Have you ever searched for housing on Craigslist? It can be pretty intense. I’m currently in the midst of searching for housing and I have a set of ideals and a set of “insteliminations.” The funny thing is I’ve been noticing a lot of parallels between house hunting and lead scoring. Now before you start lecturing me about work life balance, hear me out.
Lead Scoring for Success
One of the most important advantages of marketing automation is the ability to help you define which prospects are sales-ready and which still need nurturing. Lead scoring enables your marketing and sales teams to work more efficiently. Assigning a score to existing leads helps those teams tailor their efforts for prospects in each stage of the buying cycle, creating a nurturing process that focuses on the needs and concerns of the lead as they arise. Prospects are contacted with relevant content when they’re ready for it.
Now back to my rental search.
The Definition of Efficient
When I’m searching through the hundreds of ads on Craigslist I know when to click on an ad and when to keep searching. Doesn’t allow dogs? Not even interested. Lots of natural light? Definitely checking it out. Has a washer and dryer? Swoon! I have an idea in my head of what I would like to find, what I’m willing to live without, and what is absolutely necessary. In my head, I’m scoring these “leads.” Dogs allowed +50 points, hardwood floors +15 points, no backyard -40 points, basement apartment -10 points, gas stove +15 points. Around 85 points I contact the landlord. If these were sales prospects and I was using marketing automation to do my lead scoring for me I would have a much easier time. Instead of spending about an hour online hunting for 3 places I’m willing to check out, I could spend 2 minutes opening and reading one email with the contact information and lead score for 3 solid leads predetermined for me. Do me a favor and define efficient.
The great part about lead scoring is that you choose how to assign points for the lead scoring process. You can program your marketing automation software to assign lead scores in the following way: visits company website +10 points, downloads a brochure about our services +20 points, visits careers Page -50 points, Spends 3 or more minutes on our pricing page +50 points. This allows you to send only the most relevant, ready-to-buy leads to your sales person. This could also help me find a dog-friendly house with wood floors, a fenced backyard, and laundry appliances. Win-win.
Get More Done Faster
There’s only so much time in a day. Are you going to spend it trying to call as many leads as you can regardless of where they are in the buying process or are you going to spend an hour speaking with a key decision-maker who is trying to make a purchase by the end of the day? It’s time to get more done faster.
