How Not to Lose a Lead

A successful sale often starts with a well-qualified lead. But, that’s only half the story. What’s equally important is the salesperson that nurtures and closes that lead. Because, we all know even a well-qualified lead in the hands of a salesperson that cannot engage the customer is as good as no lead.

That’s not to say leads should only be handed out to your highest-performing salespeople (though many organizations do this actively, pushing the most prized leads to their top performers). Even high performers are prone to losing leads, making this more than just about having the right skills.

Needless to say, sales organizations have traditionally focused on getting the first half of the equation right—creating sophisticated lead qualification filters that churn out the most promising leads. Viable leads typically enter a CRM or SFA system that uses formulas based on standard territory assignments and salesperson workloads to send leads to the most appropriate business units and salespeople.

While such a system creates efficiency and clear lines of ownership, it fails to account for one phenomenon in particular that is more important in today’s selling environment than ever before—and that is the proximity of the lead to the salesperson. But, here’s the twist—not the geographic proximity that most companies typically use to assign leads, but the social proximity of the lead to the salesperson.

The importance of social media in B2B sales was one of the most surprising findings in our research last year. In fact, we found that the best salespeople don’t rely on Marketing at all for leads, instead use their own social networks and personal brands for lead generation. And, for good reason; social media is increasingly where customers learn to get ahead in the sale (the very task you hire salespeople for). It’s all about positioning oneself as a key influencer within your customer’s social networks.

This has implications for lead assignment as well. In talking to sales leaders across industries and geographies, we came across Network Hardware Resale, a provider of networking and datacenter solutions, which uses social proximity as an alternative to traditional territory allocation models.

The company evaluates a salesperson’s social proximity to an opportunity using their LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter connections to the prospective account’s key stakeholders, increasing the likelihood that opportunities are assigned to a salesperson with leveragable connections. Naturally, customers are more likely to engage in a dialogue with someone that shares a common contact, network, or interests.

While the approach is early in its use, Network Hardware Resale is already seeing some dramatic results. In particular, they’ve seen a huge spike in meeting acceptance rates, with reps more likely to get a foot in the door than ever before. In addition, the company has also seen an increase in overall new business sales.

The good news is that much of this capability already resides within your organization, and is probably already being leveraged informally by your sales force. You can use it to better manage your leads.

SEC Members, learn more about how Network Hardware Resale uses social proximity to manage leads. Also, read our full study about Getting in Early: Shaping Demand Through Pre-Funnel Engagement.