by Ann Pruitt

We keep hearing that the economy is turning around. We keep struggling, however. One way we can fight back: Don’t let your potential clients slip through your fingers.

Our friends at The Sales Lead Management Association have a blog all about managing your sales leads. Here’s an excerpt from a recent post, or read the whole post here.

++++++

We are going through some very tough economic times, but not everyone is a victim. Many elements of the economy are still thriving.

Unfortunately, individuals and companies feel that, with all of the negatives of the economy, this is not the time to spend money on marketing and sales. Actually, business analysts will tell you that at times like this it is imperative to invest in aggressive marketing, and fine-tune the sales process to find out what programs are working and which ones aren’t. This is when you must have a system in place to make sure you get the best bang for your buck.

From 1979 to 2009 several figures remain constants in business annals:

• More than 50% of qualified leads are never worked by sales
• Less than 50% of a salesperson’s time is spent selling
• 80% of trade show leads are never followed up

You need tools that will ensure:

• Your valuable sales leads do not fall through the cracks
• Inquiries are quickly routed to the correct sales person for quick action
• Marketing investments are analyzed to optimize budgets
• The entire organization is linked to the sales pipeline

This is not the time to sit back and wait for things to improve. Take control, and implement a sales lead management solution to make sure your precious sales leads are not falling through the cracks.

You can’t blame the economy if:

• Your reps spend the majority of their time in non-sales activities
• More than half of your costly qualified leads are never worked by sales
• 80% of your trade show leads are never followed up.

Take action, now.  Don’t be a victim.

++++++

The Sales Lead Management Association has the mission of helping companies become more successful in the critical business process of managing sales leads. Register for free to gain access to the extensive library of articles, reports, and  information about inquiry management, sales leads, lead nurturing, lead qualification, ROI reporting, and lead distribution.

++++++

Friday, April 9th, 2010, 7:54 am   |   General Marketing, Marketing Best Practices  |  RSS feed |  Respond  |  Trackback