In 1885, William Lever of Lever, Bros. said,  “half of the marketing money that you spend is wasted-trouble is you don’t know which half.” We have found that more than half of your $$$ might be wasted because marketing and sales just do not connect on lead generation. Sales doesn’t follow up, or neglects to consider qualified leads as an opportunity. There are legitimate and non-legitimate reasons for this lack of follow up.

  1. Legitimate – wrong vertical, too small, wrong title.
  2. Non-Legitimate – I already called three times – basically if the lead is hard to work it was dismissed. Fewer than 5% of long-term leads are not followed up by sales.

Time Frame on leads should be ignored. Long term leads are often more valuable than short term opportunities:

  • 1/3 of short term leads are actually hot opportunities.
    • Many of these leads are already sold and are just looking for a end of the buying cycle price comparison
  • Short term leads that are within 1-2 sales cycles of decision making that aren’t Hot are better opportunities because it gives you time to position your offer.
  • Long Term Leads are even better because not only do you position the offer, but in the worst case you are short listed for future consideration.

The changes in sales cycles and company decision making since the Great Recession a few years ago shows that it is more important than ever that smart companies ensure follow up on every lead, and infuse within the company the value of long term leads. Capitalizing on long term leads is the best way to ensure the future of your organization.