Leads?!? You Can’t Handle Leads!

We recently wrapped up beta testing on our new LinkedIn lead generation product Biz Link Express.  We’ve retooled the product based on our tester’s feedback, but we were stunned by a common theme we heard as we talked with our users:  They didn’t have time to effectively follow up with the in-bound leads.

In several instances, the ‘leads’ that were generated were just people expressing some interest in the message but not ready to buy.  This caused a bit of frustration as our users were hoping for an easier process converting their new prospects into sales revenue.

In several other instances, our users were challenged by the volume of in-bound leads.  It was not uncommon to have 10 to 15 inquiries after a single run of the Biz Link Express software.  Each inquiry required a level of response to keep the conversation moving.

In most cases, we heard that LinkedIn users provide fantastic responses.  One of our users attached a survey to their messaging and was able to get some powerful market research.

Lessons Learned – Understanding the Lead Conversion Process

The difficult truth about ‘lead generation’ is that it is a process not a single activity.  In too many cases, clients hear their marketing firms or department say ‘We’re going to generate in-bound leads’ and leave the conversation thinking ‘We are going to have lots of new customers ready to buy’.  In fact, many lead generation companies and tools (including Biz Link Express) can generate in-bound leads as defined in the chart above in step 1.  However if an effective conversion program is not in place, those leads end up lost rather than harvested.

Over the next few articles we’ll examine the different levels of lead generation, conversion, and nurturing that are required to build an effective sales pipeline.

In the meantime, I recommend you take a look at your ‘lead generation’ system and try to determine if you have the systems in place to handle the leads that are finding your business every day.  If you’d like help with that process, contact us.  We’re happy to help.