70% of Sales Leads Are Wasted…

Edit: Actually, I fixed it …. for some reason it was adding a lil’ bit of Marcomblog’s URL in there. Strange.

But, the following is a good way to edit problems with the URLs like that in the future.

Hmm? Well, that’s strange. They all point to the admin area.

I’d say try to reformat and us the HTML button on the edit area to see the codes wrapped around the text. That way you can just take out the Marcomblog URLs and put in the ones that should be there. That is the easy way.

70%? It’s a lot, marketers have to know how is the world in the real life

I definitely think that the relationship between sales and marketing is changing — and it needs to. The objective of both is to improve the bottom line, so why shouldn’t they work together?

I do believe that marketers are not always aware of how things really are. They may not know exactly what will sell a product or service because they are not the ones selling. So where they may think they have a great marketing tool, consumers and potential customers don’t understand it or don’t take it seriously. Marketers have to be in touch with everything that is going on, whether it has to do with their company or not. And people in sales should be able to tell the marketers what their customers want.

There should be a direct connection and constant communication between marketing and sales. I believe that it would greatly improve business for a lot of companies. I don’t know how anyone would think this was a bad idea or not worth a shot.

Marketing and sales have that symbiotic relationship. They need each other. If there is miscommunication this relationship can fail. So if there is something so wrong that 70% of sales leads are wasted, the relationship has to change. There are two things that I have learned in my group projects that might help in this situation. First, when there are many people working on the same project, the roles must be clearly defined. Sales and marketing must know who has the lead, for how long and where their responsibilities end. Marketing might have to go into the traditional sales territory, but if it works the change is good.

Second, organization is the key to sucess. I am not sure if there a system out there that can hold all of the information for sales leads that companies need. So make one. There has to be a place where important contact information doesn’t fall through the cracks. Make it simple and accessible to marketing and sales. If the information is there and organized, it should be easy to get in touch with a valuable lead.

Simple seems to work best- especially when it comes to change. I think a blurred line doesn’t have to mean decreased efficiency.

I agree that marketing and sales have a symbiotic relationship. The two must work together to achieve results. Rubicon understands that “sales drive companies, and new leads are the lifeblood of the sales process.” The company, which has developed a strategic plan to ensure it reaches its goal of increasing sales, is the driving force behind both marketing and sales.

Based on the statistics Kevin Joyce spoke about at the American Marketing Association luncheon, it is evident that companies need to improve their strategic plan to execute sales and marketing strategies more effectively. Do to so, management needs to ensure all employees are aware of the problem and take the necessary steps to fix it. Companies need to follow an integrated sales and marketing approach similar to that of Rubicon Marketing Group.

There seems to be a communication gap and confusion regarding where one’s responsibilities in the company end. The goals and objectives of the organization must be laid out in stone. Management is aware that sales is wasting time on poor opportunities. Therefore, management must be proactive and change the way marketing and sales operate within a company. Restructuring these companies will help decrease the percentage of sales leads that are wasted.

I’m not sure if the relationship between sales and marketing is changing or not, but if 70% of sales leads are wasted then something needs to change. If those 7 things are the only requirements to hand off a lead then people could take the time to do it and expect to have it followed-up on. If that many leads are being ignored or not handled properly then something should give. Wasting money is never a good business move. My question is who is ignoring them? Are the sales people not following the leads marketing is giving them? Or is marketing not giving sales the leads? Either way, both departments should be working together. Sales is the driving force behind any growing business. Whatever can be done to increase sales, should be done. I dont know if I agree that marketers should be making appointments for sales but they should be able to work together and share information. The are both working for the same goal: a successful business. If that happens, then both departments would benefit.

Marketing and sales are definitely related. This is why they work together. There is still a distinct line between the two though. Marketers do the research, sales reps pitch to customers. I think it’s a little much to say marketing will set-up the first appointment for sales reps. If they have to make the appointment then why don’t they just do the rest of the job as well? That would really be blending the two together.
At the same time, it’s so sad that 70% of leads are wasted! Hard to believe good marketing money is going down the drain for companies. It seems maybe there should be better communication between sales and marketing in general. If something is not wanted, then it should talked about before the same mistake is made again.

Understanding why 70% of sales leads are wasted is for both the marketers and sales representatives to try to understand. I am aware that marketers are the ones who create the desire and idea of necessity for a product and the sales representatives are the ones who send the message home. If you are saying that there needs to be more of a connection between the two, then I most certainly agree.
The idea that marketers should set up the first appointment makes me wonder. What are they trying to accomplish with this idea? Shouldn’t there be more of an effort to work through the problem than camouflaging it. In my opinion there should be a better understanding of what is expected. If I am a sales representative then I know that my job is to sell an item/idea to a client. It is my job to get all of the necessary statistics and information that the marketers have gathered to make my presentation accurate. Likewise, as a marketer I should do my research well and have an accurate report ready for the sales team, even before they ask for it.
Business is a team effort. To make the business work you must understand your part of the team and do what it takes to make it successful.

well I don’t know about the marketers needing to schedule the appointments, but I think there might be a way to improve the statistics on slales leads through this increase in communication and cooperation between the sales and marketing forces. I think the real discrepancy is like what a few people have already mentioned - that the sales team actually interacts with the customers and knows what will work. But I thought to myself, well then what is all of that research that marketers spend tons of money on every year? And while I do think that research does help those marketers I think it has been proven that people have a disjunct sometimes in what they say they will do or think on paper or in a survey and then what they really do when they are shopping or out as regular consumers. For that reason there probably should be a greater deal of communication between those departments. What statistics and research show that their target demographic want and need is not always what they go for.

Having marketers schedule the first appointment would be taking something from Sales that truly falls under their realm of expertise- interaction. Typically, people like to deal with one person to avoid confusion. Not to mention the fact that good sales begin with positive contact, even if it is just to set up a time for an appointment. While change is necessary, this would be a step in the wrong direction.

Mr. Joyce’s proposal to have more two-way communication between departments has merit. Marketers are all about feedback. It seems only natural that they should receive and value feedback about their own ideas. The “practice what you preach” mentality is one that is important when looking for the best results. A close relationship at the inception of the project will foster a more positive attitude in both sales reps and marketers that will give them the opportunity to take ownership of the lead. Ownership will do nothing but boost sales.