Because if you are going to generate and chase leads, might as well go after the good ones, right?!
When we talk about a lead we are of course talking about a sales lead. Robert Grieves in his 2014 blog gives us a complete definition: "A sales lead is the identification of a person or entity that has the interest and authority to purchase a product or service." And of course: "This step represents the first stage of a sales process. The identification of the sales lead is referred to as Lead Generation, a process conducted by either the marketing or sales organization." Well said, Robert!
OK! Now that you know what a lead is, what does it really mean?
It means that any contact info like phone number, email address, street address of a person or a company that might be interested in buying something from you – is a lead. Once you have the contact information, as a minimum, the lead needs to be verified to confirm that the information is correct: I am talking about the basics such as is the phone ringing or is the address a real building and not a vacant lot or a cemetery. I would say that this verification is the minimum for the lead to become "qualified" – not yet "good" but closer to qualified.
As I said before: the person or company that might be interested... You have to confirm that the person or company has the need for whatever you are trying to sell them and that they have the budget and authority to close the deal. If you get a "yes", and "yes", and another "yes" -- you have a qualified lead. That information can be collected directly from your contact but better yet from their websites, social media, and the web at large. By gathering as much relevant information about your lead as you can before the first call: your chances of success increase exponentially.
A long time ago, IBM revolutionized sales with the introduction of BANT. The mantra is familiar to any salesperson: qualify your prospects based on their Budget, Authority, Needs, and Timeline. We have two more aspects that need to be discovered and verified before this nice, qualified sales lead can be called "good". Interest and timing. There is really no sense in you wasting your time if the contact is not interested in your product or solution or service. Then, there is timing: if they do need your widget, but not for three years – tell them thank you, mark your calendar to see them in 30 months, and go sell someone else.
Now that you've added interest and timing to the known attributes of the lead – you got yourself a GOOD lead.
What are you waiting for – go sell them!
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