Sales Leads 123: Generating, Qualifying, and Converting Sales Leads in 3 Proven Steps

By Barry Silverstein

"Sales Leads 123: Generating, Qualifying, and Converting Sales Leads in 3 Proven Steps" is an authoritative eGuide that helps small businesses understand and implement a sales lead process.

The eGuide includes information about differences between Business to Consumer and Business to Business lead generation; audience profiling, segmenting and targeting; developing offers and creative approaches; lead generation media; systems required; outbound vs. inbound lead generation; lead qualification examples; ranking offers by qualification potential; the qualification funnel and how it is changing; the relationship between Marketing and Sales; and basics of sales conversion. Specific tactics and techniques and a wealth of additional resources are included. "Sales Leads 123" is a “quick start” guide to effective sales lead generation, qualification, and conversion.

"Sales Leads 123" was written by Barry Silverstein. During his thirty year career in marketing, Silverstein has helped scores of companies large and small with their lead generation and qualification programs.

"Sales Leads 123" is the third in a new series of 123 eGuides. Others include "Branding 123: Build a Breakthrough Brand in 3 Proven Steps" and "Product Launch 123: Launch a New Product or Service in 3 Proven Steps." 123 eGuides are designed for today’s reader who wants information in a quick, convenient, easily readable format. Each 123 eGuide is intended to provide a functional overview rather than a detailed roadmap. Every 123 eGuide always includes additional resources if the reader wants to learn more. 123 eGuides are being published exclusively as eBooks and will be priced at $2.99 each to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barry Silverstein
• Release date: Jan 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465905338

Barry Silverstein

I am an author, blogger, brand historian and retired marketing professional.I have a background in advertising and marketing. I founded a direct and Internet marketing agency and ran it for twenty years, and I have over forty years of business experience.I have authored the following non-fiction books: World War Brands; Boomer Brand Winners & Losers; Boomer Brands; Let's Make Money, Honey: The Couple's Guide to Starting a Service Business - co-author (GuideWords Publishing); The Breakaway Brand - co-author (McGraw-Hill); Business-to-Business Internet Marketing (Maximum Press); Internet Marketing for Technology Companies (Maximum Press); and three books for small business managers in the Collins Best Practices series (HarperCollins). I have also written the following eGuides, all published by 123 eGuides: Branding 123 (Second Edition), B2B Marketing, Low Cost/No Cost Marketing 123, Product Launch 123, Sales Leads 123, and On Your Own 123.I have written two novels: The Doomsday Virus and Water's Edge.I publish a blog for Boomers (www.happilyrewired.com) and a blog for dog lovers (www.cmdog.com).

Book preview

Sales Leads 123

Generating, Qualifying, and Converting Sales Leads

in 3 Proven Steps

Barry Silverstein

A 123 eGuide

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012, Barry Silverstein

123 eGuide is a trademark of 123 eGuides

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

The Starting Line: Sales Leads Basics

1: Generating Sales Leads

2: Qualifying Sales Leads

3: Converting Sales Leads

The Finish Line: After You Make the Sale, the Selling Continues

About the Author

About 123 eGuides

The Starting Line

Sales Leads Basics

Sales leads are the lifeblood of any company, large or small.

Some companies generate direct sales via mail order, online, or retail outlets, so it might seem that they don’t really need to generate, qualify and convert sales leads.

Does a fast food restaurant, for example, need to generate sales leads -- or just get people in the door to make a purchase? The real question is, How does that restaurant get people to show up in the first place? They probably advertise, or run a Facebook promotion that a potential customer sees, or maybe a customer tells a friend about them. Guess what: Every one of these actions generates a sales lead, and that lead turns into a sale when the person comes in to the restaurant and buys something.

So when you think about it, every company, whether selling directly to consumers or businesses, whether selling products or services, needs to generate sales leads in one way or another. The same principles of sales lead generation can be applied to any company, large or small, or any product or service being sold in any market.

This eGuide is intended to help you understand the basics of generating, qualifying, and converting sales leads. The eGuide offers a quick overview rather than an in-depth explanation. The same 3-step process will generally apply to most sales situations, but it isn’t tailored to a specific industry or company. That’s why the eGuide includes a section called To Learn More with current articles at the end of every section, as well as a list of current books on the subject at the end of the eGuide. These recommended resources will provide you with additional essential information.

Before we get started, let’s cover some basic definitions.

Generating, Qualifying, and Converting

This eGuide is divided into three steps: Generating Sales Leads, Qualifying Sales Leads, and Converting Sales Leads.

Before you can generate a lead, you need to build a strong, memorable brand and successfully launch a product. If these are things you have not done yet, you are sure to find two other 123 eGuides of value:

Branding 123: Build a Breakthrough Brand in 3 Proven Steps

Product Launch 123: Launch a New Product or Service in 3 Proven Steps

These two eGuides are available wherever eBooks are sold.

Generating a sales lead is the act of identifying a prospective customer and using one or more methods to get that prospect to express an interest in your product or service. At the point of contact, you have acquired a lead, and in the best of circumstances, you have also acquired enough basic data to communicate with this lead (such as email address, mail address, and phone number). You may know very little else about the lead.

Qualifying a sales lead means taking a lead that you have acquired and discovering if it has any value to your business. You use commonly accepted techniques, which will be discussed in this eGuide, to generate leads, but your job doesn’t end there. Think of a lead you generate as a faceless prospect (pretty scary, huh?). You cannot see the prospect’s eyebrows, eyes, ears,