Sales teams and individual salespeople are unique. That makes the process of lead distribution somewhat difficult. Where one lead will be a great fit for one team member, another might struggle to convert it. Understanding the nuances of lead distribution is critical. It is key to a successful lead conversion and sales strategy.
There are a significant number of questions that need to be answered for lead distribution to be successful. You need to question what each individual team member’s strengths and weaknesses are. Those answers then need to be aligned with what the prospect’s needs and pain points are. You’ll naturally find that some salespeople are better suited to some prospects than others.
In this article, you’ll learn :
- The best method to score a lead’s quality
- Using metrics to determine the highest lead quality
- Creating content that attracts leads that will convert
Lead Distribution In Action
Before you can begin the actual distribution of leads, you need to know what you’re distributing. It all starts with the actual capture of the lead itself.
Collect the Leads
You can’t distribute leads if you don’t have them in hand. Make sure that your lead generation strategy is positioned to deliver the best lead quality possible. You could collect leads from any number of sources. Typically, this includes your website, email campaigns, social media, and engineered lead magnets. You should have an automated system in place that then adds all captured leads into a CRM.
Qualify the Leads
Once leads from marketing efforts are added to the CRM, the process of lead qualification can begin. Qualification allows you to select which leads you determine are most likely to convert. This process ensures that your team is focused on only the highest lead quality. Remember that not all leads are built the same. Some are more worthy of your time than others.
Create a Distribution Framework
If you’re dealing with a small amount of leads, you could distribute them manually based on your knowledge of the sales team. This, however, isn’t a scaleable solution. As you begin to grow and receive more and more leads. Unfortunately, you’ll quickly fall behind, and opportunities will go unmet.
Setting clear criteria for lead distribution based on the sales team's merits and skills is a great method of automating the process. As leads come in, they can be categorized according to the criteria you set during the qualification process. Then, leads are paired with their best-fitting salespeople.
Criteria can include elements such as sales performance, capacity, seniority, and even regional knowledge.
Keep the Process Transparent
Sometimes, lead distribution can cause internal issues with team members. They may question the reasoning behind why some team members received leads, and they didn’t. The best way to combat this is to be as clear and transparent as possible. Explain the process and the criteria to them.
If you include the sales team in the process, it will ensure they feel empowered by the process rather than sidelined. Plus, if questions are raised, it can be an opportunity to assess performance and look for CPD opportunities.
Suggested Lead Distribution Methods
The above is a great lead distribution method, but there are some others that are available:
Round Robin
Your sales team is put in an order, and then they receive leads in order as they come in. This is an incredibly simple method, but it lacks any sort of nuance or elegance. If, however, you have a small team with similar skill sets and personalities, it might work for you.
Cherry Pick
As leads enter into the CRM, your sales team is able to select the leads that they feel are best suited to them. This method empowers the team and encourages a sense of autonomy. It’s often a good distribution system where you’d like to encourage competitiveness.
The system encourages action from the team, but they will often select the most lucrative leads or those that are easy to close. There’s an argument that this is a good thing. After all, those are the leads you want to close. It does, however, mean that smaller leads or leads that require more effort are ignored.
Region-Specific
If your sales team is spread out across a wider geographic area, region-specific might be ideal for you. Use of this method has dropped since the pandemic. More sales meetings are online now. But, those who meet in person could see benefits. Simply, the closer the salesperson is to the lead, the more likely they are to be assigned it.
The issue with this distribution strategy is that some regions will naturally be busier and more lucrative. This can cause a huge disparity in workload from rep to rep.
Manual
We briefly touched on the manual method above. It’s a fair strategy to use when working at smaller scales. You know your team better than anyone, and you’ll likely understand the leads better too. If you have the time and inclination to distribute leads manually, it can often be one of the most effective methods.
Key Takeaways
Lead distribution is a necessary part of your sales process. Done correctly, it can dramatically improve your lead conversion chances. The key to the whole system is understanding both your leads and your team. When the synergy between the two is in place, you’ll soon reap the rewards.
- There are a number of different lead distribution methods. The best make use of automation so that you can scale.
- Leads should be automatically added to a CRM as they are collected.
- Manual lead distribution only works for as long as you have time to complete it.
One of the best ways to generate leads is via a cold email marketing campaign. To achieve the best results and to integrate with your CRM, you need a high-quality email marketing tool. That’s precisely what Instantly offers, and you can get started today.
