Ancient alchemists spent centuries in search of a way to turn lead (the metal even Superman can't see through) into something a little more valuable. We marketers have always tried to do the same thing - transform thousands of possible buyers into qualified prospects whom we manage to convince to line our pockets with gold. Frankly, our track record’s better, especially if you follow these four simple steps. This presentation was given by Mac McIntosh, AcquireB2B's President, at NEDMA's 2014 Marketing Technology Summit.

1. Marketing Alchemy
TURNING LEADS INTO GOLD
1

2. Know what, not just who
2

3. It’s a numbers game
Closed Sales
Marketing Touches
Marketing Qualified Leads
Sales Accepted Leads
Sales Qualified Leads
Inquiries (responses)
3

4. Do the math
 Use our Sales Lead Calculator™ (or your own
version) to determine how many marketing
touches, marketing qualified leads, etc. are
needed to meet those sales revenue goals
4

5. 5

6. 6

7. 7

8. How to get started
 Ask sales management to help you understand
 The overall sales revenue goal
 Sub sales revenue goals by division, territory, etc.
 Average length of the sales cycle
 Average close rates
 Talk to the CFO (finance) to determine the
average sale size
8

9. Measure twice, cut… as necessary
9

10. Get started, then aim for
continuous improvement
10

11. Continuous improvement
 Test, test, test
 Do more of what worked best
 Do less of what didn’t work
11

12. Keep Score – Another form of measurement
12

13. Work with sales to define
lead qualification criteria and scoring
 Firmagraphics
 Company size
 Industry
 Demographics
 Job function
 Job level
 Behavioral
 Forms filled
 Materials downloaded
 Events attended
 Pages visited
 BANTS
 Budget
 Authority (role)
 Need (application)
 Timing
 Size of the opportunity
 Overrides
 Call to action
 (e.g. requested contact
by sales)
13 13

14. Lead qualification and scoring template
14

15. Nurture vs. nature
15

16. Today you have to help them buy
Determine
Satisfaction
Acknowledgement
of Needs
Decision
to Start the
Buying Process
Establish
Selection
(Buyer’s Remorse)
Determine Criteria
Measurement
Criteria
Select
(Purchase)
Reconsider
Investigate
Options
16
Prospects
spend only
5% of their
buying
process in
these stages
Yet salespeople
spend nearly
100% of their
time in these
stages

17. Use a dating approach
 Asking someone to “marry you” on the first
date usually doesn’t work.
 You’ve got to “date them” a while
 Think of marketing touches and content
as the “dates”
 Until they are ready to be receptive to
your proposal
17

18. DIY or DIA?
18

19. You can build your own team,
outsource or do a combination of both
 Account Manager
 Copywriter
 Creative Director
 Data Analyst
 Database Specialist
 Graphic Designer
 HTML Coder
 Marketing Automation
Specialist
 Pay-Per-Click Specialist
 Project Manager
 Proofreader
 Search Engine
Optimization Specialist
 Social Media Specialist
 Strategic Consultant
 Systems Architect
 Telemarketer
 Web Developer
19

20. 20