[dropcap]S[/dropcap]ales leads play a huge role in the success of every sales team. One business expert referred to sales leads as the ‘life force of sales teams’. So what is a sales lead? Sometimes, it is a human being or a company the sales team is planning to convince to patronize their business or to buy specific goods and/or services.
When a sales team lacks the correct sales leads in its CRM or database, it looks for reliable sources from which to buy sales leads lists. But this has to be done with caution. The leader of a sales team complained bitterly about how his team couldn’t use the sales leads lists that had been generated for them. Despite the huge amount they’d paid, the list broker ended up sending them outdated data, leads they already had in their database, leads that were already their clientele, and even leads that were above their Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). These problems were very frustrating for the team lead.
These problems can be easily avoided if you know what to look out for. Technological advancements have made it easy to plug all the loopholes that were prevalent in the sales leads generation business. But even when you want to hire a sales leads generation company, it is important to know what to inquire about.
Here are the 5 top tips for buying sales leads lists for your business:
1. When Making Purchases, Strike A Balance
It is advisable to find a list broker who offers low minimum purchases. But you must bear in mind that they may charge high fees to filter their lists. These sales leads generation companies will try to capture a huge chunk of your marketing budget, and so they will come up with strategies that will encourage higher purchases.
It is important to find a middle ground. Although you might get a lot of leads, it isn’t advisable to use everything at the same time. Take steps to avoid using sales leads that don’t include your target market. Not only will contacting the wrong target audience harm your brand’s credibility, it will be a sheer waste of work hours and resources. Stick to the sales leads that best match the kinds of products and services you are selling, and this might mean that not all the names on your lists will be contacted.
2. Review The Company’s Method of Collecting and Updating Information
How the company sources its names and information is very important. If they rely solely on web scrapers to gather information, their sales leads list might be outdated and likely inaccurate. And the last thing any sales team wants is to focus their energies selling and marketing to the wrong target audience.
Serious list brokers review their lists annually or biannually, usually through discussing with the people whose contact information are on the list. And these are the companies you should buy from. Don’t buy from companies that gather only self-reported information. People often lie on online forms.
3. Decide Whether To Rent Or Own The List
If your sales team is on a low budget, renting a list might be a good option for you. Sales leads lists are often cheaper when they are rented. Buyers might respond positively or even buy your products and services. Even if you don’t make a record number of sales, you will have sufficient time and resources to re-strategize. What you might need is a great Call-to-Action, or many compelling Call-to-Actions!
4. Pay Attention To How Your Current Lists Are Being Managed
It is important to decide how your current sales leads list will be managed. But before you make this decision, ensure that you aren’t paying for contact information you already have in your CRM or database. Request that the broker de-duplicates your list.
Take advantage of your list broker’s updated list. Updating your customer file is never a bad idea. This is especially helpful where the broker’s data differs from what you have in your CRM. As your list broker to add new information and update outdated information.
Consider connecting your list broker to the CRM you are currently using. This way, you can quickly and easily get new sales leads when they are available.
5. Choose Companies That Have A Return Policy For Inaccurate Sales Leads
It is always easier to work with companies that have return policies for inaccurate sales leads. This guarantees that the list brokers will maintain reliable and up-to-date records.
Note that you won’t get refunds for soft bounces. This is because those delivery errors are often because the person is out of the office, or there is a server error, or a full inbox. A successful delivery might be recorded after a few days. Besides, the list broker cannot be blamed for such temporary errors.
But you will be refunded for hard bounces which are typically, permanent errors based on wrong contact information. Because these permanent errors are due to the broker’s inaccurate information, you will be entitled to a refund.
Nonetheless, this must be agreed upon before the contract is signed.
Conclusion
Sales leads generation is not easy but it is crucial to the survival of any growing business.
Chioma Iwunze-Ibiam writes creative non-fiction and prose fiction. Her works have appeared in Romance Meets Life, Flash Fiction Press, MTLS, Saraba Magazine, Sentinel Magazine and others. Her first novel, Finding Love Again, was published by Ankara Press. She owns and manages Creative Writing News.
