3 Key Elements of a Quality Lead

According to insights for Lead Generation in 2011 from Marketo, companies that wish to stay ahead of the competition will continue to mature their lead generation capabilities, such as adding lead scoring and improving the data quality. However, without capturing key information, there’s no chance to initiate lead scoring or improve lead nurturing campaigns.

So, what are three key components of a quality lead?  What information improves your lead quality and increases your sales? To understand the three elements that make up a quality lead, let’s take a look at each in detail and how you can improve the lead quality in your own lead generation program.

1. Accurate contact information

Without accurate contact information, leads are useless.

If you utilize landing pages for gated information such as free reports you already know that obtaining correct information is critical. Most people who fill out a landing page with false information simply want the free download resource or don’t trust you with their information yet.

One way to increase the percentage of leads with accurate contact information is to simplify – keep the conversion form to a minimum of required fields. This decreases the percentage of leads with false data and improves the probability of leads with correct data.

Along with simplifying your contact form, try gaining the trust of your site visitors. When you earn someone’s trust, they are more likely to open up to you. You could start by offering free downloads without requiring any information. Over time, as the value of your content increases, start asking for more detailed information, such as their budget amount for a new purchase.

2. Specific product interest

Now that you’ve gained their trust, it’s time to find out their specific product and/or service interest. Not every prospect will know the exact product or service that meets all of their specific needs, but by collecting this information, you further qualify the prospect and can help them find the best product or service for them.

Look at creating more qualifiying questions with a focus on breaking down the needs of the clients and matching it to the benefits of your products and/or services. This will help them better understand which option will work for them and give you the detailed information you need to move the lead further along.

Here are some sample questions that a company selling marketing automation solutions might ask:

• What’s your average sales cycle?
• What’s the top barrier to closing more sales in your organization?
• Which CRM solution do you use now?

With these types of questions, you might look to include benefits such as:

• Helping reduce the sales cycle and how your offerings can help improve their current conversion methods
• Identifying a pain point and tying in one of your offerings to relieve that pain
• Assurance that your offering is compatible and integrates with existing tools

As part of your process, remember to keep selection options for your product and/or services simple for the prospect. This will help when you need to score that lead as sales-ready or put it into a bucket for lead nurturing campaigns.

3.     Time of purchase and budget

Accurate contact information and specific product information are of part of the equation, but two other elements remains – time of purchase and budget. Knowing the prospect’s time of purchase is important as it can affect how you qualify the lead. And if the prospect has the budget commitment, you know they are serious about purchasing.

Even if you have accurate contact information and specific product requirements, some prospects may take longer through the buying cycle – sometimes months or even a year.

If you have a lead that fits this profile, how you go about educating and persuading them into a shorter cycle?

To provide the right mix of content and communication that encourage the prospect into a shorter buying cycle, make sure your campaigns include lead nurturing in the follow-up process. By sending your prospect information they value throughout the buying process you stay on top of their mind and help move the buyer though the buying process.

Quality leads convert into sales revenues

Before you move a lead down the sales pipeline, it should contain some essential criteria. Whether you gather that data online via landing pages, or through tele-marketing/prospecting calls, having accurate contact information, knowing the product interest and desired time of purchase helps to make sure your sales team is given only the highest quality leads, improving their close rate and increasing your overall sales revenue.

If you’d like to learn more about how to improve your lead generation programs, contact us today.