4 Key Steps to Developing an Effective Lead Management Process

Your B2B sales department is focused on one thing: converting qualified leads into paying customers. In order for them to do this, they needs leads. This is where an effective lead management process becomes critical.

Implementing this kind of process is the first step in organizing your buyers’ journey and aligning the efforts of sales with marketing. It will give both teams visibility into what each is doing, align workflows, and unite them to work toward a common revenue goal.

As you define this process, make sure it includes the following steps:

1. Start With the Right Technology

Marketing automation software is the most effective system for implementing lead management. Make sure you understand your needs from a functionality standpoint, as well as a service standpoint, before you decide on a vendor. You also need to evaluate what you do today and how you’ll likely scale your marketing in the future to drive growth. This will help you choose a long-term partner rather than just a short-term provider.

2. Work Closely With Sales

Marketing and sales should not operate separately from each other. They should be unified around a common strategy. Start by meeting to identify key touch points during the customer journey. Work with them to develop your lead scoring models to measure engagement. Understand how they sell and make sure your process reflects a unified sales and marketing strategy.

3. Implement Lead Nurture and Remarket Campaigns

Lead nurture campaigns will help warm leads. Lead scoring will help you identify when they’re most likely ready to buy. This can help you manage the lead qualification process. However, not all of the leads you nurture, qualify, and push to sales will convert to a customer at the first human touch. That’s where remarket nurtures come into play. Make sure your marketing automation technology allows your sales team to push leads back to marketing for further nurturing if they’re not ready yet. This type of remarket strategy will ensure you don’t lose potential customers just because they’re not at the end of their buyer’s journey.

4. Track Your Progress

The right marketing technology will allow you to track your buyers’ journey so you can adjust your engagements with them. It will also help you understand which engagements add value and which ones detract from the process. This insight should guide your refinement so you can maximize effectiveness across both sales and marketing efforts.

Lead management can be extremely complicated without the proper structure and organization, so make sure you take the time to pick the right technology solution.