Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.
The CxO News
June 2007 Home     Subscribe      Archives     Contact Us 

Welcome:

The number one complaint by salespeople today is that they don't get enough leads from their marketing department. Yet when salespeople get their leads, how quickly do they respond to them? This month we take a look at the value of sales leads....

Sincerely


Rick Erling
Editor - The CxO News
www.thecxonews.com
editor@thecxonews.com
Dallas, Texas
(972) 727-6880

 


Are Your Sales Leads Worthless?
by Paul DiModica

    * Does your marketing expenditure have a return on investment?

    * Does your sales team waste its marketing leads?

The number one complaint by salespeople today is that they don't get enough leads from their marketing department? Yet when salespeople get their leads, how quickly do they respond to them?

 

Percent of Marketing-Generated Leads that Sales Acts on according to US B2B Marketers, September 2006 (% of respondents)

32%

 75% and higher
17% Between 50% and 75%
16% Between 20% and 50%
10% Less than 20%
11% Don't know
Source: Forrester Research October 2006
Provided to Paul DiModica by eMarketer.com under contract.

How much time does it take for the average salesperson to respond to leads once they receive them?

Amount of Time that Elapses between When Sales Receives and Follows Up on a Marketing-Generated Lead according to US B2B Marketers, September 2006 (% of respondents)

10%

 Less than a day
41% More than a day, less than 3 days
18% More than three days, less than a week
6% More than a week
8% Don't know
Source: Forrester Research October 2006
Provided to Paul DiModica by eMarketer.com under contract.

How often does your marketing lead turn into a sale?

Percent of Marketing-Generated Leads that Result in a Sale according to US B2B Marketers, September 2006 (% of respondents)

38%

 Less than 4%
13% More than 4% but less than 10%
17% More than 10% but less than 25%
5% More than 25%
18% Don't know
Source: Forrester Research October 2006
Provided to Paul DiModica by eMarketer.com under contract.

Does your marketing department measure their lead development efforts?

Methods Used by US B2B Marketers to Measure the Results of Lead Development Efforts, by Business Size, September 2006 (% of respondents)
 
<50
50-
499
500+
All
Respondents

No reliable means for measuring
14%
16%
21%
16%
Track responses, but can't tell which activities lead to sales
12%
10%
12%
11%
Track activities, actively working to "close the loop" with sales
33%
45%
33%
37%
Have "closed loop" processes and can track the final disposition of all leads
41%
30%
35%
36%
Source: Forrester Research October 2006
Provided to Paul DiModica by eMarketer.com under contract.

Does your marketing budget investment affect your business success?

Impact of Marketing on the Success of the Business according to US Marketers, 2006 (% of respondents)

34%

 Impact is significant
64% Some impact
Source: ITSMA, October 2006
Provided to Paul DiModica by eMarketer.com under contract.

Today, marketing is a line position that should be linked to sales and corporate strategy as one integrated revenue capture model. Spending money on fancy web sites that don't create inbound leads for the sales team or on pretty brochures that don't turn prospects into buyers is wasted effort.

Yet time and time again, companies spend a disproportionate amount of funding on marketing that has no measured Return on Investment (ROI).

Yes, you can blame salespeople saying that they are burning qualified sales leads and losing deals supplied by marketing because they lack sales skills, but that cup of water only holds so much. In the end, marketing must align their actions and their funding usage to help the sales team create more qualified sales leads.

Is your marketing department a partner or a competitor?

 

"Marketing is an Attitude -- Not a Department." Phil Wexler

 
Available for Strategy Engagements and Training Workshops
 

Rick Erling offers sales and marketing best practices workshops, and business strategy engagements in North America and abroad tailored to clients' needs.
   
The CxO Group, LLC is a member of The Value Forward Network, a world-wide management consortium of strategic advisors who integrate strategy, marketing and sales methodology into one outbound revenue capture program to increase corporate revenue. 

Through premeditated strategic and tactical processes, the firm helps senior management increase corporate performance...
For more information, please visit: http://www.thecxogroup.com
 
P.S. Please share this newsletter with 3 or 4 of your friends or colleagues who you think will benefit from it.

 



 
   
 Aligning Sales and Marketing with Business Strategy

 

 

 

 

 

CALL NOW and ask for your FREE Sales and Marketing Scorecard Assessment

 

Evaluate Your Revenue Capture Success

The new Sales and Marketing Scorecard  is a management assessment tool designed to help you evaluate your firm's revenue capture success and compare your current operating model against industry best practices to help your company achieve its peak performance.

Business Performance Improvement Specialists

 

Specialists in Sales and Marketing Advisement
 
Private On-Site Sales Team Training, Sales Strategy and Marketing Advisement Custom Designed for Your Needs
 
For those companies seeking to train a sales force, enhance their marketing capabilities or develop a new growth business strategy to be more successful in generating increased revenue, we offer personalized, private in-house training and consulting programs. Each program can be custom designed for your product or service based needs. Our programs and services are delivered to you and your team on your schedule.
 







  

 

The Value Forward Method

Accelerating Business Performance and Making Revenue Capture is a Company Responsibility

The CxO Group, LLC
(972) 727-6880

www.thecxogroup.com

 
You are receiving this email because you expressed an interest in our services...

*|EMAIL|* from this list.

Our mailing address is:
The CxO News
811 Clearlake Drive
Allen, Texas 75002

Our telephone:
(214) 295-7631

Copyright (C) 2007 The CxO News All rights reserved.

Forward this email to a friend