You will have heard the age-old adage, “Quality over quantity,” and it couldn't be more accurate when it comes to lead quality. There’s always a temptation to pull as many leads through the door as possible. Yes, to some extent, it is a numbers game, but that’s only true if the leads are of good quality and qualified.
Your sales team could spend days working through a list of thousands of leads in hopes of turning them into prospects. If those leads aren’t quality, the conversion rate will be incredibly low. It’s a far better use of time to focus on high-quality leads in a smaller volume. Those leads are likely to convert and eventually become customers.
In this article, you’ll learn how to ensure your lead quality is as high as possible. You’ll also understand how to measure lead quality and why it’s such an important metric to your business.
- 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
Explaining Lead Quality
Your sales team needs leads to function. Without them, they’re like a ship lost in the fog. They’re blind and without direction. With them, they have the chance to generate new business.
So, what makes for high lead quality?
The best leads will be the people who have the strongest connection to the product or service you’re offering. They align with your buyer personas and chances are they will have heard of your brand or had a minor interaction. If you can collect leads at this level of quality, you’ll quickly create a loyal customer base.
Measuring Lead Quality
We understand that higher-quality leads are great for a business, but how do you measure their quality? You could rely on your gut instincts and filter them accordingly as they arrive. That isn’t a particularly scientific methodology, nor will it be that accurate. Instead, you need a robust data-driven measuring system.
Lead Scoring
One of the first systems that you need to create is lead scoring. You can create your own scoring categories and metrics, but a popular methodology is the BANT system. BANT is an acronym that covers factors associated with each individual lead. These include:
- Budget: The money allocated to this purchase.
- Authority: Are they in a position where they can make the decision?
- Need: How essential is your product or service to them?
- Timeframe: How soon do they want to complete the purchase?
You pick the scale. It can be whatever you like. Just be sure to keep it consistent. Score each lead individually per category, and you’ll end up with a total. High-scoring leads are deemed to be of a high quality.
Adding a numerical system to your lead scoring allows you to spot patterns in the leads you’re working with. Plus, it makes prioritization incredibly straightforward.
Sales Funnels
Sales funnelsBusinesses often use sales funnels to understand the journey a lead takes while interacting with them. If you don’t have one, creating one is simple. Take some time to map the various interactions a lead has with your business as it progresses toward conversion.
At each sales funnel stage, some of the leads will drop off. Therefore, the funnel narrows. The top of the funnel is the widest point. This is where leads first become aware of your product or services. The middle sections are related to a building level of interest and then a desire to have your product or service. The lowest stage of the funnel is when a conversion takes place.
It’s a great visual to have and will help you understand your sales process. It also ensures you are delivering the best service for high-quality leads at each stage.
Metrics
There are a plethora of metrics across your business. Engagement metrics are among the best to consider when assessing lead quality. Metrics such as cold email open rates and other sales metrics signpost you toward the most engaged leads.
You might consider taking this data and scoring it. This could create another factor for the BANT system that measures interest.
Many of these metrics are easily accessible when using third-party tools. For instance, Instantly presents all email marketing metrics in an intuitive dashboard. It’s easy to see which recipients engaged with your content and are worth pursuing.
Build Content to Attract High Quality Leads
The highest quality leads need to be attracted to your offering. That means all of your marketing content has to be designed to resonate with your ideal lead. That includes your website, your blog, your social media, and any other marketing activity. You always need to have your perfect lead in mind.
The same goes for any email marketing campaign that you write. It sounds simple, but make sure that you’re writing for the recipient. A high-quality, well-written personalized email will attract a far higher quality of lead than a rushed-together, generic mailshot.
Over To You
Lead quality is an important aspect to understand for your sales team to be successful. Scoring leads and tracking them throughout the sales funnel are some of the best ways to ensure high lead quality. Think about who you want to work with and who best fits your product, then design everything around them.
- It doesn’t matter what scale you use when scoring leads as long as it remains consistent.
- Build content that attracts high-quality leads across the entire sales funnel.
- Feel free to customize the BANT scoring system if you feel other data will be useful for scoring.
Need comprehensive email marketing analytics to assist with your lead scoring? Look no further than Instantly.ai. Our dashboard presents every metric you need and allows you to judge a lead’s engagement at a glance. What’s more, it’s simple to get started today.
