Distributing leads to sales involves more than simply flipping the switch of an automated lead management system to pass leads down the pipeline.
Before a lead management system is programmed for lead distribution, Marketing and Sales managers must cooperatively establish a set of business rules for lead distribution. Creating lead distribution rules comes after the formation of rules that define what constitutes a qualified lead.
Business rules determine how the lead management system will automatically and accurately distribute leads to the proper sales person at the proper time. Skillful lead distribution increases the likelihood that a lead will turn into a sale and decrease the possibility of leads falling through the cracks.
Smartly planned lead distribution streamlines the sales process, shortens sales cycles and brings in revenue faster.
Remember, the distribution rules established upfront will impact the picture seen down the road in ROI reports and analytics, such as lead conversion reports and sales territory performance reports. If leads are incorrectly distributed, when looking at post-sales or ROI reports, it will be difficult to determine what’s going on in the field, what’s working in your lead generation programs and what’s not.
Lead distribution business rules address these major areas – timeliness, territory, key accounts, team selling, or product-centric sales teams. Here are tips and tactics to consider when crafting lead distribution rules.
Timeliness:
Decide when a lead is distributed. Should a lead go to Sales only after it reaches a specific qualification threshold? For example: Rule – Only distribute leads that are defined as “hot” or “warm” go to sales, but not leads that “aren’t ready to buy (cold leads),” which are held by Marketing for lead nurturing.
Territory:
Distributing leads to the proper sales person or dealer is imperative. That’s why it’s important to think about these questions:
Is the sales channel defined by geography or product specialty?
- Should a lead with a higher rank go to a specialized sales team?
- Are there sales people who specialize in specific products? Define which sales people receive leads for which product.
Sale territories can be complex. Some companies organize by state, county or zipcode. Some companies rotate leads through geographic territories in a round robin fashion. We have some clients who organize territories by physical distance (“as the crow flies” distance).
As you define territory rules, ask: How solid are the territories? Do you occasionally shuffle territories? If so, our lead management system accommodates re-configuring territories and lead distribution rules.
Key Accounts, Product Lines and Team Selling:
Define what makes a key account and who should receive leads for these key accounts.
Are there special teams of three to four people that all work on specific key accounts? If so, should they all receive the same notification for each new lead?
Other Distribution Methods
Other lead distribution tactics to consider:
Reward top sales people by sending them the hottest leads and the remaining leads to other sales people.
- Use a round robin system to evenly distribute incoming leads among all sales people.
- Distribute unassigned leads or “not ready to buy” leads into a shark tank – a lead pool that any sales person can dip into to get a lead. Determine if only specific types of sales people should have access to the shark tank.
- Reassign untouched leads to another sales person after a designated time period.
Lead distribution requires thought and planning to ensure that your leads turn into sales. It’s a lot to think about, right? That’s why the account managers at SmartLead expertly advise clients on the lead distribution methods that meet a client’s goals.
Call us at 800.735.3237 to discuss how your lead distribution should be configured. Or email us at sales@adtrack.com.
