude and abrasive that people walked out without notice, and had failed projects in the million dollar range is now a marketing manager at a large company. How did she get that job? Remember, "El Presidente" who drove his company into bankruptcy? Director of Sales and Marketing for another similiar firm. How did he get hired? And there are more examples.

I think it is a testament to the mediocrity that pervades the business landscape. Mediocrity in the talent acquisition process, in the company culture, and in the decisions of management. These companies are "C" companies, companies people like me and my connections will avoid - we are too smart to work there. Unfortunately the real innovators and "A" players sit on the sidelines. So many people I know who are real "power" people are out of work, really intelligent, motivated, caring, organizationally oriented people who will produce great results and not wreak havoc. Hey, we just need to find those "A" companies, with "A" level employers - yah, the companies like my clients...just like my clients.