The Future of Marketing & Sales: Verification and Validation
Justin Rankin
Chief Marketing Officer @ Lion + Panda | Service-Based Business Growth Expert | Finance - Home Services - Pharma | I create digital journeys that reduce customer acquisition costs
All right, marketing and sales world, it’s time we talk. We’ve been throwing around fancy acronyms like ROAS, CTR, and CPL as if they mean something beyond inflating budgets. But here’s the raw truth—these metrics alone aren’t enough. The future of marketing and sales boils down to two things: Verification and Validation. If your agency isn’t prioritizing these, they’re likely wasting your money and handing you leads no one even bothered to check. We need to protect budgets and make results real, scalable, and digestible for the teams that make it happen.
Why Verification and Validation are Marketing’s New Power Couple
Imagine this: you’ve paid for hundreds of “leads” this month. Fantastic! Now, imagine 30% of them are bots or bogus entries. Ouch, right? Verification and validation take your data and squeeze out the nonsense, so what’s left is pure, actionable gold. It’s not just about leads; it’s about leads that can convert. We’re talking about those that will actually talkto your sales reps, engage, and become clients—not some digital smoke and mirrors that barely justify their cost.
Lead Verification: Making Sure Your Dollars Work for You
Verification is more than a checkbox; it’s a necessary wall against the digital equivalent of snake oil salesmen. It’s the mechanism that confirms each lead is real, locatable, and ready for your team to take on. If your agency can’t tell you where every penny went—down to the verified, human-level details—then you’re doing it wrong. True ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) is achieved when agencies focus on these verified leads, not just the total number of leads. Quality beats quantity every time.
Lead Validation: Why Just Any Lead Won't Cut It
Now, what if those verified leads are about as relevant as a snowblower in Miami? Enter validation. This is the smart tech that vets each lead to ensure it actually fits your customer profile, integrates seamlessly with your sales pipeline, and makes the lives of your customer service reps (CSRs) bearable. Validation checks for genuine interest, purchase intent, and aligns with your goals. It’s the safety net between your CSR’s sanity and a flood of unqualified leads.
Digestion Matters: Why It’s Time to Feed Leads That Can Be Digested
Even when you have verified and validated leads, a key piece that agencies love to skip is making those leads digestible. Yes, they need to be integrated in a way that your CSR team can work with. No more Excel spreadsheets filled with gibberish or vague CRM entries. We’re talking fully integrated leads that your team can actually handle, follow up on, and convert.
Every lead should have context that gives salespeople and CSRs insight, not headaches. If your agency can’t deliver this, they’re handing you a slab of raw meat and calling it a gourmet meal.
Integration Is Key: Making Sure Leads Don’t Get Lost
Agencies should be building an ecosystem that doesn’t just dump leads on your sales team but integrates them. We’re talking about seamless data pipelines from ad to close. A platform that organizes and prioritizes each lead for follow-up, making each step in the sales journey streamlined and digestible. Every dollar spent should move smoothly from ad click to validation to a conversation-ready lead in your CRM, so your team is prepped and ready to close the deal.
Final Word: Demand Better
It’s high time agencies prioritize the client’s bottom line, not just their own. If your agency isn’t delivering true Verification, Validation, and Integration, they’re just running up your bill without truly earning their keep. Demand more, demand transparency, and demand a marketing future where every dollar spent is accounted for and every lead delivered is actionable.
Want to protect your investment? Start asking for verification, validation, and integration—or start asking why your agency isn’t delivering on those. The future of marketing is here.