Sales Lead Management Systems:
Will Marketing Get the Credit IT Deserves?

 By DR Anonymous
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The quote on my wall says "It's not creative unless it sells." That sounds nice, and people get the point, but it isn't very comforting when sales are consummated six to thirty-six months after an initial encounter with a direct mail piece or an e-mail note to a new prospect.  It is easy for sales to forget the lead initially came from a marketing piece, or an article in a trade journal, or gasp, an e-mail blast.  Monetizing marketing results can often be as difficult as a salesperson's attempts to forecast sales looking down a long dark tunnel—yet they have to do it. When all the numbers settle out at the end of a year and number goals are achieved, it is interesting to dig a little farther into the details of what really happened.  Sometimes results aren't what they seem to be.

Sales totals may exceed goals, but the actual results are not those forecast to happen, i.e. actual sales were only half the goal from known, forecast, customer numbers and the other half came from previously unidentified low-hanging fruit that was discovered on the journey to year end. Accolades are given to the sales folks for their prowess and nobody gives it a second thought.  So as not to be too critical, marketing has enjoyed the benefits of similar results to their programs for many years.  We get unexpected results from a mailer or an ad, or more people click through on an e-mail to our designated landing page than we expected.

So, how do we measure what really counts and will get marketing the recognition and trust it deserves?  My answer is: "Simple! Just measure what everyone agrees is important and indicates results that lead up the path to a sale." Agreeing on what leads up the path might be a little more difficult, but it is worth the trip.

A two-step process might be in order. First, build the credibility and value of the non-personal contribution (marketing) versus personal contributions (salesperson) to a sale. I have never seen it ratio less than 70-80% marketing to 20-30% sales. Once everyone understands that direct sales isn't 100% of the process and neither function can do all the work by themselves, it is pretty easy to speak from a point of respect and credibility. The next part is a little harder, but can be even more rewarding from a credibility standpoint. Get sales to help identify all the steps to a sale and attach a percentage value to each. The total is of course 100%.  Then start recording the values as the steps are achieved.  Most companies think their situation is unique and different than everyone else's task. I haven't found that to be true. There are differences, but most steps in a b-to-b sale end up being very similar.  The hard part is getting the consistent feedback and recording the numbers.

A professional tracking system offered by a number of lead management companies and CRM applications would be a great thing to have. But, you still can't get blood from a turnip. Many, if not most, small companies see a sales lead management system as something for the big guys and the cost as an expense, not as an investment because they haven't seen the baby steps of measured and reported accomplishment. Start with what they know and accept as currency…qualified sales leads.  "Qualified" is often in the eye of the beholder. Let sales help identify what constitutes a qualified lead. Then get a number of how many they need to open the number of new accounts they are required to get by year end.  It doesn't require a whole system to get some simple metrics in place that are accepted by management and sales. They may not be the best to start, but once they have seen some simple metrics achieved, you can move up the chain. Sometimes winning the little battles for a year or two will lead to winning the war.  Pick and choose which battles will help achieve your long-term goal of an "investment" in a sales lead management system.  By the time you get it, everyone will be involved and committed to making it work!

We started a few years ago agreeing with a manufacturer on how many prospects we needed to find with a probable use of 50-100 units of their product to get the manufacturer to fund our co-op program with a significant amount of money--it was eight times what they had ever agreed to spend with a reseller before.  They set the quantity and the time limit. We achieved their goals and it has been an up hill run ever since.  Was it all easy, no, but it was worth it.  Management took a chance and hired me a few years ago with the goal of tripling sales in two years. Two weeks later the market took a nose dive.  People were laid off and wages were cut.  Last December, we finished the year at almost four times the number we were at when we started. The company is 24 years old. The growth curve is an asymptotic slope to the right!  We started with baby steps and everyone bought in to the process.

The old "we know half of our advertising budget is wasted, we just don't know which half" just seems too hard for many people to let go.  With the little tools leading to the big tools, they will be comfortable applauding your marketing successes knowing they will lead to sales…even if they are six to thirty-six months from now!

 Anonymous B2B Direct of Marketing/p>