Telemarketing Lead Generation Blog

An Unexpected Source of Valuable Information

Posted on Jan 26, 2012 by Ashley Rist, Lead Quality Manager

Dead Leads. The term “dead lead” is not music to the ears of those of us in the teleprospecting business by any means. Obviously, a dead lead is the absolute antithesis of our purpose in life. However, where do our best lessons in life usually come from? Yes, that’s right, our failures. A dead lead represents a failure of some kind…somewhere along the line, something went wrong. As Lead Quality Manager here at TeleNet, I’ve had pretty extensive experience over the past year with the lessons to be learned from leads that fall by the wayside. In general, I’ve seen that something goes wrong in one of two areas: the lead itself is not a valid opportunity OR the lead was not paid its due diligence once handed off to sales. Understanding why leads do not convert is a key element to end to end success in your B2B telemarketing initiatives.

1. The lead itself is not a valid opportunity – As much as I hate to admit, this can actually happen sometimes. Some “not so qualified” leads may slip through the cracks due to differences in opinion regarding what represents a qualified lead. Each sales person has their own definition of “qualified” – some may consider a customer accepting a phone call qualified, while others will only call those people who have plans to purchase next week. It’s imperative that the teleprospector has a clear understanding of what sales expects from a qualified lead. If your organization is engaged in an in depth review of dead leads, then you know that sales feedback is priceless. Knowing why a sales person did not convert a lead facilitates constant adjustment and improvement to the product you provide to your clients’ sales organizations.
2. The lead was not paid its due diligence once handed off to sales – Another thing we hate to see happen, and something over which the teleprospector has little control. This is where dead lead review is a useful source of information for your client. They are paying good money for these leads, and as such, they have a vested interest in ensuring that sales is fully capitalizing on them. Without reviewing the sales activities that take place during the follow up process, there is no way to know what changes, if any, might be in order. For instance, if the issue is sales’ inability to connect with lead contacts. Careful evaluation of the sales strategy for attempting to reach the customer may yield insight into potential process improvements.

Tagged: teleprospecting, lead generation, targeted lead generation, lead nurturing, telemarketing lead generation, teleprospecting lead generation

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