How do you define a High Quality Lead?

This morning I read a post by Jeremy Victor (@jeremyvictor), Are B2B Marketers Shooting for The Wrong Target?, and it got me thinking. The premise of the post is based on a Marketing Sherpa Tweet that states the #1 challenge for B2B marketers is generating high quality leads. Jeremy questioned the definition of a "high quality lead" and wondered if the focus should change to generating interest and keeping attention. Both are pertinent, but perhaps missing the point in how I'm thinking about it.

I agree with his assertion that the definition will differ greatly based on who you ask. There are times when it should and times when it definitely should not.

Within your own company, there should be one definition of a "high quality lead" that both marketing and sales have agreed to and are using. The reason this is such a challenge is that an agreed-to definition that directs behavior and objectives across the pipeline is generally lacking in most companies. Either that or the definition they have is too broad to be useful.

For example: We serve CIOs in companies with revenues of more than $100M in the Financial Services, Telecom and Healthcare industries.

This is the type of definition I hear most often and isn't all that helpful.

Part of the problem is often that marketing and sales view the idea of "leads" differently. Quality is in the eye of the beholder, if you will.

• Marketing is searching for and cultivating leads who are likely to become your customers at some point - meaning that they could actually need what you sell to fix a high-priority business problem. Marketers need to have a big-picture view to ensure they can fuel a continuous pipeline.


• Sales wants to pursue leads who will become customers in short order. [Read, NOW] Salespeople have a laser focus intent on meeting short-term revenue goals.

In order to serve both sides, the definition of a "high quality lead" must address these differences in perspective. It's more a matter of degree than an either/or. Your pipeline will have people at various levels of qualification depending upon their stage in the buying process.

As for when the definition of quality should differ, it's that definition in relation to different companies. My company's personas should not be the same as your company's personas. My high quality leads will not be the same as your high quality leads.

I know you're asking why not, so let's take a look at a few possibile scenarios:

• Our cultures are different. A good fit for your company may be a terrible fit for mine.


• Our expertise is different. My methodology works best with specific types of companies. Yours works best with others.


• Risk tolerance varies. A lead that's a fast-moving early adopter is more suited to working with vendors that act in a similar fashion. A laggard that's slow to change will need a different approach that ensures risk is minimized.


• Account entry strategies are different. If you pursue only the decision maker and I go in lower and work up with the help of an influencer, our definition of a high quality lead will be different.

In Jeremy's post he came up with a potential need to change the vernacular we're using. I don't think that gets us where we need to go. I think what we need to do is focus on becoming better at creating definitions for what we're doing that actually enable us to accomplish our strategic goals.

I don't particularly care what you label a "high quality lead" - I just want to know what that means—exactly.

Thanks, Jeremy, for letting me play with your idea.

What do the rest of you think?

 

Comments

[Cliffpollan]

I agree that a single shared view of a high quality lead is critical to the success of any organization. In addition, I think you call out something more subtle in your description of what sales and marketing are seeking - sales is about now. So, for a lead to be highly qualified, they must acknowledge that they have need/pain.

The reason I believe that organizations are seeing this as their #1 issue is getting the people in the challenge of getting people to NOW. For marketers this means either:

(1) getting enough people engaged in the funnel so that those being nurtured naturally come to recognize they have the problem (on their schedule) or

(2) Developing content that will really drive the person responsible to see they have the problem NOW

You must get agreement on one definition, but I suggest marketers must think that Now is in any definition of qualified lead.

[Christina Pappas]

An interesting exercise to conduct (I have done it at my last 2 companies) is to setup an online survey (like SurveyMonkey) that asks what is a 'lead', then send it to sales and have them complete it. Ask things about industry, company size, job title, source, etc. I would be surprised if you get the same response from everyone.

I have also heard about SLAs that you can establish between sales & marketing. This will be a formal document that has everyone on the same page. Marketing is happy about what sales has promised to 'do' with the leads sent over and Sales is happy about what they are being sent. If you get this in writing from both sides, you can refer back to it if anyone has a dispute (then add addendums as needed).

[מרפאת שיניים]

I agree with assertion that the definition can vary greatly depending on who you ask. There are times when it is necessary and times when it is absolutely not.