When Does a Lead Become a True “Sales Lead?” Your demand generation campaigns are bound to generate responses. But are these all leads, worthy of follow-up by your sales reps? Even inexperienced marketers know that the majority of responses are simply inquiries: people seeking more information or responding to a promotional offer. Distributing raw inquiries to your sales reps without at least some basic qualification mechanism to categorize the ones that are true sales leads can be a suicidal experience. So, the real question is: how do you identify a legitimate “sales lead?”

1. ALEA’s Universal Definition of a Lead Louis Foong The ALEA Group www.TheALEAGroup.com Blog: www.LouisFoong.com

2. Definition of a Lead Today, with the plethora of CRM and sales automation tools available to marketers, there is a tendency for marketing committees and consultants to overcomplicate the process and devise ever-changing formulas, scoring mechanisms, and rules to make this determination. At ALEA, we have found that, regardless of our clients’ business, a sales lead can ALWAYS be defined by five simple criteria:

3. Definition of a Lead Right company or demographic- They fit the profile of the organizations or people that are already your best customers.

4. Definition of a Lead 2. Right person- A person who is a decision maker, champion, influencer or at least a recommender.

5. Definition of a Lead 3. Real pain point- The prospect has indicated a need for your services/products and has a keen interest about what you are offering.

6. Definition of a Lead 4. Realistic decision timeline- The prospect has a strong likelihood of making a “buy” decision soon and has the budget to pay for it.

7. Definition of a Lead 5. Willingness to engage- The prospect is ready and willing to receive further sales contact. At ALEA, we call this the “glue.” If a prospect is not willing to have a sales dialogue, nothing else matters.

8. Website:www.theALEAGroup.com Blog:www.LouisFoong.comEmail:info@thealeagroup.com Contact Louis Foong: lfoong@thealeagroup.com www.LinkedIn/in/louisfoong