People often ask me to summarize the many questions a client asks at the outset of a working relationship with TechTarget.  Because the questions often come in a rapid-fire — and sometimes disjointed — manner at the initial stages of the new-client conversation, I really had to take some time and think this through to isolate and summarize important areas of client concern or interest.  The answer is: “What are the key components and stages that make up a successful closed-loop lead management system?”Rather than attempt to answer this question in a single blog entry, today’s posting will be the first in a series of three entries I’ll make - Inquiry/Lead Management, Prospect Management and Opportunity Management — to answer this question as thoroughly as I can.

So, what’s the goal of Lead Management? In one sentence: To increase the likelihood that a lead will convert to a qualified opportunity and then a new, satisfied customer. Having an approach that can rapidly and effectively create, nurture, distribute and analyzing leads in the stages of Inquiry Management, Prospect Management and Opportunity Management is critical. ROI measures or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) need to be associated at key points throughout the process. But before any programs are launched, leads are captured, systems are purchased or ROI is calculated, there needs to be communication, teamwork and consensus between sales and marketing to get the results you need. It all starts up front.  Here are some best practices to consider before launching a campaign.

1. Clearly define your target audience. The process always begins and ends with the audience.
2. Content is critical to obtaining the desired results. Understand what action you want your audience to take and define what content will get them to take that action.
3. Give the audience the choice of how they can access your information –Podcast/Webcast, white paper can all be used with the same content.
4. Define the characteristics of a marketing-qualified lead (MQL) (key attributes and profile) and a sales-qualified lead (SQL) (key attributes and profile).  Get input from sales when defining these!!
5. Determine how inquiries transition from MQLs then to SQLs.
6. Qualification questions and processes - again, get input and agreement from sales!
7. Lead distribution rules - Did you get agreement with sales?
8. Lead scoring: specific definitions of A, B and C-level leads to prioritize follow-up - How’d that discussion go with sales?
9. Define the milestone points in the process and the questions you want answered at each milestone. Example: Number of inquiries to MQLs to SQLs to Meetings to Opportunities to Forecasted deals to closed sales; Velocity metric - the time it takes it takes to reach each milestone. Over time you will develop your own benchmarks.
10. Define key benchmarks
11. How to manage atypical or out-of-profile leads
12. Ownership of each stage of the process - get agreement with all the owners as to what is expected entering and exiting each stage!  And, in all seriousness, work closely with your sales team throughout this process so the leads you generate are what your sales team needs.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to defining an ROI based Lead Management approach. But most of all, early on, work with and get agreement from sales. At the end of the day remember: sales is marketing’s customer!

Coming up next: “Prospect Management: MQLs, SQLs, Scoring… What?”

This entry was posted on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 2:28 pm and is filed under Best practices, ROI, Lead quality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.