The third installment in our lead generation blog series is about qualifying and nurturing your leads. Before we discuss qualifying a lead, let’s take a step back and revisit the definition of a lead.
A lead is a prospective client who has shown an interest in your product, service, or brand, by
taking steps, such as responding to an email, filling out a form, or signing up for your blog.
Why is qualifying a lead important?
Improves close ratios
Allows you to pursue leads who are most likely to purchase your product
Saves the company time and money
Allows you to deliver a more personal experience to a smaller, more specific segment of buyers
Gives more time to learn about buyers’ challenges and create better solutions
How does the lead qualification process work?
You start with a group of leads generated by marketing, sales, acquisitions, or product teams. Then you send the leads to a framework where you can ask qualifying questions to determine if they are a good fit. Then you divide them into qualified and disqualified leads. Next, qualified leads move to the sales process. Finally, you utilize your nurturing process to encourage disqualified leads to purchase in the future.
How do you qualify a lead?
One of the first steps you want to take is to create a list of qualifying questions to help you determine the next steps and if the lead will move further through the sales funnel. Consider these questions to get you started.
How did you hear about this business/product/service?
What business challenge can this product/service help you solve?
What has prevented you from trying to solve this problem in the past?
How have you tried to solve this problem in the past?
What is your budget for this project?
Who in your company will be using this product/service?
What challenges in your day-to-day work do you feel this product will help you streamline?
What other solutions are you looking into for this situation?
Which decision-maker would be involved in the purchase of this product?
Important criteria to consider when qualifying a lead:
Need for your product or service:
A lead either needs your product/service, or they don’t, and it can be challenging to determine precisely where they are in their knowledge or decision.
Interest in your product or service
A lead can have a need but not be interested in purchasing at the time.
Budget
The lead may be interested but not have the money.
Purchase timeframe
The timeframe is how long it takes the lead to convert to a client.
Authority role within the decision-making process
It’s essential to know the authority role of the lead you are communicating with and if they will make the final decision to purchase.
Once you have collected all the necessary information from your potential leads, you will begin lead scoring. Lead scoring is a methodology utilized to determine how likely leads are to purchase your products or services.
Lead scoring allows you to give a value to your leads based on specific criteria. Lead scoring is integral to qualifying a lead because it gathers the prospect’s information based on their engagement with your brand. The more a prospect engages with your website and content, the higher score they will receive.
The scoring you assign to each indicator depends on your priorities, what you are selling and how you are selling it. Scores can change as leads move through the buying process. The scoring will help you determine where to send the lead.
Nurturing is crucial no matter where your lead is in the buyer’s journey.
Lead nurturing requires developing and reinforcing relationships while offering a consistent flow of valuable, quality content. In addition, it builds trust between you and your leads and increases brand awareness, so your leads have the information they need to become a client.
We have given you beneficial information about qualifying, scoring, and nurturing leads, but it can be challenging. If you would like more information, download the companion piece below. If you need help, contact MLC Expert Consulting at 843.819.0103 or through our website to discuss how we can help you with your lead generation needs.
Lead Generation: Qualify, Score & Nurture Leads
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