define ‘qualified leads’I receive emails weekly, if not more often, from shysters offering lead generation services. I also talk to clients who have very high enquiry rates, thanks to their high advertising budgets, but achieve a low proportion of qualified enquiries. This is the first of 10 THOUGHTS addressing strategies for maximising qualified enquiries and […]

define ‘qualified leads’I receive emails weekly, if not more often, from shysters offering lead generation services. I also talk to clients who have very high enquiry rates, thanks to their high advertising budgets, but achieve a low proportion of qualified enquiries. This is the first of 10 THOUGHTS addressing strategies for maximising qualified enquiries and genuine prospects. I would define a ‘qualified enquiry’ or ‘genuine prospect’ as one where there is a better than 50% likelihood of conversion. I recognise that there is usually a sales funnel and acknowledge the importance of minimising time wasted on unqualified enquiries in that funnel. A recent study by software vendor, Salesforce, found that: 79% of leads are not converted; and5% of leads are considered by salespeople to be high quality In my view, it is likely that these statistics vary by industry. However, the underlying point is clear and consistent with the experience…