Lead qualification is one of the most essential aspects of any marketing campaign. While some marketers think attracting the highest number of leads is the key to success and increasing their companies’ ROIs, that’s not always the case. In fact, it’s been proven time and time again that the quality of the leads trumps the quantity of the leads by a landslide.
It takes a great deal of hard work and expertise to qualify leads and make sure that they’re the right fit for your company. Over time, you should be able to develop a keen instinct when it comes to figuring out which leads are worth spending the extra time and energy on and which ones you should let go. Of course, that doesn’t mean you won’t make a few mistakes along the way. After all, you can’t make an omelet without cracking a few eggs! Learning the dos and don’ts of lead qualification from the very beginning is a great way to guarantee your success.
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What Are the Dos and Don’ts of Lead Qualification?
If you’re a lead qualification novice, here are a few useful tips you can use to hone your skills and become the master of your domain:
Do Know Your Customer
When it comes to accurate lead qualification, it’s vital that you conduct proper research. Get to know your leads before approaching them with a sales pitch or marketing materials and make sure you cater your communication methods to their sensibilities and interests. Trying to sell products or services that a potential customer simply isn’t interested in will only alienate them from the very beginning and eliminate your chances of converting them later.
You need to establish that the products and services you’re offering solve a problem for your potential customers rather than blindly throwing darts at a board. Carefully filtering through your list of leads and learning a little bit about each one of them can help you avoid any potentially awkward customer encounters.
Do Follow Up within a Reasonable Timeframe
Initial customer interactions are a lot like going on a first date. Even if it went well, the last thing you want to do is scare off your customers by contacting them too soon or too frequently.
Give them a little bit of time to breathe and digest the information you’ve given them so that they can make up their own minds about your business. Just keep in mind that if you wait too long, you risk the chance of being forgotten or having your competitor swoop in to steal your prospective customer.
Do Market to Your Existing Customer List
Sometimes, it pays to revisit older existing leads when you have a new product or service to promote. While the timing isn’t always right for some prospective customers, that doesn’t mean you should completely write them off—unless of course they specifically tell you to.
In some cases, it’s perfectly acceptable and even sensible to contact older leads a second or third time if you’re not pestering them. For instance, maybe they want to buy your products or services, but their financial situation was holding them back. Once in a while, it’s permissible to maintain contact with these types of customers if you think that they’re likely to convert into leads at some point.
This is all part of properly nurturing leads and it can even give you the opportunity to offer workable solutions so that they can be converted into a customer. Many prospective leads will appreciate the fact that you’ve kept them in mind and are taking the time to check up on them.
Do Use Omnichannel Marketing Techniques and Platforms
Omni-channel marketing platforms entail using a wide variety of tactics and avenues to try to reach your clientele. Social media, your web site, word-of-mouth advertising, pamphlets, mailers, and search engine optimization are all viable examples of omnichannel marketing. The key is to create a strong network and database full of prospective leads that are the most likely to convert into sales for your business. Hiring a professional contact center in a major city like Toronto is a great way to improve and expand your marketing campaigns across a global network.
Do Include Mobile-First Indexing in Your Marketing Approach
The number of people using mobile devices like tablets and cellphones is rapidly increasing as younger generations continue to infiltrate the workforce. It’s important to delegate a large portion of your resources to capitalize on this phenomenon so that you can consistently stay ahead of the curve and build a strong repertoire with your prospective customers.
Don’t Underestimate the Power of Creating Quality Content
Always keep in mind that creating quality content that your followers can rely on is just as important as meeting and exceeding your sales goals. Expanding your target audience reach is important, but you should also refrain from overextending yourself and maintaining a steady level of leads that your sales team can handle. To attract and keep customers engaged as much as possible, you need to create content that speaks to them directly. This includes videos, social media posts, blog posts, images, and so much more.
Don’t Ask Too Many Questions
The key to strong lead qualification and increasing sales is to know when to speak and when to listen. At the end of the day, your customer service skills should be used largely to identify problems your customers are facing and find ways to solve them with your products and services. Asking a few key scripted questions is important, but you should also take the time to carefully listen to their responses before you formulate your own. This will demonstrate that you care about what they have to say and finding the right solution to suit their needs.
At 3C Contact Services, our dedicated customer service agents are bona fide lead qualification experts. Not only do they know how to properly nurture leads and ask all the appropriate questions at the right time, but they also know what it takes to keep customers satisfied. To learn more about our services, please feel free to contact us today!
