Are your conversion rates right? How many of your leads are getting converted? What is your return on investment(ROI)? Is it a low percentage or a high? If low, are you sure your lead generation is going well?

Low-level lead conversions are always a marketing headache especially when you have good sources or technology that handles that part. So, where do you think the error was?

Let us not go into the whole marketing mumbo jumbo if you can’t figure out the simple fact that the error may have already happened at the start. If your lead generation and identification were under the wrong method, then most of the further work is wasted. Let’s talk about a simple solution – lead qualification.

Lead Qualification

With the present marketing technology advancements, generating leads is not that difficult for your website. Most of the marketing technology solutions in the market provide different types of information regarding the leads under various categories. It is your responsibility to identify and categorize them as per your sales.

Lead qualification is this process of identifying, nurturing, and organizing leads into what suits you best. It must align with your business objectives, producing the highest quality prospects that you are sure will benefit your business. Utilizing exit intent data, leads can be scored and dealt with accordingly, allowing you to pursue only the genuine ones that can be converted in the funnel. It saves a lot of time and effort.

Identify Your Leads

When it comes to the types of leads in the B2B world, two types are commonly used.

1. Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL) – Leads that have shown interest in your product or service but may or may not be interested in buying. Such leads can be used for marketing campaigns.
2. Sales Qualified Leads (SQL) – Leads that have shown interest in your product or service that are interested in buying. Such leads can be directed to the sales section for further contacts and sales pitching.

Here, you must identify which are your leads and which are prospects and act accordingly. For example, campaigns done on MQLs may bring only a meager amount of conversions if most leads are not interested in buying. In such a situation you are wasting time and money without gaining your expected ROI.

How To Qualify Your Leads?

Once the leads are identified, a proper lead funnel can be created. With a list of genuine leads, you can work more comfortably without chasing after unsuccessful leads. Here are a few things that can help you in qualifying leads for your funnel.

1. Qualification Criteria

A criterion needs to be created to filter the leads down the funnel. The criteria can depend on what you are selling. One of the basic ways to categorize leads is to divide them based on demand, budget, leadership position, time of requirement, etc. This gives you a good idea of whom you should get in touch with for the marketing and sales procedures.

2. Lead Nurturing

Lead all leads at least once through the lead nurturing process to filter and identify their requirements from you. It helps you to filter the leads well and send them to the next department. At this point, you can differentiate between your leads and prospects. This helps you separate both among the group and move plans ahead as per the situation demands. For example, you don’t have to put the prospects through campaigns and delay the whole process.

The process of lead nurturing allows you to differentiate between MQLs and SQLs. once that difference is identified you can directly start the corresponding pitches. This saves you time, effort, and money.

3. Improve Your ROI

In simple business terms, lead qualification gives you the chance to identify where you should spend while avoiding places you don’t have to. By identifying and qualifying leads you are directly sent to who will buy from you. Here are some of the advantages of lead qualification that can give you the benefit of increased ROI.

• Information on where to spend on what type of marketing or sales strategies
• Identify your target audience with specific details
• Optimized lead database that can directly lead to your buyer
• High conversion rates are possible with lead filtering
• Improved relationships between the sales and marketing teams

Author - Samita Nayak

Samita Nayak is a content writer working at Anteriad. She writes about business, technology, HR, marketing, cryptocurrency, and sales. When not writing, she can usually be found reading a book, watching movies, or spending far too much time with her Golden Retriever.