Have you ever wondered why they say, "Leads are the lifeblood of a business?" Well, we did, too, until we dove into understanding business leads!
Simply put, your business lead is a potential customer seeking your products or services. Or, they can benefit from your offering.
Additionally, companies with effective lead-generation strategies are 133% more likely to outperform their competitors. That's right; it makes it even more important for you to learn about business leads.
So, let us share our knowledge on the topic with you. As we know which people we call business leads, let’s learn different types.
When it comes to business leads, they can spring from various sources, like a surprise party! Each source defines how you can approach different leads.
So, let's see the different lead sources you can leverage.
Inbound leads are potential customers who come to your business naturally, showing interest in your products or services. These leads are often highly valuable for your business because they actively seek information or solutions you already offer.
This involves creating and sharing valuable, relevant content through:
It is optimizing your website and content to rank higher in search engine results using:
When your website appears in relevant search queries, it can generate organic traffic and leads.
Social media platforms are powerful tools for generating inbound leads. You can attract potential customers by sharing valuable content on social platforms.
You can engage with your audience in real time, addressing their concerns right away. In fact, your quick response to leads, especially within the first hour, ensures a 7X higher chance of meaningful conversations with decision-makers.
Plus, you can run targeted social media ads in front of interested leads.
You can generate outbound leads through proactive outreach efforts. While they may be less warm than inbound leads, they can still be highly valuable if you approach them strategically.
It requires you to generate interest in potential prospects unaware of your brand. As we already mentioned earlier, you need to craft personalized and relevant email campaigns to capture the attention of potential leads.
In fact, 93% of your cold emails often get opened within the first 4 hours. So, you must craft your emails really well.
In cold calling, you make phone calls to potential customers to educate them about your product/service. But, these potential customers are the ones who have no earlier interaction with your brand. While it can be challenging, a well-scripted and empathetic approach can turn cold calls into warm leads.
Another way to reach your outbound leads is by attending industry events, conferences, and networking functions. These events allow you to connect with your potential leads in person. Building relationships at such events can lead to valuable business connections and potential customers.
Your referral leads come from existing customers or business partners who recommend your products or services to others. It’s enticing that 92% of customers trust referrals from people they know.
These leads are often highly qualified and have a higher conversion rate. You can get your referral leads in two ways:
Encourage your satisfied customers to refer others to your business. Implement referral programs or offer incentives to motivate customers to spread the word.
Form partnerships with other businesses in complementary industries. When your partners refer clients or customers to you, it can lead to mutually beneficial relationships and a steady stream of referrals.
Your business leads may show different behaviors toward your brand. Some may show more interest than others. Knowing the differences gives you a foundation for approaching each of them effectively.
For your help, we listed 3 main types of business leads by behaviors and which approaches work on them.
These are prospects with no prior interest in your product or service. In fact, they might not even have heard of your brand. Thus, they typically are at the initial stage of your sales funnel. You’ll need to put your brand before them via strategic marketing efforts.
MQLs are your business leads who show active interest and engagement with your marketing efforts. But they may not be sales-ready yet. Hence, you must further educate them about your offerings.
Plus, you should track their interactions to find out when they are ready. Again, you must nurture them to push them forward in your sales funnel.
SQLs are prospects who have shown high interest in your offerings. That’s why they are called “Hot” leads. Also, they are more critical than your warm leads as they are highly likely to convert into paying customers.
34% of your fellow competitors find lead qualification as their main challenge. That’s because they fail to understand that not all leads are the same!
Some are like diamonds, ready to shine brightly, while others may need a bit more polishing. That's where lead qualification methods come into play. These are:
Let’s see how you can use them:
Follow the given steps:
This method lets you assign numerical values to your leads based on their characteristics and behaviors. Here’s the list of elements you can use to define your lead-scoring criteria:
Once you've defined your criteria, create a lead scoring model that assigns point values to each criterion.
For example, a lead's job title might be worth 10 points, while attending a webinar could be worth 20 points. You can do it manually or through automation using customer relationship management (CRM) software such as HubSpot.
Here is a sample of the lead scoring model:
| Lead Attribute | Points |
| Job Title | 10 |
| Company Size | 5 |
| Industry | 20 |
| Geographic Region | 20 |
| Website Activity | 30 |
Regularly review and refine your lead scoring criteria to ensure they remain aligned with your business goals and evolving customer behavior. Analyze the effectiveness of your scoring model by comparing scores to actual conversion rates. Make adjustments as needed to improve accuracy.
Lead prioritization is like sorting a deck of cards; you want to find your aces first. It's the art of ranking potential customers based on their buying readiness. It ensures you focus on the hottest prospects and close deals efficiently.
You can use the following tips:
You can choose the most fitting lead qualification framework as per your resources and business needs among:
Let’s see what these frameworks consist of in brief:
BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing)
MEDDIC (Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, and Champion)
GPCTBA/C&I (Goals, Plans, Challenges, Timeline, Budget, Authority, Negative Consequences, and Positive Implications)
CHAMP (Challenges, Authority, Money, and Prioritization)
Here’s the most detailed post about lead qualification frameworks.
Utilize CRM software or marketing automation tools to automate lead prioritization. These systems can calculate lead scores and provide real-time insights into lead behavior and interactions.
Some systems can even trigger automated actions based on lead prioritization, such as sending personalized emails or assigning leads to specific sales reps.
The best CRM tools you can use are Salesforce, HubSpot, and Mailchimp.
Establish a clear lead prioritization process to ensure consistency and alignment within your sales and marketing teams:
Well, our fellow lead enthusiasts, we hope you've enjoyed this journey of learning about business leads! Remember, leads are the fuel that powers your business engine, and how you manage them can make all the difference.
Speaking of making a difference, if you're looking for a top-notch partner in your lead generation endeavors, let me introduce you to Revnew. Our innovative strategies and dedication to delivering high-quality leads can catapult your business to new heights. So, why not give us a shot? Your future success may just be a click away!