Step Five: Improving the System

The process of lead generation and qualification is iterative i.e. it improves greatly from consistent closed-loop feedback. Feeding back on a regular basis allows you to continually improve the process. The main idea is that you retrieve a steady influx of useful information from the sales team. Each qualified lead is monitored from start to end, regardless of if a sale is made.

To conduct a good feedback meeting you might like to consider the following:

Personnel
- manager of the marketing program
- telemarketers
- sales staff
- any other interested parties

Materials
- reports
- information on the month’s activity
- information on leads-to-sales statistics

Items to be discussed
- the status of leads in the sales process
- if available, feedback on each lead
- current live leads which are moving forward
- foundering/unfollowed leads
- are there any problems in the lead qualification process?
- any leads which need more work
- are there any noticeable successes?
- what’s working?
- what’s not working? How can it be improved?

The more your company takes time for feedback using the closed-loop model, the better the rates of sales will be. Lead-to-sale conversions will be higher. A difference in performance can be seen between of companies that run a consistent closed-loop programme and those that don’t.

Get your system in place

It is tempting to see a rise in lead generation as the be-all-and-end-all of generating more sales. Just remember, you must have the system in place to convert these leads, or much of your effort will be wasted.