What key lead conversion metrics should you track?

It’s good to understand what you class as a lead though, for example are you counting marketing qualified leads or sales qualified leads?

Your lead conversion rate is vital and is the key to driving customer acquisition programs profitably. However, for subscription-based services, it is just the starting point, and customer retention and LTV are the foundation for long term sustainable growth.

I prefer to consider lead conversion rate and cost per lead only upon deal closure. If I contact 100 contacts, qualify 30 leads, close 10, I take the total deal amount closed and measure against the amount of time and costs taken. This may not be the norm but I prefer to approach at macro level with deals closure outcome. Would that make sense to you?

Lead Conversion Rate is an important metric, influenced by some of the key factors mentioned below: 1) Marketing Channels: Different sources impact conversion rates; for ex. organic leads usually convert better than meta ads. 2) Time to First Connect: Quick outreach is crucial, especially for D2C businesses. Ideally, contacting leads within hours is a standard practice. 3) Quality of Pitch: Success hinges on how well the sales rep conveys product features and benefits. 4) Lead Distribution: It is important to distribute leads wisely. Consider factors like language and product mapping for each sales rep. Also, "leads per day per rep" is an important metric for lead generation.

From an AE or Sales stand-point you want to understand how many of the sales qualified leads (SQL's) do you close. In SaaS, if this number is above 25%, you're doing well. The idea is to then start looking to push the envelope on this.

Depending on the complexity of your marketing & sales machines, some of these data points will help you make your expenses more efficient. What is the average Cost Per Lead (CPL) across all channels? What channels have the highest and lowest CPL? What is the ratio per channel of CPL to new business? What is the ratio per channel of CPL to recurring business? Questions like these can help you prioritize where to invest. But keep in mind, less efficient CPL isn’t always bad. For example, depending on your sales cycle length and the speed at which you can sell via a particular channel and offer, at certain times you might benefit from timely but costly investments in certain channels that generate a more rapid return.

Cost per lead is the most important metric to track because it directly measures the efficiency and profitability of marketing campaigns. It quantifies the amount of money spent to acquire each lead, providing a clear picture of the return on investment. By tracking this metric, businesses can identify which strategies are most cost-effective and adjust their marketing efforts accordingly. It also helps in budgeting and forecasting future marketing expenses. Without understanding the cost per lead, businesses may overspend on ineffective strategies, wasting resources and potentially missing opportunities for growth.

Cost per lead is a key metric, revealing the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of lead generation efforts. Calculated by dividing total marketing and sales costs by the number of leads, a $5 cost per lead from a $1,000 spend indicates efficiency. This metric signifies how well resources are utilized, with a lower cost per lead reflecting optimal return on investment. It's a crucial indicator for businesses seeking to streamline lead generation processes and maximize profitability.

Quality is much more important than volume of leads. This is a marketing approach not a sales approach, sales time not money is the critical factor. Profit not turnover must be the focus.

Analyzing Cost Per Lead (CPL) is vital for budget optimization and performance evaluation, ensuring efficient resource allocation in marketing. However, I believe Cost Per Qualified Lead (CPQL) holds greater importance as it focuses on leads with higher conversion potential. CPQL emphasizes quality over quantity, aiding sales efficiency and directly impacting revenue. By prioritizing qualified leads, businesses reduce wasted resources and align marketing strategies with the ultimate goal of driving profitability. Striking a balance between CPL and CPQL is key for comprehensive lead generation success, ensuring a more targeted and effective approach to customer acquisition and business growth.

I'm big fan of a combination of 2 scores. 1. Lead demographic on one side and 2. the behavior of the lead. The demographic tells me something about the persona and the content I have to provide to nurture this lead. The behavior shows the "in-moment-to-buy' level

Fazer o lead scoring é primordial. De nada adianta ter muitos leads se estes n?o forem condizentes com o ICP (ideal customer profile). Contatos fora do perfil tiram o foco da equipe de SDRs causando queda nas taxas de convers?o.

Lead quality scores are a great first line of defense to guard yourself against fraud but this is one piece of a larger puzzle. Low quality or fraudulent leads will make you burn through your budgets with dismal results so you need to be equipped with additional safeguards beyond lead quality scores. Another point to consider is that lead scoring methodologies are great at uncovering red flags but they are not perfect. It is hard to measure intent through these algorithms (although AI may have something to say about this) and getting a consistent flow of high-intent customers into your funnel is arguably the most important factor at play here.

