The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it.”

Yes, it is Lou Holtz, week and I love his wisdom. Especially this quote. 

When it comes to sales lead management, there are two groups of people who complain about the way the ball bounces.

1. Salespeople complain that they don’t get enough qualified leads, and yet stats say they don’t  follow-up 75% of the inquiries and leads given them.

2. Marketing managers complain that Sales is to blame for not being able to measure the ROI for   lead generation, and yet they often refuse to even attempt to prove the ROI for lead generation. 

They both have dropped the ball.

Of course, when salespeople don’t close out an opportunity and report on the results, there is a problem. A big problem. But not an insurmountable problem.

If I were to attack the problem of measuring the ROI for Marketing I would get your tool set aligned:

    • Make sure there is a CRM system.
    • Make sure the salespeople are trained to use it.
    • Make sure sales management is behind the initiative.
    • Make sure there are sales opportunity stages.
    • Make sure you are tracking the source of the inquiry.
    • Create campaigns in the CRM and marketing automation systems to track leads.

Once the tools are in place:

    • Develop a relationship with sales management.
    • Speak to the salespeople regularly about their part in the ROI “chain of custody.”
    • Create weekly reports showing the closed leads by campaign.
    • Praise salespeople for their help and cooperation.

Is it easy? No, It isn’t easy, but easier than you think. The answer is “nothing to it but to do it.”
ASAP! Before management hires someone else to do the job.