Lead scoring - meclabs

Challenges growing in pertinenceGenerating high quality leadsGenerating a high volume of leads35%49%44%74%78%69%• B2B marketingchallenges on the riseyear-over-yearGenerating perceived value in "cuttingedge" product benefitsCompeting in lead generation acrossmultiple media, from podcasts to paidsearch to webinars to print ads27%41%37%37%40%36%201120102009• Continual strugglebetween quality andquantity of leadsGenerating public relations "buzz"Marketing to a lengthening sales cycleMarketing to a growing number ofpeople involved in the buying process38%36%33%33%34%33%38%41%39%Source: ©2011 MarketingSherpa B2B Marketing Benchmark SurveyMethodology: Fielded June 2011, N=1,745• The marketplace isevolving, andmarketers areresistant to adaptlatest best practices5

CMOs speak out on top challenges• “The greatest challengewould be lead scoring andthe scoring trulyrepresenting closing sales.”• “We lose many of our leadsthroughout the salesfunnel.”6

How can I generate more highqualityleads, and improve leadgeneration ROI?

Case Study: Revamping lead gen“My challenge is not to increase the numberof leads, but to get improved conversion ratesthroughout the funnel.”-Nick HalseyVP MarketingJaspersoft• Goals: Profileaudience, segmentdatabase, andestablish automatedscoring and nurturing• Results: 190% increasein sales conversions8

MarketingAutomationCustomer-centric messagingCMSOpen SourceWeb AnalyticsEmail SystemCentralizedandSegmentedDatabaseFourNurturing TracksCustomerCommunity MemberCorporate North AmericaCorporate EuropeE-commerce9

Qualification and scoring• Applied demographic andbehavioral scoring• Collected information throughdynamic registration forms• Handed leads off to Sales oncethe qualified lead threshold wasmet10

Triggered nurturing and hand-offDownload of 30-daytrial version ofsoftwareSeries of fiveautomated emailsAutomated sub-campaignsActions indicating readiness to buyHand-off to Sales11

Results30-daytrial drip#2 closingrateE-commerce#3 closingrateRequest forcontact#1 closingrate190% increase in sales conversions12

How can we approach the funnel ina new way?

B2B Marketing Funnel 1.0Leads enter the systemLeads go directly to SalesSales “cherry-picks” the best leadsSales spends significant time “checking in”with the rest to see if they are ready to buy14

B2B Marketing Funnel 2.0Qualified lead criteriaestablishedLeads enter systemQualified leadsgo to SalesLeadsscoredpercriteriaNon-qualifiedleads stay inMarketing fornurturing15

What’s the key differentiator?Marketers must screen leadsbefore sending them to Sales

3-step process1.Identify2.Score3.Optimize

Step 1 of 3: IDENTIFY

What is a lead?19

IDENTIFY: Defining a qualified lead• Generate more qualified leads• Improve alignment• Increase sales effectiveness• Accelerate sales pipelines• Increase overall revenues20

IDENTIFY: Defining a qualified lead“By definition, a universal sales lead is one that has been determinedto fit the profile of the ideal customer, has been qualified as salesready,and spells out the responsibilities and accountabilities of theparticipants in the program, Sales and Marketing.”-Brian CarrollExecutive Director of Applied ResearchMECLABS21

IDENTIFY: Lead qualification improves ROISends all leads to Sales85%Does not send all leads to Sales115%• 35% lift in leadgeneration ROIfrom screeningleadsAverage lead generation ROISource: ©2011 MarketingSherpa B2B Marketing Benchmark SurveyMethodology: Fielded June 2011, N=326 CMOs22

IDENTIFY: Requirements of sales-ready leadsLead contact informationhas been validated to berealLead appears to be intarget marketLead has indicated a validbusiness need56%66%71%• For those marketersthat do havequalification, theseare the most popularcriteriaLead has explicitly asked tohave contact with salesLead has indicated anacceptable purchasingbudget32%51%• Contact information,target market andvalid business needLead has downloadedcontentLead has reached a certainlead score28%27%• Explicitly asking tohave contact withSalesSource: ©2011 MarketingSherpa B2B Marketing Benchmark SurveyMethodology: Fielded June 2011, N=1,745

IDENTIFY: How to define a qualified lead1. Analyze existing qualified leads2. Bring Sales into the loop3. Draft and roll out4. Adapt over time24

IDENTIFY: Sample lead definition• A sales-ready lead for our company has a need for CRM software -- and'gets it.'• They have some level of education on CRM and a clear understanding ofthe benefits.• They have an adequate budget set aside for their purchase.• They have downloaded one of our whitepapers on CRM softwarebenefits.• Approximately 30% of leads generated from Marketing will be salesready.• Approximately 15% of sales-ready leads will be closed by the sales team.- CRM Software Developer25