For me it's either 0 or 10. If a lead doesn't transact and active then something is wrong in either the process, the product, the model, or even the technology. And this should be investigate properly. A good company makes what people wants... (Popular YC saying)

By assessing how closely the lead matches the company's ideal consumer persona. This involves determining whether the attributes of the lead match those of existing satisfied consumers.

In 2023 there are multiple ways with most CRMs to automate and customize 1st step response. It's important as the sooner you reply to your leads, the higher the chances of moving them to the next step of the funnel.

You can automate the very 1st step through AI, by using tools available nowadays with their integrated CRM. This way you are showing the lead how important they are by being available & responding quickly. This also increases the chances of converting, because everyone likes attention and if you respond soon and give your prospect that, they are most likely to be converting if they love your offer. The quickly you respond to the lead once they fill the form, chances of getting on call & converting increases ( assuming you are solving their burning problem) The later you respond, the less the chances.

Clearly defining the methods for distributing and routing leads. Making sure that leads are quickly matched with the right sales professional according to predetermined parameters, including industry, product interest, or location.

Nobody wants to wait long for a reply of a company. And if you run paid ads to generate leads but they aren’t interested anymore after they signed up, it could be an indication for that you waited too long to contact the lead. Use marketing automation tools to avoid this.

Lead response is 100% if you close on spot. However it depends on the product, a good lead response time is maximum one week otherwise it gets cold.

You want to keep a clear and transparent way to measure Lead Source as well as the performance of each step of the funnel per lead source. Because when scaling your lead-gen you'll want to emphasize channels that are the most efficient (cost & quality-wise) for your campaign.

The Lead Source is harder to categorize nowadays with many buyers now able to view an indirect advertisement, source the relevant information online and then fill in a lead form. The source is therefore combined through a series of multi-level actions which culminate in the buyer approaching the business - events prove to be a great platform where you can directly link the source back to the event plus you can qualify the person before they progress in your sales cycle.

This is actually very important and not only should you constantly be comparing lead sources you should also be constantly tweaking them and seeking out “new sources” because new ones tend to always be the best early on because they are trying to “prove themselves”.

With the millions of data-scrapers out on the market, businesses need to ask vendors for sample lists first. These lists, for the most part, however, are not called and vetted leads. Know what you’re getting. They never ask about your book of business; “Kevin; Do you want a list of attorneys?” Response; Block. Know thy prospects.

Uma fonte de leads muito usada e de alto sucesso é contratar empresas terceirizadas para fazer a máquina de vendas rodar. Atualmente mensagens via e-mail marketing s?o bastante efetivas, pois garantem alto volume de prospec??o sem ferir a LGPD.

Look at 1. Quality of leads (leads from sources that convert better) 2. ACV of leads from sources (this will help you allocate more budget to lead sources with higher ACV) 3. CAC - Actual cost of acquiring a customer. Just like CPL, you really want to try keeping this value as low as possible.

All the mentioned factors depend on your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). For example: 1. Lead Conversion Rate: A refined ICP tends to yield a higher conversion rate. 2. Cost Per Lead: Targeting only relevant individuals significantly lowers the cost compared to a broad approach. 3. Lead Quality Score: Qualifying leads based on your ICP enhances the overall quality score. In my personal experience, I've faced challenges with ICP, leading to a considerable amount of time invested in pursuing leads that weren't the right fit. This resulted in instances of ghosting and no response.

It is crucial to keep an eye on how quickly leads transform into customers.., because this conversion rate can differ a lot. .having a specific timeframe helps us to understand performance differences in various businesses and timeframes.

Of course, not all leads are created equal. Given that, are you feeding lead quality back to ad networks? With the rise in automated campaign types, lead quality can really take a dive if the systems aren't being trained to hunt for quality leads. If it's really bad, consider doing away with standard Thank You Page conversion tracking altogether and just register leads with Ads once they are qualified via offline conversion import. I've seen realtors go as far as only counting leads when they lead to a site visit. Are the ad networks doing the same?

Além de seguir todo o processo de gera??o e qualifica??o, também é importante a nutri??o dos leads, afinal, a empresa investiu para gerar o contato. é possivel desenhar réguas de relacionamento e testar diferentes canais, afim de que o lead demonstre interesse, seja aquecido e entre no funil novamente.