The lead journey has different stages from the time it becomes a lead to the time it gets distributed to a sales rep. Once a lead is ready to be handed off to sales it is what is known as a sales qualified lead (SQL). So what exactly is a sales qualified lead?
A sales qualified lead is a lead that has been vetted by marketing and sales teams and deemed ready to be passed on to sales.
Marketing and sales teams use a variety of methods to determine if a lead is sales qualified.
Some common criteria that sales teams use to qualify a lead are:
- The lead has engaged with marketing content
- The lead meets the ideal customer profile
- The lead meets the ideal buyer persona
- The lead is interested in purchasing a service or product that you offer
Keep in mind that these criteria can vary depending on your business, so it’s important to sit down with your sales and marketing teams to determine what qualifies as an SQL for your company.
Now that you know what a sales qualified lead is, you can start working on qualifying your leads and passing them off to sales.
If you’re not sure where to start, sit down with your sales and marketing teams and create a list of criteria that would make a lead sales qualified. Then, start working on generating leads that meet those criteria.
Once a lead has been deemed sales qualified, it’s time to pass it off to sales.
Some common ways to pass a lead to sales are by email, by using a CRM with lead distribution software, or by assigning them to a sales rep in your marketing automation software.
How OpnMkt Works
1
Source and Sell
SDRs source qualified prospects and list them for sale in the internal marketplace.
2
Buy and Build
AEs use market dollars to buy the prospects they connect with to build a dynamic, personalized pipeline.
3
Connect and Close
AEs establish relationships with their prospects, turning them into buyers. More deals close, increasing revenue.
When you’re ready to pass a lead to sales, be sure to include all of the information they will need to follow up with the lead. This can include contact information, recent interactions they’ve had with your company, and any notes from your marketing and sales teams.
By providing sales with all of the information they need, you’re setting them up for success and helping to move the lead further down the sales funnel.
Sales teams use a variety of methods to prioritize and follow up with sales qualified leads.
Some common methods that sales teams use are:
- Contacting the lead via phone
- Sending an email to the lead
- Scheduling a meeting with the lead
“OpnMkt removed the feeling that leads happen to reps. It gives them autonomy over their pipeline, so leads go to the people that are hungriest to work them. Reps value leads they’ve won much more than leads they were assigned.”
Again, these methods can vary depending on your business, so it’s important to sit down with your sales team to determine the best way to follow up with an SQL.
That’s it! Now you know what a sales qualified lead is, some ways to pass leads to sales and how sales teams follow up with them.
Now that you know what sales qualified leads are and how they’re determined, you can start working on generating more of them!
Marketplace Use Cases
Tenbound Sales Development Podcast Episode 8
