you had me at hello! - best practices in lead qualification for inbound marketers [inbound 2014]
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YOU HAD ME AT HELLO!
Best Practices in Lead Qualification for Inbound Marketers
Michael Freeman
Head of Demand Generation, ShoreTel
Fan of hallway commutes and beautiful views 110% YoY increase in qualified inbound leads last year Continued strong growth this year
@spanishgringo
Michael Freeman
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These are my recommendations…. Your mileage may vary depending on many factors
Take what you can and adapt it as needed
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1 Whose line is it anyway?
2 Who you gonna call?
3 To qualify or disqualify, that is the question
Who’s on first?
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Most qualifiers reside in sales
Source: The Bridge Group (they’re good at what they do)
Where does the group report?
Sales is 3x more likely than Marketing to own qualification
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“Inbound-focused” qualifiers are more equally split by dept
Source: The Bridge Group
We’re at Inbound after all, right?
% Reporting to Sales by Focus
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• Role Is clearly defined
• Has agreed upon metrics
• Carries pipeline quota, not a sales quota
• NOT responsible for closing deals
Whose line is it anyway?
Demand Generation Lead Qualification
Pipeline Management
& Closing
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• Focus on building pipeline
– Better MQL à SQO conversion rates
– Less leakage
• More economical than sales reps
• Proving grounds for future sales reps (in most cases it’s up or out)
• Easier to align with marketing processes and data management
Why have a dedicated qualification rep?
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• Lead scoring is the best route to prioritizing qualification • Even if you can get to everyone, scoring prioritizes who is called 1st, 2nd, etc…
• I recommend you look at these resources
– Jessica Meher’s presentation from Inbound 2013
– HubSpot User Guide - How to use Custom Lead Scoring
– Infer’s Guide on Predicative Lead Scoring
Who you gonna call?
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Insane Clown Posse
Ideal Customer Profile The characteristics (demographic, firmographic, psychographic, and situational) that identify the “best fit” for potential customers
If you have clear personas mapped to performance data you’re ready
Start with your ICP
More articles on developing ICPs
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– You can always use something to score or prioritize leads • Take advantage of HubSpot’s lead scoring tools
(Bonus Tip: Make sure HubSpot Score is mapped to SFDC Lead Object)
• Consider Big Data sources to enhance your scoring
Who you gonna call?
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– Lead flow and pipeline management is all about efficiency
• Don’t waste anyone’s time
• Focus where there’s value (i.e. potential sales)
– So, you really are trying to disqualify leads
– Only those that you can’t disqualify continue on the journey
– Your threshold will depend on lead flow and available resources
To qualify or disqualify, that is the question
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Just because you pass judgment on the quality of the lead, you don’t have the right to act like this guy
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– How did they find you?
– What content have they consumed?
– What pushed them over the edge to become a lead (worth
calling)?
– What does the prospect’s company do and what is their
business model?
– Are their any signals around their likely pain points?
Prepping the call
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Take call prep to 11
Look at the record in HS
Read the HubSpot guide to lead intelligence
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– Sets the proper expectations
– Changes the context from a pitch to a consultation
– The goal is moving further down the funnel, not closing
Instead, start with the upfront contract
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1. Welcome and thank
2. Reassure them
3. Limit the scope
4. Set next-steps
5. Get consent
The upfront contract
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– HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT US?
– WHY ARE YOU CONSIDERING [XYZ] NOW (IMPENDING EVENT)?
– HOW WOULD [XYZ] CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR ORG’S SUCCESS?
– How will you decide which [XYZ] is right for you?
– When do you need a new [xyz] solution?
– TOTAL # OF USERS/EMPLOYEES IN THE COMPANY?
– Who started the search for [xyz]?
– What is your role in the evaluation process?
– HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT US?
– WHY ARE YOU CONSIDERING [XYZ] NOW (IMPENDING EVENT)?
– HOW WOULD [XYZ] CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR ORG’S SUCCESS?
– How will you decide which [XYZ] is right for you?
– When do you need a new [xyz] solution?
– TOTAL # OF USERS/EMPLOYEES IN THE COMPANY?
– Who started the search for [xyz]?
– What is your role in the evaluation process?
Ask, listen and inspect
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– Do their answers fit your ICP?
– Can you find any red flags? (have 1-3 questions to identify red flags)
– Use their answers to frame future conversations
– TAKE NOTES!!! (use a template)
Ask, listen and inspect
Not a lake!
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– Do you have any follow-up to do’s or requests for info?
• Are you setting up the prospect and sales rep for success?
• Will you provide that information or will the sales rep?
– Does the prospect know what to expect next & When?
– Are the notes complete and available for the Sales Rep?
– Was the record updated correctly in the CRM?
– OK, on to the next call…
The cleanup
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– If the lead is not a fit, document it with a picklist
– Have a reasonable list of reason codes • Enough detail to provide meaning
• Small enough that it is manageable and not splitting hairs
• We have ~ 10 (e.g. missing feature, no budget, pricing, unresponsive, etc..)
– Is it not now (f/u or nurture) or not ever (purge)?
Clean up the bad leads too…
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1 Prepping the call
2 The upfront contract
3 Ask, listen and inspect
4 The cleanup
The call
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1 Know your waterfall
2 The workday profile
3 Finding successful behaviors
Measuring performance
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• Understand your baseline for each transition
• Compare with benchmarks
Know your waterfall Inquiries MQLs SALs SQLs Closed Won
21% 50% 38% 21%
Source: Sirius Decisions & Infer
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• For us, lead qualifiers live by these 2 metrics
• 1st: MQL ! SAL conversion rate
• 2nd: Inquiry ! MQL conversion rate
Focus on the right metric(s) Inquiries MQLs SALs SQLs Closed Won
21% 50% 38% 21%
Source: Sirius Decisions & Infer
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– Find the optimal # of activities per day
– Estimate staffing requirements
– X hours per day / time per activity = # of activities per day e.g. 10 min per call ~ 40-45 calls & emails per day
– Benchmark reps to compare:
• Activities per day
• Conversion rates
The workday profile
Read these articles: Marketing math & Team sizing
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• How does call length improve quality?
• Listen to calls to identify good & bad technique
• Improve Harry’s throughput?
• Improve Ron’s quality filter
Finding successful behaviors
Rep Harry Ron Calls 260 300
Leads Touched 240 290
MQLs 68 100
SALs 59 65
Lead à MQL 28% 34%
MQL à SAL 87% 65%
Cost per SAL $203 $223
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– Share with your reps
– Discuss opp quality with Sales
– Discuss lead quality with Demand Generation
– Study why leads don’t convert
Finding successful behaviors
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1 The Shining – Warner Bros.
2 Back to the Future – Universal Pictures
3 Wineglass Marketing
4 Glengarry Glen Ross – New Line Cinema
5 Despicable Me 2 – Universal Pictures
6 Game of Thrones, Fire and Blood (S1E10 for those checking…) - HBO
7 Swingers – Miramax Films
8 This is Spinal Tap - MGM
9 Commando – Fox
10 Radio Array – Wikipedia
11 Mirage – Wikipedia
12 Pulp Fiction – Miramax
13 Yahoo! Sports
14 Drum Circle – Wikipedia
15 Rickety – Wikepedia
16 The Millau Viaduct Bridge, France - stylishandtrendy.com
Photo credits