For most organizations, producing sales begins with generating leads. Depending on a company s buying cycle, and the prospect s budget and purchase timeline, some leads deserve immediate attention while others need to be nurtured. The challenge is identifying which leads should be given higher priority.
Using online surveys to attract prospects and collect data is simple. However, volume does not imply quality. In fact, many companies have discovered that their overall lead quality has declined even as their volume has increased. In this article, we ll take a closer look at using surveys to score leads. This is a key ingredient to qualifying and prioritizing prospects based on their likelihood to make a purchase decision.
Using Online Questionnaires To Score Leads
Scoring is a methodology that assigns a priority to each prospect based on the value that person represents to your company. Every organization has different goals, but we ll focus on a person s likelihood to buy a product or service that you re selling.
One of the most common frustrations for salespeople is that they spend their limited time following up on low priority leads. Making matters worse, they do so while high priority prospects sit in the queue. Online survey technology can be used to not only collect data, but also to prioritize prospects and automatically forward their data to the salesperson who is best able to close them. While high priority leads are addressed immediately, lower priority prospects can be placed into a sales funnel that continues to cultivate them.
What Is A Qualified Lead?
The first step in using online questionnaires for scoring leads is to define the factors that imply high priority. For example, comparing your past sales data to your customer profiles might reveal that prospects on the West Coast who work in the financial space yield a higher close rate. Or, you might discover that those who work for organizations with fewer than 50 employees are easier to close than larger companies.
Your scoring rubric can be integrated into your online surveys so that respondents qualify themselves with their responses. Then, depending upon the scores they assign themselves, qualified respondents (i.e. high priority prospects) are forwarded to your sales staff for immediate follow up.
Automating The Follow Up Process
Many companies allow high quality leads to age within their follow up queue because their survey methodology fails to properly prioritize them. Or worse, they allow these qualified prospects to land on the desk of an inexperienced salesperson. Both scenarios significantly reduce the likelihood that these leads will close.
The key to creating an efficient lead follow up system begins with the manner in which you leverage your online survey technology. Too often, researchers will create questionnaires to collect actionable data without regard for scoring and prioritizing prospects. As a result, those who may be willing to make a purchase decision are neglected and left to age within the queue.
Top priority leads must be given immediate attention by your sales staff. The good news is that online survey technology can automate the follow up process by forwarding top priority prospects to your best salespeople.
The Role Of Online Surveys In Lead Generation
Your questionnaires can uncover key factors that suggest a given prospect is more likely to buy something now. For example, you can ask questions to determine whether the respondent s company is using a product that complements your own. You can ask whether the respondent has the authority to make a purchase decision. You can also identify how much the company intends to spend on the type of product you re selling. And of course, your questionnaire should ask the respondent to describe their purchase timeline.
Online survey technology can be leveraged to qualify and prioritize your leads. You ll find that doing so will help your sales staff achieve a higher close rate while boosting your company s sales.
Author Resource:
SurveyGizmo is a leading provider of online survey tools, check them out on the web at http://www.surveygizmo.com
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