Leads, however, do not become customers by chance: they must be listened to, convinced through interesting content, gently directed towards the goal (which, in our case, is the sale). There are those who, to do so, write or respond very quickly to each lead, there are those who keep the CRM as tidy as the house of Marie Kondo, the Japanese minimalist par excellence, and finally those who work with tags and lists.
Who's right? A little bit everyone.
Lead Management System in 5 steps
Sales lead management is ultimately about data management and relationship building. One of the best ways to view your lead management strategy is through the lens of Data Lifecycle Management (DLM).
Let's look at the individual phases, one at a time.
1. Lead collection
A well-crafted lead management system starts with a steady stream of incoming leads. This is the foundation upon which all other phases are built. Without leads, it goes without saying, there is no name to nurture and bring to the sale.
To have leads to work with, you need a strategy that gets visitors, for example, to your website to click somewhere and leave some data. This is usually done through the concession of a free trial , a product demo, an e-book, or a newsletter subscription.
2. Lead Archive
Once a lead provides their contact details, it is a good idea to store all of this data in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to organize the information and be able to find it when needed.
Without proper lead storage, you may be overlooking potential customers or relying on inconsistent data.
3. Lead Maintenance
It is certainly not a given that every lead automatically becomes a customer. So what? You need to filter and direct the right leads at the right time, doing periodic maintenance of the data (which can be more or less useful in certain periods depending on the objective to be achieved).
This stage involves integrating lead data stored in a CRM to gain a better understanding of each contact , disqualifying leads that are not a good fit, and ranking leads based on their likelihood to purchase.
Time is money and this time is not wasted because it is estonia whatsapp number data 5 million used to give the Sales team material to work on efficiently.
4. Using Leads
Would you buy a product from a random ad that first appears on your Facebook feed? Maybe, but not so likely.
However, if the product is offered to you in a newsletter to which you have subscribed after reading the manufacturer's blog and perhaps after having communicated with a sales assistant via chat, the purchase becomes infinitely more likely.
That’s the purpose of this stage: to reach out, cultivate a relationship, and cultivate contacts through shared values. In short, this stage is where data is put into action.
5. Lead Cleaning
Yes, data needs to be cleaned and checked periodically. Do this by:
Checking all entries
Eliminating obsolete data
Correcting errors and inconsistencies.
Data drives decisions, and bad data could derail your strategy in the long run. According to a HubSpot survey of 300 software engineers, 47% estimate that poor data quality impacts a quarter or more of their company's revenue.
In short, cleaning your lead data is a lot like cleaning out your drawers and closets at home. It's not necessarily a fun task, but it needs to be done regularly to ensure the integrity of your database.
Each of the above stages plays a very important role in managing sales leads. To help you maximize your efficiency at each stage, here are some best practices to implement in your business.
Best Practices for Effective Sales Lead Management
COLLECTION
1. Diversify your lead sources
As mentioned above, a steady stream of leads is essential for business growth. But which lead sources work best? A HubSpot survey of over 1,000 sales professionals revealed that referrals from existing customers generate the highest quality leads. This is no surprise: word of mouth has been a powerful marketing tool for ages.
Other sources of valuable leads according to the survey are social media, trade shows and events, blogs and SEO.
2. Optimize forms to capture leads and enter data accurately
Maybe you've curated your content and created the most beautiful and useful ebook in the world: but who will ever download it if, to do so, they have to go through a messy, incomprehensible and perhaps buggy form? Exactly, no one.
Optimizing forms to improve lead acquisition is essential. Ask for a few essential pieces of data, be clear about mandatory data, and don't waste users' time.
3. Remember the data protection rules
The data protection law in Europe is the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). A key part of this legislation is data protection by design. This means putting data security and ethical use at the core of your business.
It is essential to ensure that each lead you add to your database has given clear consent to the storage of their data. Keep it only for the time and purpose defined in the terms and conditions.
ARCHIVING
4. Centralize all leads in your CRM
You can’t manage your contacts effectively if they’re spread across multiple platforms or in an outdated system that wasn’t designed for contact management. To stay on top of all your leads, choose a CRM system that helps your team deliver great customer experiences. HubSpot’s Marketing Hub and Sales Hub are two options.