Step Two: Consolidating and Sharing Your Lead Information

When the marketing team produce a lead, it can come from a wide range of sources, your Web site, advertising campaign, lists of event attendees and so on. Just as the source of the lead can vary, so can the quality of the information on the potential lead, you may have detailed information or just an email address. Don’t forget you also have the source of the lead, which is another piece of valuable information. By keeping a track of where the leads have come from, you will be able to find which that inquiry sources produce most leads.

It is essential that you have a decent, well-designed database, all information relevant to leads should be entered as a matter of course onto the database, even if the information is incomplete. The process of lead generation can be significantly streamlined by the use of an easy to use and well maintained database. Once data is entered, it is then usefully stored for anyone to use or analyse. A properly used database also reduces friction between the marketing and sales teams, as it is clear management of information which is centrally available, and ensures everyone is working to the same standards. The database will also be a useful resource to others inyour company such as customer service, accounts and research and development.

As with the process of developing a lead definition, care must be taken when developing the list of information fields to populate the database. The lead definition is a good place to start. Make sure that fields for essential and desirable information are included and that they are marked within the layout. You will need to consider the ease of completing the forms and who will use them and what for. You will also need to have fields for entering secondary information such as activity, results and analysis. The database is valuable as is can be and should be used to track and manage all contacts made to the prospective leads. You should know who is responsible for the upkeep of the database and ensure there is a known protocol for completing the database.