Sales Lead Management Today

Sales Lead Management Association Voting is Open for the 50 Most Influential List In Sales Lead Management

Los Angeles, CA - - Oct 26, 2009--James W. Obermayer, executive director of the Sales Lead Management Association (SLMA), announced today that the association has opened the virtual voting booth to determine the 50 most influential people in the field of sales lead management for 2009.

SLMA co-founder Susan Campanale said "Members and non-members may vote for nominees listed on the SLMA site on October 26th. The results will be published on November 16, 2009. Voters may cast votes for up to five nominees; duplicates are not allowed. Mark Friedman, EVP of the SLMA said, "We consider all of those nominated to be builders of wealth and we recognize them for their contributions."

Obermayer said that the Top 50 List will be determined by the number of votes received by each nominee. The nominees are:

• Larry Augustin SurgarCRM
• Patty Azzarello Azzarello Group
• Marc Benioff SalesForce.com
• Trish Bertuzzi The Bridge Group, Inc.
• Joel Book Exact Target
• Eills Booker BtoB Magazine
• Michel A. Brown Business to Business by Phone
• Patrick Cahill Wellesley Hills Group
• Gil Cargil Cargil Consulting Group
• Brian Carroll InTouch
• James Cecil Nurture Institute
• John Coe B2B Marketing
• Joyceann Cooney-Garippa Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
• Lisa Cramer Lead Life
• Dick Damrow Contract Marketing Resources
• Mary Dedrick Performark, Inc.
• John Doerr Wellesley Hills Group
• Scott Dorsey Exact Target
• Eric Edwards Rubicon Marketing Group
• Richard Erschilk Leads to Sales, Inc.
• Bob Felsenthal Crain Communications
• Phil Fernandez Marketo
• Bob Fernekees CRM Magazine
• John Foiley InerlinkOne
• Susan Friedman The Trade Show Coach
• Andrew Gaffney Demand GenReport and G3 Communications
• David Green PipeAlign
• Gerhard Gschwandtner Selling Power
• John Hasbrouck NewLeads, Inc.
• Archie Heinl Blitz Lead Manager
• Carlos Hidalgo The Annunitas Group
• Jay Hidalgo The Annunitas Group
• Judy Johnson Key Marketing Group
• Tom Judge Direct Marketing Partners
• Rick Kean Business Marketing Institute
• Russell Kern The Kern Organization
• Victor Kippes Validar, Inc.
• Jill Konroth Selling to Big Companies
• Aaron Kullman Sales Partnerships
• James La Belle LeadTrack
• James Lenskold Lenskold Group
• Joe Lethert Performark, Inc.
• Barry Lieberman Advantage Plus Marketing
• Mack Manning PST Sales and Marketing
• Michael McCloskey FrontRange Solutions
• Dan McDade PointClear
• Laura McGuire SmartTracks, Inc.
• M.H. "Mac" McIntosh Mac McIntosh, Inc.
• Mark McIntosh Cedar Graphics, Inc.
• Margery Murphy Acadia Lead Management Services
• Kirten Patel LeadOrganizer
• Jack Perry Respect Factor
• Tom Quinn Mailing and Fulfillment Services Organization
• Bill Rice Kaleidico
• Dan Rogers SmartLead by AdTrack Corporation
• Christopher Ryan Fusion Marketing Partners
• Howard J. Sewell Connect Direct
• Gary Slack Slack Barshinger and Partners
• Jim Steele SalesForce.com
• Ruth Stevens eMarketing Strategy
• Frank van Veenendaal SalesForce.com
• Craig Williams CommunityLink
• James Wong Avidian Technologies
• Steven Woods Eloqua
• Fred Yee ActiveConversion

About the Sales Lead Management Association
The mission of the Sales Lead Management Association is to help companies become successful in the critical business process of managing sales leads. For more information about SLMA or the ‘Top 50’ list, call Sue Campanale at 714-637-6989.

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Sales Lead Management Association Extends Nominations Until October 23rd!

The SLMA announced that it will extend the process for nominating people to the 50 Most Influential List for sales lead management for 2009 to Friday, October 23rd. Voting will begin on Monday, October 26th. Susan Campanale, VP of Marketing said, "It gives members more time to nominate worthy individuals. Members must login to the SLMA site and from the home page go to the nomination form. We are surprised that more individuals on the client site and agency people are not as well represented so far."

Maximizing the Value of Your Lead Generation Dollars

Pressures are mounting on companies to maximize marketing ROI. In other words, the money spent on lead generation should show a strong return related to sales revenue. This money should be evaluated so it is continually applied to the highest yielding program(s). To do this, marketers must gain visibility into individual programs to determine the number and quality of leads they generate, and how many ultimately transform into closed sales.

But the issue doesn’t stop there. Increasing the value of lead generation dollars also means ensuring the leads being handed to costly sales resources are indeed “sales ready.” According to CSO Insights’ Sales Performance Optimization Study (2008), salespeople are generating 50% of their own leads. That’s an expensive proposition and raises the question – what is marketing doing?

It’s clear marketers must find ways to track and manage leads through the lead life cycle. This requires the ability to evaluate leads, determine when leads are “sales ready,” and when they are not. Additionally, marketers must take responsibility to nurture those leads that aren’t “sales ready” to maximize the value of what they’ve spent on lead generation dollars.

Industry benchmarks suggest that leads must be continuously “touched” before they close. About 80% of leads close after 5 contacts and sometimes it’s closer to 9-11 touches. If you’re assuming the value of lead generation dollars comes from one email blast or a month of AdWords, you’re not on the right track to understanding how to increase value. Nurturing leads (through multiple touches) as part of lead generation programs will increase the return of dollars.



Lisa Cramer is president and co-founder of LeadLife Solutions, a provider of on-demand lead management software that generates, scores, and nurtures leads for B2B marketers. For more information on lead management or best practices call 1-800-680-6292 or email [email protected].

Nominations Closing October 17th for the 50 Most Influential List in Sales Lead Management

As a member of the SLMA, you and only you, can nominate a deserving person for consideration as one of the 50 most influential people in sales lead management in 2009.

Go to the SLMA site, sign in with your membership, and nominate a worthy individual. The list of nominees will be published and voting will begin on October 19th. The Top 50 list will be published in mid-December.

Regards,

James Obermayer
Executive Director

 

Nominations are being taken for the 50 Most Influential People in Sales Lead Management

Nominations: SLMA members may nominate one or more professional individuals until October 17th, the end of Sales Lead Management Week. Nominations are only accepted from SLMA members, however, nonmembers may nominate someone once they join SLMA (membership is free).

Voting: Any member or non-member may vote for candidates which will be listed on the SLMA site on October 19th. The 50 Most Influential Sales Lead Management Professionals’ List will be published on December 15, 2009.

Mark Friedman, SLMA’s executive vice president, said "We expect nominations for individuals in CRM, marketing automation, sales lead software, sales force automation, telemarketing, direct marketing, and database management firms, as well as lead management firms, consultants and authors. We are also accepting nominations for managers in companies who do an extraordinary job in managing their company's assets called sales leads.  The rules for nomination are posted at the SLMA site."

Nominations taken until October 17th.
Voting Begins October 19th.
Winners announced December 19th.