Whether you run a traditional marketing campaign or are making the leap to the realm of digital marketing, lead qualification is a tried and true method that can help boost your bottom line. Keep reading to discover why you should consider outsourcing lead qualification services and management to a renowned customer service agency.
What Is Lead Qualification?
Lead qualification is the process of determining which leads are most likely to convert into sales. This information can also help you determine which leads are worth nurturing and which ones will yield repeat sales or lead to references in the future.
The basis of an effective lead qualification strategy is to understand the needs of your prospective customers as well as what they’re looking for and determine how closely these factors align with your company values. The goal of lead qualification or verification services is to find out whether new leads or prospects will make for loyal long-term customers for your business.
Why Do You Need Lead Qualification Services?
Lead qualification or verification services do all of the necessary customer nurturing legwork for you. When you outsource lead qualification and management services to a professional customer service agency, you can guarantee that all prospects are being appropriately engaged according to their level of interest and likelihood of converting into paying customers. Lead management is a complex mechanism that requires a great deal of attention.
Most companies assume that just because their digital marketing campaigns are garnering high volumes of website traffic that this will automatically translate into inflated sales figures. But that’s not always the case. You’ve put in the effort of getting people to your website through social media ads, paid search ads, or organic search results. Now it’s time to dig a little deeper and discover which of those leads are worth pursuing. Keep in mind that not all users who end up on your website are going to make a purchase, but the potential to convert them into sales is there. It’s just a matter of honing your craft and driving home the intention of making a purchase.
First, you have to understand what brought these prospects to your website in the first place and then determine the exact level and nature of their buying potential. The most effective method of uncovering lead intent and garnering engagement is by actively communicating with your leads.
Lead management and qualification is a lengthy and time-consuming, but worthwhile process. As a business owner, you’re probably more preoccupied with the backend processes involved in running your company and most likely don’t have time to dedicate to customer-facing objectives.
That’s where outsourcing reputable lead qualification and verification services can help you get an edge over your competition. Lead qualification comes with the understanding that not all leads are going to be hot, much less warm. It’s an investigative method that weeds out the likeliest prospects from those that are unlikely to convert. But, that doesn’t mean should simply forget about the unlikely leads.
Just because a certain lead isn’t ready to make a purchase right now, that doesn’t mean that they won’t be interested in the future. Part of nurturing leads and priming them to make a purchase involves knowing that their current circumstances, mindsets, and needs could change at any moment. Professional lead verification services keep a detailed database of prospective leads ranking them from cold, warm, and hot with the notion that all leads have the potential to move from one category to another.
How Lead Qualification Services Work
Comprise a Detailed Buyer Profile
Lead qualification services create a dossier of sorts for each prospective and existing customer. Pertinent information such as their past purchases, search queries, items they’ve viewed online, feedback they’ve given, and comments they’ve made on posts are all included in these buyer profiles to help companies better understand their customers and how to effectively engage with them.
Understand the Needs of Existing and Prospective Customers
Like every solid relationship that’s worth having, communication is the key ingredient when it comes to nurturing or warming up prospects. The best way to increase the buying potential of your leads is to talk to them directly by asking for their feedback and empathizing with their needs.
Speak to Someone with Buying Power
When trying to convince a lead to make a major purchase, it’s important to ensure that you’re speaking to someone who has the authority to do so. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your time and the entire ordeal will be all for naught.
To avoid landing yourself and your prospects in hot water down the line, make sure that the person you’re speaking to has the authority to make certain buying decisions. Whether it’s a B2B or B2C contract, there could be certain legal repercussions to making a sale to someone who lacks authority or is not of sound mind at the time. Lead verification is an investigative process that can help you avoid this type of unnecessary risk.
Get the Timing Right
As mentioned, not all qualified leads are guaranteed to make a purchase right away for a plethora of reasons. Sometimes, the timing just isn’t right, but that doesn’t mean that these leads aren’t worth pursuing or nurturing. Whether they’ve fallen on hard times financially or they just have other priorities that they need to tend to first, it helps to keep some warm leads on the backburner for a while and reconnect with them later on.
Understand the Difference between Interest and Intent
Not everyone who shows interest in your product has an intent to make a purchase. In fact, you can safely assume that the large majority of people who view your product demos or ask for more information probably aren’t going to make a purchase. Some people just want to explore their options or do thorough research before making an actual purchasing decision. It’s better to identify these leads early on and try not to dedicate too much time or effort in convincing them to make a purchase.
Consider Budgetary Constraints
Most prospects were extremely budget-conscious even before the COVID-19 pandemic started. Due to the financial downfall caused by the pandemic, more people are being extremely mindful of their spending habits with a focus on supporting local businesses. Customers are only interested in taking a financial risk if the rewards or benefits outweigh or are on par with the expenditure. Basically, the value you place on your products and services have to make sense to your prospects and fit within their budgets to encourage them to make a purchase.
3C Contact Services is an industry-leading customer service agency that specializes in lead generation and qualification services in Toronto and the GTA. Contact us to learn about how we can help you generate and qualify more leads that improve your conversion rates and ROI.
