Want to keep your funnel full in today’s hyper-​competitive sales world? Of course, you do! So, this year, make the extra effort to improve your lead generation. If you’re not sure how to do that, don’t worry; CSO Insights recently published an article detailing five ways to boost lead generation.

First and foremost, you need to decide on a true definition of “lead.” Get with your marketing team and make sure everyone agrees upon criteria. Surprisingly, 42% of organizations don’t have an agreed-​upon definition of a sales lead.

Once you’re clear about what a sales lead is (and what it isn’t), it’s time to formally document your nurturing process. As the article points out, “nurturing an inquiry into a lead can be a quick process or it can take many interactions over a long period of time, depending on where the customer is in their decision-​making journey.” Make sure you have mapped out actions for each activity level so that the process can easily be coordinated. 

CSO Insights also found a clear link between prioritizing accounts and success rates. If you’re missing your sales mark, it could be due to a lapse in focusing on the right accounts. They found that those salespeople who focused on leads that were most likely to buy, closed at a five times higher rate than those that didn’t.

Check out the article to read the other tips. Also, to help you get in the right mindset, the article suggested some questions to ask yourself, your team, and your leaders. They can kickstart conversations about how the leads are currently handled, and if any adjustments should be made:

• How do we differentiate between a lead and an inquiry? Are marketing and sales in agreement on this?
• What is our process for nurturing leads? Who is responsible for each stage, and what content and tools do we provide to support them?
• How well have we defined the collaboration process between sales and marketing? In what areas are things left undone because there isn’t clear ownership?
• How effectively do we prioritize opportunities?
• What metrics do we use to measure lead management success? How should we increase the emphasis on leading indicators?

Make 2019 the year that you take control of lead generation, keep that pipeline full, and close more deals!