Lead Qualification (Scoring) and NurturingTips and Tricks
Presented by: Derek Grant, SVP, Sales
I’m Derek Grant
• I manage sales at Pardot
• Motto:Be Brief, Be Brilliantand Be Gone
Introduction
Lead Qualification (Scoring)Identify Exceptional Prospects
Does This Sound Familiar?
• 80% of all leads never have a meaningful conversation with a sales professional
-Forrester
• Only 17% of leads convert to qualified opportunities
-Bridge Group
Should All Leads Go To Sales?
The Grim Reality• A large number of
assigned leads should have never crossed over to the Sales team
• 70% of mishandled leads will buy from a competitor within24 months
Practical Steps• Define “Marketing Qualified
Lead” (MQL)• Have a Service Level
Agreement (SLA)• Measure and Improve
Qualification Leads to:• Prompt follow up• Higher conversion rates• More closed deals
The Need for Objective Qualification
Have You Tried?
• BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline)
• Explicit Qualification
• Implicit, Activity-based Qualification
• “Eyeball Approach”
Traditional Lead Qualification
Example of Implicit Qualification
Activity Value
Form / Landing Page Submission +50
Email Open 0
Email Link Click +3
Page View +1
Pricing Page View +25
Search +3
Opportunity Created +100
Interest v. Intent
Interest (Researching)Views 25 PagesDownloads Two
WhitepapersAttends a Webinar
Intent (Buying)“Contact Me” Form
Searches forCompany Name
Product Trial
Exceptional Prospects
Implicit – What they do
Explicit – Who they are
Finding the Right 20%
Implicit Explicit
Lead NurturingStay Top-of-Mind With Prospects
• 9% higher averagedeal size
• 23% shorter deal time
The Value of Your DB• Each lead has a cost• Time erodes the value
The ROI is Staggering
Segments, Personas & Interest• No “One Size Fits All” content• Prospect v. Customer-Focused • Granular segmentation is key
Rule: If the message “fits” everyone, it probably isn’t specific enough for anyone.
Rule 1 – Know Your Audience
What’s Your Goal• Begin at the end • “Mission Statement”• Education• Green to MQL• Brand Building
Example• Nurturing during a product
trial should convert prospect to customer
Rule 2 – Start With the End in Mind
Start• Not Yet an MQL• Non-responsive to Sales
Stop• How was “Success” defined?
Transition• Start a more specific one
Rule 3 – Know When to Stop & Start
Send at the right times• Suppress weekends or
after hours• Send during business hours
improve response rates
Frequency• Stick to a cadence• Don’t be a nuisance
Rule 4 – Be Mindful of Timing
Go Green with Content• Multi-use content• Dust off old content• Blog Post
Don’t get too specific too soon•Whitepapers = General, Broad•Webinars = Feature Specific•Case Studies = Pain points, ROI•Opportunities = Eliminate Risk
Rule 5 – Send Appropriate Content
Rule 6 – Mix It (Content) Up
Rule 6 – Mix It (Content) Up
Examples of NurturingPractical Campaigns For Any Organization
Premise• Retain early stage leads as
marketing assets• “Put the pebble in the shoe” Strategy• Heavy HTML from Marketing@• Whitepapers, broad webinarsGoal• Create an MQL
Educate Non-Sales Ready Leads
So They Don’t Want to Talk• Recycle non-responsive leads• Automation can reclaim Strategy• Revert to broad content
(Whitepapers, Webinars, etc…)If Successful Sales Engagement• From “Assigned User” & Light HTMLIf No Sales Engagement• Heavy HTML from Marketing@Goal• A more responsive MQL
Recycle Dormant Leads
Stay Top-of-Mind • Stay in touch• Non-responsive leads• Re-acquainting the prospect with
key featuresContent• Light HTML from the sales repGoal• Faking sincerity until re-engagement
Stay Top of Mind
Try it before you buy it…• Product trials• Consistent messages• Defined end pointContent• From Marketing@ & Heavy HTML• “How To” videos, KB articles,
ROI info• Align timing with trial timelineGoal• Convert from tire kicker to customer
Automate Trial Messaging
They Bought From Who???• Nurture Closed / Lost Opportunities• Prospects using a competitive
productStrategy• From “Assigned User” • Light HTML• Wait several months to start• Align timing with contract termGoal• Another chance to make a first
impression
Re-Engage after a Loss
DODoDo
• Use segmentation & personas
• Start with the end in mind
• Be mindful of timing
• General to specific
• Know when to stop
Don’t• “Nurture” your entire
database
• Send “one size fits all” content
• Assume that newsletters nurture
• Do it manually
Do’s and Don’ts
Questions
Derek GrantSVP of Sales
@derekgrant
Pardot950 East Paces Ferry RdSuite 3300Atlanta, Georgia 30326
404.492.6848877.3B2B.ROIwww.pardot.com
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