Lead Qualification versus Lead Generation

“Smile and dial” isn’t just a practice of the past but a sales process very much still alive today. However the dial is now often a cold email versus a cold call. The continued use of these untargeted sales efforts has been supported by the efficiency of new information and communication technology that has made it possible to become less focused in sales efforts.

The result is that lead generation for outbound sales has become a race to gather the most contacts possible in hopes that somewhere in those extensive lists lies a potential customer. Entire industries have emerged boasting digital lists of contact information for over 1,000,000 industry contacts and booths at trade shows deploy hordes of brand representatives with badge scanners to grab as many contacts as possible. Having the maximum number of leads to chase is sure to keep your sales department busy, but at what cost? Sending out 40,000 emails per week only to receive 8% open rates and a response rate of 5% of those not only risks getting your domain marked as a spam site, but only generates 160 warm leads that respond (these rates aren’t far off from many sales departments’ numbers). Sales calls to even a fraction of those leads could fill your sales team’s calendar for months. The opportunity costs of attempting to qualify (most likely undertaking several attempts) such wide swaths of cold leads are very real and this raises the cost of that small percentage of leads that turns out successful.

Through numerous customer engagements, Swurveys realized that this trend is simply unsustainable. So we decided to leverage the success of our All Swipe, No Type platform to integrate lead qualification tools into the lead generation practices of our clients. Where we have seen the greatest effect is in event based marketing - Trade Shows, Conferences, Street Teams, etc. Instead of targeting every single lead to come across a trade show booth, sales leaders can utilize Swurveys to discern the qualified buyers in their sales funnel from those who don’t fit their buying profile.

Using opt-in philosophy, Swurveys reveals newfound clarity in the mid-funnel. This technique allows sales teams to aim their efforts where they will be most fruitful: Instead of spending hours targeting emails and making calls to 200 cold leads, a sales person can discern the most qualified people in that pool that are ready to buy and use their time where it is best spent. Qualifying a lead at initial engagement, whether that be at a trade show, another event, or on a landing page saves your sales team invaluable time, and your business money.

Are you generating leads or qualifying leads? Take a Swurvey to find out.