Johan Foolen
In B2B lead generation, conversion is the step made from lead to customer (sales). More leads = more sales. Not surprisingly, lead generation campaigns often focus on volume: the more leads, the better.
Also, my previous blog about the “7-minute rule” was focused on getting more leads. Core of this blog: when phone acquisition, do not engage in too substantive a conversation. Set an appointment in time so you can have that conversation at the table. Critical readers will ask: does this come at the expense of appointment quality? A fair question...
Quantity and quality of leads
In lead generation, it is always a matter of finding the balance between quality and quantity. Between much for little, or little for much. A trade-off we face every day. Not just when shopping at the supermarket, or shopping for new clothes. We also have to deal with this in business, including marketing & sales.
When you propose an appointment faster you arrive at more appointments. However, you have had less time to qualify the content of the contact. So you come to more appointments (quantity), but there is a good chance that these will include lower quality appointments.
More sales appointments is not necessarily better; quality is an important factor. Not every prospect wants you further down your sales funnel encounter. Simply because many prospects just don't have sales opportunities.
Conversion optimization in online marketing
Let's draw the parallel to online lead generation. By advertising online in search engines and social media, you get visitors to your website. You can increase these visitor numbers, for example, by targeting popular or less-relevant keywords. More clicks = more website visitors = more sales.
However, that extra revenue also cost money. And again, the question is whether quantity and quality are in proportion. Are those extra website visitors in the right proportion to the costs you incur? Is enough revenue coming from this? Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is an area of expertise in online marketing. CRO specialists are constantly working to optimize quantity and quality of website visitors, and ultimately conversion.
Conversion in cold calling
What applies to online marketing also applies to telephone acquisition. You want to optimize conversion. Paid website visitors with zero chance of conversion: you don't want them on your website. Sales appointments with zero chance of conversion: you don't want them in your calendar.
Conversion is what it's all about. And on the way there, we are constantly playing with elements in this process. To bring quantity and quality in the right proportion to each other. Think about applying niche marketing or more sharply qualifying leads.
A practical example
From FindBusiness, we have a lot of experience with telephone lead generation. At the start of campaigns, the focus from customers is usually on quantity: as many appointments as possible. During campaigns the focus shifts to conversion and quality becomes more important.
Suppose we have a campaign that calls 100 companies every month. With those 100 companies you can schedule up to 10 appointments:
- Will we manage to schedule those 10 appointments? Of course ?
- Do we want to schedule those 10 appointments? Marketing and sales is by definition opportunistic and success driven. Of course we want to schedule those 10 appointments! An appointment gets you one step closer to a potential client.
Now to quality. The quality of 10 appointments varies:
Lead 1: Is now specifically looking for
Lead 2: Is getting his bearings.
Lead 3: Expects to attend orientation soon
Lead 4: Is somewhere on his list, not working on it yet
Lead 5: Would quite like to talk
Lead 6: Would best listen
Lead 7: Only if it can be cheaper
Lead 8: Basically not planning to switch
Lead 9: Stuck in a contract with the competitor
Lead 10: Don't know what it's about
We manage to schedule appointments with these 10 people.
Again: do we want to schedule those 10 appointments? Or maybe just the first 8? The first 6? The first 4?
More Web site visitors is not necessarily better. More appointments is not necessarily better. Conversion is what matters. In other words, how many customers do you manage to get out of that list of 100 companies.
Conversion increases by not going for everything, but focusing on the most promising contacts. This leaves you with valuable time to spend on quotation follow-up, customer relationship management or, for example, optimizing lead channels.
The “10-minute rule” for telephone acquisition?
We return to the introduction. So the “7-minute rule” is all about scheduling as many appointments as possible. But you may not want as many appointments as possible. You're also going for quality appointments. Conversion is what it's all about. And how do we make this happen? Indeed: do not immediately propose an appointment, but engage in conversation. Perhaps it is better to propose the appointment only after 10 minutes. You will then have been able to determine the quality of any appointment. Is there genuine interest? Are there substantive leads? Do we want to be at the table here now?
This may not lead to more appointments, but it does lead to better appointments. And the result: efficient lead generation, higher conversion, positive energy and better use of your marketing and sales time!