The Forgotten Road to Inside Sales Success — List/Leads
Lists gathered or leads generated are the lifeblood of a sales team. Carrying on with the C.L.O.S.E.R. model series from a previous post, this next step in the sales process model actually has the most leverage in terms of lead generation. When setting a strategy for a sales initiative, lists and leads are the core of any sales operations. However, to get the most bang for your buck, it’s important to strategically gather the lists in order to increase your success ratios.
It’s often said that the best lists are the hardest to find. That’s true. In order to ensure that you are contacting the best possible people or companies – it’s important that you prequalify you lists and leads, find the best sources for your leads and test your lists and leads often.
But first, how do you distinguish the difference between a list and a lead? We define the two somewhat differently than the rest of the industry – but really it makes more sense to think of them this way. A list is someone you go to and try to promote interest in your product or service. Within the list are hundreds of companies that are contacted through outbound dials. When calling a list, generally there will be more education involved in showing that contact why they need your product or service. A lead, on the other hand, is someone who comes to you with need usually through a web lead or some kind of response.
The second step is to determine what type of lists or leads you really want. In order to decide what industry you should target, the best approach is to test your calling lists and see which gives you the best ratio of success. By determining a more specific industry that relies on your product or service, you can potentially increase your success by eight times!
Ultimately, by testing your lists and working smarter – not harder – you can determine which companies within an industry are most likely to purchase your product. After completing this next step, you can move onto the next step – Offers.
Watch this webinar explaining the Lists/Leads element of the C.L.O.S.E.R. model in more detail. Pay particular attention to 14:02 to 18:39.
Author: Ken Krogue | Google+
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