IDENTIFY: Resources1. MarketingSherpa’s 2011 B2B MarketingAdvanced Practices Handbook2. Post-Summit Workshop – B2B MarketingAdvanced Practices3. B2B Lead Roundtable Blog –www.b2bleadblog.com

Step 2 of 3: SCORE

SCORE: Score all leads• Lead scoring – the process of adding orsubtracting points, as a result of various leadattributes and behaviors, that identify salesreadyleads.28

SCORE: Lead scoring improves lead gen ROICurrently using lead scoringNot using lead scoring138%78%• 77% lift in leadgeneration ROIfrom scoringleadsAverage lead generation ROISource: ©2011 MarketingSherpa B2B Marketing Benchmark SurveyMethodology: Fielded June 2011, N=326 CMOs29

SCORE: Top lead scoring criteriaOnline lead activityContent downloadFrequency and / orrecency of activity58%57%71%• For those who score,these are the topcriteriaJob titleCompany sizeIndustryBudget42%39%50%49%• Lead behavior is anexcellent indication ofengagementAnonymous tracking ofwebsite activityTime frame for purchase38%38%• Balance behaviorswith demographicsKey problem / pain point33%Subtraction of points32%Offline lead activity30%Source: ©2011 MarketingSherpa B2B Marketing Benchmark SurveyMethodology: Fielded June 2011, N=1,74530

SCORE: Creating lead scoring campaignsCRITERIAEXECUTIONASSUMPTIONSFLEXIBILITYFEEDBACK• Demographics andattributes• Behaviors• Manual executionfor a small numberof criteria or leads• Automatedexecution toensure consistency• Launch with a bestguess for qualifiedlead thresholdscore• Test and adjustthreshold overtime• Continual processof trial and error• Gather qualitativefeedback andquantitative data• Check in with Salesregularly• Identify problemsearly on31

SCORE: Lead scoring attributes/behaviorsLead Scoring AttributesIndustryCompany size (number of employees)Annual revenueLocationBudgetJob titleKey problem / pain pointCurrent solutionEducationLead Scoring BehaviorsWebsite visitHigh-value website page visitEmail openEmail clickthroughWhitepaper downloadWebinar registrationPhone callEmail sentVisited booth at trade show32

SCORE Sample lead score calculation (1)Lead scoring criteriaAddition / Subtractionof pointsWorks for a company with 100 + employees +3Indicated an acceptable budget of $5,000 for purchase +5Indicated a time frame to purchase of three months or less +4Has job title that includes “Manager” or “Director” +3Indicated desire to be contacted by a salesperson +21Total36Target threshold is 21,so route lead to Sales33

SCORE: Sample lead score calculation (2)Lead scoring criteriaAddition / Subtractionof pointsWorks for a company with 100 + employees +3Indicated a time frame to purchase of three months or less +4Clicked through on a company email +2Visited the pricing page on website +2Downloaded a whitepaper on benefits of outsourcing +2Lack of activity for 14 days -3Unsubscribed from the email list -5Total 5Under target threshold of 21,so hold lead34

Step 3 of 3: OPTIMIZE

OPTIMIZE: Continual adaptation• Adapt methodologies over time to meet the needsof our evolving marketplaceOverallleadqualityUniversalleaddefinitionLead scorethresholdContinualOptimizationLeadscoringcriteriaAttributionof points36

OPTIMIZE: How to continually optimize1. Audit your existing lead scoring process regularly37

Example of lead scoring process audit1. Review scores of deals that closed.• Did these meet your threshold?2. Review deal sizes and time to close for wonopportunities.• What were the lead scores for accounts withlarge purchases and short timeframes topurchase? Were they higher than other leads?3. Review scores of deals that did not close.• Were these leads under your threshold?• Were some over your threshold?38

OPTIMIZE: How to continually optimize1. Audit your existing lead scoring process regularly2. Ensure that you have a closed-loop feedback process with Sales3. Conduct a SWOT analysis of your existing lead scoring processa. Stay abreast of industry happenings, and any internal or externalfactors which may influence your market and lead scoring campaigns4. Be willing to segment lead definitions even furtherwhere there are opportunities5. Adjust the individual scoring values based on howyour company (re)defines a lead39

Summary1. Generating more high-quality leads and improving leadgeneration ROI are top B2B marketer challenges2. Funnel optimization strategies present a great opportunityfor success3. Three-step process for B2B Marketing Funnel 2.0:1. Define and identify qualified leads2. Score all leads based on attributes that indicate sales-ready leads3. Optimize through continual adaptation and improvement40

Hands-on trainingInstructions for Worksheet 1• If you DO NOT have lead scoring• Draft criteria for a qualified leadand initial lead scoring campaignthat can be used for launch.Instructions for Worksheet 2• If you DO have lead scoring• Execute SWOT (strengths,weaknesses, opportunities,threats) analysis of existingcampaign.41