Ask any business owner and/or manager about the wheeling and dealing of their trade and you will soon learn that money really is the driving force for all. The ultimate goal that most businesses strive towards is to use fewer resources and time, all the while keeping that bankroll flowing. Within the online industry, such as ours, leads are one of the most important factors to capitalize on, but in order to do so it will require that you have a proper lead management software in place to ensure those leads soon convert into deals for your business.

After much research our team eventually decided upon Leads360 to provide us with a lead management system that is on par with our services. According to their client data based analysis the lead conversion rates that we could prepare for are 57% quality leads and 43% sales process – which is exactly what we needed. The 5 factors that most concerned us were to:

• Capture new leads;
• Then distribute those leads;
• Whilst keeping track and managing all aspects;
• As well as convert or nurture leads; and
• Finally to analyse the results.

Above and beyond the aforementioned factors, Leads360 also has more than 15 million leads in their database – giving us the leads up! But before we got ahead of ourselves, let’s quickly have a look at the 4 ways you can choose to receive your leads:

• Real-Time XML/HTTPS Post: instant leads generator from a number of lead providers, your website, and/or anywhere else from the web.
• Import of CSV/Excel File: Leads360’s import engine transfer leads from both text and data files.
• Manual Input:  by means of Leads360’s interface you can manually key-in your leads.
• Web Service: allows you to connect to Leads360’s web service in order to add leads and/or edit your existing leads.

Processing your leads

More often than not the problem lies in managing leads. People tend to take their time getting back to their leads, ultimately affecting their number in sales. For this very reason it is imperative that the right leads get to the right person immediately. According to a study done by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), leads convert 22 times more into sales when the salesperson contacts the client within 5 minutes of their request. Once you begin doing the maths it becomes hard to fathom exactly how much potential business you’ve lost due bad distribution of leads and time management by the salesperson.

Once the salesperson contacted the lead, the real work begins. Prioritising the leads can be the biggest challenge however – even for the most advanced salesperson – as you need to identify which lead/inquiry needs to be followed-up next. Remember, it is key that the inquiry gets response from the salesperson as soon as possible, but if random leads are followed-up, you’ve probably missed out on most of your lucrative opportunities. Furthermore, with the large number of leads you receive on a daily basis, a structured system is what you’ll require. This was one of the other reasons we decided upon Leads360. We found that their Lead Prioritization Engine was by far the most intelligent, robust, and configurable on the market, allowing our salespeople to get to more high quality leads than before.

What about leads that didn’t make the sale immediately?

Just because the sale wasn’t made upon your first contact with the lead, doesn’t mean the buck stops there. It was discovered that approximately 40% of leads that was initially “not ready” to buy, eventually came round to signing that deal. The problem we face though is the time constraint our salespeople have to follow-up on these leads on a daily basis. Enter Leads360’s automated mechanisms. No more do you have to constantly go back to email, send reminders or make postings as the software can automatically do all this on your behalf in a timely manner that will remind the potential customer, without alienating them.

Lastly, tracking and analysing performances of your salespeople and their marketing efforts is an absolute must. In fact, all your efforts will be somewhat pointless, not to mention the reality that it will affect your ROI. This was the last little detail that eventually made us say “Yes! We’ll take it!”. The reporting is made simple with Leads360’s innovative lead analytics and sales lead tracking software as it provides key metrics and quickly and accurately calculate your ROI.

At the end of the day all our worries and woes are stripped away with the help of Leads360, because not only did they afford us with a lead management software that meets the demands of all our needs, but they have been, thus far, extremely helpful when it came to supporting us. Now all we have to do is look forward to see how our number of clients grows in future.

Leads360. Lead management made simple, easy and effective.