So what is a lead? A lead defined by Wikipedia is “The identification of a person or entity that has the interest and authority to purchase a product or service.” Leads nowadays usually refers to potential customers or entities that are interested in buying a product or service, and this usually means filling out a form online, or even a straight up physical DM form that can be filled out by hand!
But regardless of the entity the lead takes on, it is important that lead consists of the person’s contact details (Or the company’s contact information) so that the firm pursuing the lead will have the right information to target the required demographic, translating into potential sales. A qualified lead is, however, much different from just a “lead.”
What Is A Qualified Lead?
A qualified lead contains more than just information about the person or entity (Company) that is interested in your product. It contains the “Qualification” that company has towards buying your product.
This is done using the BANT approach which stands for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timescale.
- By “Budget,” it means to analyse if the company has enough finance to purchase the product.
- “Authority” refers to the decision of making the purchase.
- “Need” means to analyse whether or not the service or product they are willing to buy can be of any use to them, and
Time usually refers to whether or not they want to make the purchase within a particular time frame.
With this newfound information, the company issuing the lead can now analyse and determine which leads can turn into potential sales, and which cannot. These leads that can turn into potential sales are called as qualifying leads.
To learn more about Qualified Leads click here.
Leads Classified As Levels
Now there are certain “Levels” within which you may rank a lead into:
Level 1: Any contact is a lead, even if it is the most basic of information.
Level 2: At this stage, it is important to know the position of the person in a company or the company’s data and stocks.
Level 3: It is important to acknowledge the leads at this point, whether or not the company in pursuit of the leads can issue the product.
Level 4: The Company needs to be clear on the requirements from the lead’s side.
If not it is important to hold back the lead until the prospect’s requirements are cleared.
Level 5: The firm pursuing the lead would issue the BANT at this point. It is important to hold off any progress until all the requirements for fulfilling BANT have been ticked off.
A “Sales Ready” lead is often more than not a very difficult thing to pull off. It requires the right judgment and the proper marketing to translate into a successful sale.
By following the steps that have been played out for the lead qualification such as BANT etc., a company can take advantage of its comprehensive marketing capabilities to find the right “Qualified Leads” that would translate into potential sales.
References
www.dwsassociates.com/marketing
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