Do You Know What Your Perfect Sales Lead Looks Like?

Lucrative sales are based on smart marketing. Which, in turn, is based on effective lead generation. A classic mistake made when trying to generate sales leads is to use a scattergun approach, firing the same content out to all prospects within reach, hoping that some will convert into leads. But this approach is flawed in many respects. Whilst it is vague and sloppy because it lacks a strategy driven by personalisation of the message and content, it could even be perceived as somewhat aggressive, irrelevant or unsuitable to certain recipients. So, before you launch your latest campaign, you need to know what your perfect lead looks like because this will steer everything you do from that point onwards.

First of all, think about demographic information. Gender, age range, geographical area, revenue, marital status and social life, each of which can make a difference to the campaign, and a major factor is their job title, such as Marketing Officer or Finance Director. You should also include the potential lead's industry, type of company (from sole proprietorship to international corporation), size of workforce and number of branches/operations. This data allows you to select the most appropriate method of communication, tone of voice, terminology, delivery channels and the way in which you will respond to the enquiries that are generated.

Next is psychological data, giving insight into why the lead would be interested in purchasing your products or services. This can be ascertained by interviewing current clients, asking about topics such as how they perceive your brand, likes and dislikes regarding your service, specific requirements (ranging from non-disclosure agreements to mutual PR opportunities), how they rate you on a scale of 1 to 10, and whether or not they’d recommend you to their peers. This will allow you to better understand your own business and why people choose you over the competition.

The third and final set of data to gather is based on your ideal client relationship, deducing precise problems and working out which of your services will provide the most fitting solution. This is the real nitty-gritty, as you may have come to the conclusion that a CEO of a medium-sized pharmaceutical company is the right kind of customer, yet if your services don’t present a unique benefit you could find your sales funnel leaking leads. You need to know what exactly the customer is looking for, how it will fit into their workplace and across the wider company, and if it’s the whole array of services you offer or a reduced/customised version that will get the best results.

All of this will, of course, require a decent amount of time dedicating to it, plus it isn’t always something that can be easily delegated. However, it is truly the most valuable form of research you can conduct, bringing an excellent long term return on investment. The icing on the cake is that it either verifies that you’re already pretty much on the right track, or helps you to recognise gaps, flaws and shortcomings and make strides to rectify them.

By knowing what your perfect sales lead looks like, you can optimise all aspects of your marketing strategy to speak to that person, including email campaigns, SEO, literature, social media, PPC, outdoor advertising, street teams, media buying and even your face-to-face activity, such as meetings and networking. The result will be a huge improvement in lead generation and ultimately sales, which isn’t a bad return on time spent defining who it is you really need to approach.

To learn more about how to start generating your perfect leads on line why not download our  inbound marketing checklist or call to book a free digital marketing reveiw on 0800 998 7502.