How long does an online sales lead last? Does it depend on how you got the lead? Or what channels you used to get it? Is it even possible to have a long shelf life for an online sales lead? We think all of these questions deserve an answer, and we’re going to try to answer them here in this blog post on the shelf life of an online sales lead. If you’re an online marketer or simply a business owner who wants to see more leads, keep reading!

Digital Marketing Insights

Unlike traditional advertising methods, online sales leads have a relatively short shelf life. It’s why we suggest that companies act fast if they want to capitalize on these leads. 2022 is here and online sales leads are becoming increasingly complex. A recent study found that companies who responded within an hour of an online query were almost seven times more likely to have a successful sale.

Today, most online sales leads are communicated digitally (i.e., email), but 2022 will make face-to-face communication increasingly important for closing deals and retaining customers. Therefore, it’s imperative that online sales leads be followed up by personal interactions as soon as possible; doing so will help ensure your product or service stays top-of-mind.

The Two Phases of an Online Sales Lead

Marketing qualified leads is a fairly new concept in many B2B organizations. However, there are two phases to creating a marketing qualified lead:

• Marketing Prospecting

and

• Marketing Qualification.

If you’re trying to figure out how to execute an online sales lead, it’s important to understand both of these steps. Let’s take a look at each phase individually.

The first phase, marketing prospecting, has its roots in digital marketing. If you’re a B2B marketer who wants to learn how to start a business selling leads, it makes sense to look at those in your industry who have already taken that first step.  Use digital marketing insights as a way to develop buyer personas and as a way to stay on top of trends within digital advertising itself.

The second phase, marketing qualification, is where sales comes into play. It’s during marketing qualification that marketers and sales teams work together to develop a marketing qualified lead.

So, what exactly does a marketing qualified lead look like? Marketing qualified leads are typically pre-qualified by digital channels. This means that these potential customers have expressed interest in your brand and its products or services. They’ve likely visited your website and may have requested more information.

Once marketers hand over their prospecting list to sales, it is up to sales reps to make sure all these contacts are truly interested in your company—and not just so-so. Even though marketing qualifies leads before passing them on to sales teams, it is important for both groups to understand how you can use digital marketing insights as a way to stay on top of trends within B2B digital advertising itself.

Planning and Executing

The sales lead is a key aspect to digital marketing. As soon as you obtain a new lead, you want to begin planning your follow-up process as well as execution. There are three steps to executing an online sales lead:

1) Planning

2) Execution

3) Adjusting

First, we need to make sure that we understand who our potential client is. Are they big spenders? What’s their timeline? Do they respond well to phone calls or prefer email communications? Plan accordingly by having resources readily available in order to reach out quickly and effectively upon receiving a lead.

Once you determine how to contact your potential customer and how they like to be contacted, it’s time for action! Reach out immediately—remember, these leads don’t stick around long!

Lastly, adjust. After every interaction with your lead, take some time to reflect on what worked and what didn’t. Analyzing these results will set you up better for future interactions with new and potential customers.

Do’s and Don’ts for Better Results

As digital marketing evolves, so must your approach to sales lead generation. While past efforts may have garnered results in years past, those leads are long gone. It’s not a question of whether today’s leads will expire but rather when they will and how to effectively prolong their lifespan.

As always, it starts with data; tracking who is doing what and where you should be investing more time, energy and money for better results in 2022. Here’s a look at some strategies that might help:

Do: Focus on one specific audience. The best way to make your current online investments pay off in 2022 is to think about that investment as going toward one specific audience. The more narrowly defined your target market, the more likely they are to convert into something more—and continue returning beyond 2022!

Don’t: Automate everything. No strategy will ever work if you don’t let it breathe and evolve.

Don’t expect strategies to hold up for years at a time, especially with the way digital marketing continues to change and adapt over time; invest continuously if you want better results in 2022 and beyond.

Don’t: Take shortcuts. One way to avoid continuously reinventing your approach is to take shortcuts. While it may seem easier to rely on others, you never know what you might be missing if you don’t invest time and energy in your own marketing efforts.

Do: Read the analytics! It’s important to think about your marketing in terms of metrics, especially when it comes to sales leads. Track who is responding, what they are responding to and how much time passes between each interaction. Understanding those numbers and percentages could mean the difference when following quality leads.

So there you have it, a rundown of just how long an online sales lead’s shelf life is, along with some tips on how to follow those leads for ultimate sales. From identifying a quality lead, to implementing the tools for a successful online campaign, let Social Spice Media be your guide! Call 805-482-8312 or fill out our contact form to get started.