What makes a lead a lead?

Leads are the lifeblood of any small business and everyone gets excited when a new leads appear but not all leads are the same.? Let me explain further.

There is a difference. There are 2 types.

MQL - MARKETING QUALIFIED LEAD

The first leads are what I call MQL’s. These tend to be leads who have interacted with your business for the first time in response to some marketing you have put out into the world. Perhaps they downloaded a guide from your website or attended a webinar that you hosted. They are leads that are still at the very top of the sales funnel who are possibly intrigued by your business and what you offer, however, they’re not going to buy from you right away. We need to do some more work to get them down the sales funnel.

SQL- SALES QUALIFIED LEAD

The second group are those who I call SQL’s. These are leads that have engaged with your marketing and started to do more. They have downloaded maybe a second guide or have kept coming back to your website.? This might be someone that has actually requested a demonstration or perhaps asked to speak with someone to find out more information.

To get them to move down the funnel from an MQL to a SQL, we’ve got to do a bit of work. How can we turn a MQL into an SQL?

I can answer that question in just 3 words.

GIVE MORE VALUE

Keep your focus on delivering value! When you have an MQL who is potentially in the net, the last thing you should be doing is trying to push them too early or try and hook them in too soon. Do that and they fall off the hook and you lose them. Treat them carefully and reel them in slowly and your chance of landing the fish grows!

How do you achieve this? Focus on giving more guides/checklists/resources and showcasing valuable insight and knowledge to your potential target customers. Make them feel like you are a company who really cares about solving problems and challenges they have. Make them want to give you further information such as their name, email address and maybe a phone number.

I know I often go on about the importance of picking up the phone, but picking up the phone to every MQL is a mistake. Use marketing technology to help you communicate and engage with materials that are relevant to the MQL based on what they have already shown an interest in. Keep giving value and before you know it, you’ll have an MQL reaching out asking for something, and now you’ve got an SQL!

Another good way to turn a MQL into an SQL is to allow the lead to qualify themselves.?

GET THE LEAD TO QUALIFY THEMSELVES

Provide links and resources that encourage that MQL to provide further information.

By providing a simple form within a communication that is personalise to them, you may get them sharing more information about their company, their interests or their requirements.

The information they provide in response to the value you send them can help move them from stage to this stage without you having to do anything. Getting your prospects to download resources and take other actions is a great sign that there is a potential match to work together.

LEAD SCORING

Lead scoring is another tool to use to turn prospects into more likely customers. If you haven’t used it then its clever functions within your marketing systems that you can set up to identify how much time and interaction that lead has had with you, your company and your content.? It looks to track their activity and interactions with you based on scoring metrics which you can create. Let’s say they open an email, that could be 1 point. If they click on an email, that could be 5 points. If they download a guide from your website, that’s another 5 points.

Allow them to build say 15 points over a 2 month period and bingo, its time to engage with them! The key is the higher they are scoring the higher the chance of converting them to a customer.?

While we’re talking about this, let’s also talk about two things you should not do with MQL’s!

DON'T CALL THEM STRAIGHT AWAY

Jumping on the phone the moment someone has downloaded a guide from you is probably going to scare them off. Unless its the trial of a new piece of software, calling prospects who have only done one basic act (probably whilst they were browsing in their spare time!) is a waste of time

No one likes it and sometimes people are even discouraged from downloading resources they truly need for the fear of their phone ringing immediately after they’ve hit ‘submit’.? Desperation is a stinky perfume and if you take the wrong action at the wrong time, you’re going to put that MQL off rather than move them forward to becoming an SQL.

If someone reached out wanting a demonstration or wanting information, absolutely jump on the phone right away but not when they have just requested a simple resource.

REMEMBER NOT EVERYONE, IS INTERESTED

Small business owners sometimes assume that all MQL’s are guaranteed to be interested in their business and what they do. Just because they’ve downloaded a resource doesn’t mean they automatically want to buy from us. Sometimes they are simply window shopping to see what’s out there. Our job as small business owners and sales professionals is to understand and respect that, and hopefully give them the right value that helps them move from an MQL to an SQL.

If you have been nurturing these leads, giving them information over time, you can in time, pick up the phone to speak with them and ask them what they’re looking to achieve. If you validate them in this way, you’ll fast be able to know whether you can help solve their problem or desire.

So, don’t assume every lead is the same.? MQL’s and SQL’s are different and require a different level of interaction.? Use your content and systems to deliver value to your MQL’s and spend your valuable time engaging with SQL’s when the time is right.? Get it wrong, and you will have torpedoed your chance of doing business with that prospect.

As always, if you need help sorting out your sales funnel and understanding where best to focus your sales activity, reach out to me at [email protected]. Or connect with me on Linkedin and I’d be happy to help a fellow small business owner!