http://www.rocketwatcher.com/blog/2009/02/are-those-leads-really-sales-ready.html by April Dunford Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:09:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 http://www.rocketwatcher.com/blog/2009/02/are-those-leads-really-sales-ready.html/comment-page-1#comment-8912 Kevin Burke Fri, 18 Mar 2011 11:32:08 +0000 http://www.aprildunford.com/http:/www.aprildunford.com/2009/02/are-those-leads-really-sales-ready.html#comment-8912 A lead is someone who asks for someone to contact them The rest are pospects. A lead is someone who asks for someone to contact them The rest are pospects.

]]> http://www.rocketwatcher.com/blog/2009/02/are-those-leads-really-sales-ready.html/comment-page-1#comment-810 Brian Carroll Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:33:02 +0000 http://www.aprildunford.com/http:/www.aprildunford.com/2009/02/are-those-leads-really-sales-ready.html#comment-810 <span class="topsy_trackback_comment"><span class="topsy_twitter_username"><span class="topsy_trackback_content">Reading: @aprildunford: Rocket Watcher: Are Those Leads Really Sales Ready? ( http://tinyurl.com/aegzhy )</span></span> Reading: @aprildunford: Rocket Watcher: Are Those Leads Really Sales Ready? ( http://tinyurl.com/aegzhy )

]]> http://www.rocketwatcher.com/blog/2009/02/are-those-leads-really-sales-ready.html/comment-page-1#comment-337 April Dunford Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:22:57 +0000 http://www.aprildunford.com/http:/www.aprildunford.com/2009/02/are-those-leads-really-sales-ready.html#comment-337 Hi Dale, Thanks so much for the comment. I agree that a whitepaper may not be the best tactic to "nurture" a lead but webcasts and whitepapers are frequently used to get people into the marketing pipeline initially which was what I was trying to get at in the post. I do believe that new prospects are looking for more information to decide who to put on a short list and although I am a big believer in target account selling, I don't believe that having sales generating and nurturing all of their own leads is scalable. You hit the nail on the head though that for the most part the leads that marketing delivers are useless to a sales person if they haven't been nurtured and qualified ahead of time. April Hi Dale,
Thanks so much for the comment. I agree that a whitepaper may not be the best tactic to “nurture” a lead but webcasts and whitepapers are frequently used to get people into the marketing pipeline initially which was what I was trying to get at in the post.
I do believe that new prospects are looking for more information to decide who to put on a short list and although I am a big believer in target account selling, I don’t believe that having sales generating and nurturing all of their own leads is scalable.
You hit the nail on the head though that for the most part the leads that marketing delivers are useless to a sales person if they haven’t been nurtured and qualified ahead of time.
April

]]> http://www.rocketwatcher.com/blog/2009/02/are-those-leads-really-sales-ready.html/comment-page-1#comment-2343 April Dunford Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:15:23 +0000 http://www.aprildunford.com/http:/www.aprildunford.com/2009/02/are-those-leads-really-sales-ready.html#comment-2343 <span class="topsy_trackback_comment"><span class="topsy_twitter_username"><span class="topsy_trackback_content">Blog Post "Are those leads really sales ready?" http://tinyurl.com/aegzhy</span></span> Blog Post “Are those leads really sales ready?” http://tinyurl.com/aegzhy

]]> http://www.rocketwatcher.com/blog/2009/02/are-those-leads-really-sales-ready.html/comment-page-1#comment-336 Dale Underwood Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:12:58 +0000 http://www.aprildunford.com/http:/www.aprildunford.com/2009/02/are-those-leads-really-sales-ready.html#comment-336 I think the premise of your argument is flawed because you based the lead nurturing requirement on a weak offer of a white paper. White papers, even closely guarded ones, are becoming ubiquitous and represent a poor call to action to filter out good prospects. If you had a better offer more targeted to a serious prospect then holding and nurturing that lead actually harms that sales process. As an IT sales person for 15 years I can honestly say marketing rarely delivered a leading worth following up on regardless of the multi-touch routine. In fact, when you are dealing with a complex and lengthy sales cycle, you had better be the one defining the decision criteria early. We had a saying, "if you receive a Request for Proposal but didn't help write it for the customer, throw it away. You've already lost the deal." I am enjoying your perspective but must respectfully disagree on this point. I think the premise of your argument is flawed because you based the lead nurturing requirement on a weak offer of a white paper. White papers, even closely guarded ones, are becoming ubiquitous and represent a poor call to action to filter out good prospects.
If you had a better offer more targeted to a serious prospect then holding and nurturing that lead actually harms that sales process.
As an IT sales person for 15 years I can honestly say marketing rarely delivered a leading worth following up on regardless of the multi-touch routine. In fact, when you are dealing with a complex and lengthy sales cycle, you had better be the one defining the decision criteria early. We had a saying, “if you receive a Request for Proposal but didn’t help write it for the customer, throw it away. You’ve already lost the deal.”
I am enjoying your perspective but must respectfully disagree on this point.

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