In complex sales cycles, only a few leads will immediately result in paying customers. But, that doesn’t mean that every lead isn’t valuable in some way or another. Medtech and B2B companies can learn a lot from simple detective work with every lead that comes in. That’s why it’s important to appropriately qualify each lead and leverage the intelligence readily available in this warm prospect contact.
In essence, treat each lead as a clue for your marketing or inside sales team to “solve.” Just like Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple and Sam Spade, you can learn a lot with a few logical questions.
Here are three things to discover when you qualify your sales leads:
Key initiatives
When you follow up with a prospect, ask questions about what the individual and the company are currently working on. These inquiries not only show genuine interest and start to build rapport, they also uncover what drives and motivates your audience.
- An accounts payable manager, for example, may reveal her company is working on a paperless office and electronic payment process.
- A manufacturing exec may be focused on worker safety during COVID-19.
Capture this data in your sales database or CRM system so you can tap into it and refine your sales and marketing approach. The more you can show your relevance to real-world customer and prospect initiatives, the stronger your results will be.
Company pain points
During initial conversations, it’s important to ask questions that uncover specific challenges your prospects face. These pain points will vary by business size, industry and company maturity but they are critical to moving a prospect forward in the sales cycle.
- IT leaders, for example, may struggle with the limitations of legacy systems.
- Retail executives may worry about how to manage the company reputation in an age of 24/7 social media.
The common thread is that all decision-makers will be far more receptive to your sales pitch when you can show how your product or service alleviates some or all of their current pain points. A smart pitch turns those challenges into ways your brand makes work or life easier.
Interest levels
Numerous lead qualification calls have “no” or “not now” outcomes. But, when a decision-maker or influencer says that they are not interested in your solution, it’s a clue that could lead to more information. What is the real objection to a purchase? Uncovering the answer with a simple follow-up question (or by listening closely to the conversation) provides more insight to fuel the sales process.
Common objections include:
- Price
- Timing
- Lack of authority
- Perceived difficult implementation
- Even fear of change.
Once you know more, you can tailor your approach and improve your win rate.
Every lead is different, but all contain nuggets of vital information that reveal important insights for marketing and sales. The professional outbound callers at Volkart May can help you follow the clues in your sales leads with powerful one-to-one conversations. We can help you gather important medtech and B2B lead qualification data such as decision-maker names and titles, opt-in email addresses, purchase timing and budget. Find out how our process creates more sales-ready leads.
