As promised in last week’s blog, here is Tip 2 for sales lead optimization success.

• Map the buying process by segment or solution
• Map the lead to sale process for each solution type
• Compare these two processes so you clearly understand the dynamics. And further refine your lead generation efforts.

Break your content and tactical touch plans out by stage:

Top-of-Funnel

A person in the top-of-funnel buying phase is at the beginning of your sales and marketing cycle. He or she may or may not be aware of your product or service. They are not yet ready to buy. Prospects at this stage should primarily be offered educational material, how-to guides, explainer videos, ROI calculators and white papers.

Middle-of-Funnel

A potential buyer in the middle of your sales and marketing funnel, arrives here after he or she has shown interest, engaged to some degree with your content, and is potentially a sales lead. Your offers for mid-funnel prospects are still educational, but may steer them more towards your service or product. For best results, engage 1:1 with personalized calls and email sequences. Consider case studies, webinars and testimonials to differentiate your company and earn the right to gather the touch qualifying questions.

Bottom-of-Funnel

This buying phase and the sales team engagement occurs at the bottom of your funnel, and indicates that your prospect is close to becoming a customer. Your sales team should be engaged 1:1 at this stage to address your prospect’s exact needs.

Mapping the process outlined here will give both marketing and sales a unified picture of the lead-to-sale migration and should be an essential part of your optimization strategy. Let us know if you need more details and we can help.