Overcoming the Lead Quality Obstacle

Not all leads are created equal. For instance, someone who stops by a booth at a tradeshow may be a better prospect than a lead who downloaded a piece of content, but not as valuable as a referral from a current customer. Often it can be difficult to determine the most promising leads which can create headaches and frustration. According to BAO’s recently published Inside Sales Trend Report, 45% of inside teams cited low lead quality as a source of stress. Closing leads ranks as another concern for inside teams, according to 27% of respondents.

Marketing and sales work closely to drive pipeline and revenue but they each also interface with other departments within the organization. These relationships, and the tasks associated with them create separate, overlapping or even conflicting dynamics that an inside sales team is forced to navigate. With 57% of inside sales leaders reporting that their teams’ biggest challenge is reaching leads, it begs the question, how challenging is it to reach leads live?

Just 15% of leaders reported that their teams are able to reach 60% or more of inbound leads. More than half (56%) of respondents report that their teams are only able to reach 20% or fewer inbound leads live.

Certain target markets present their own unique set of regulatory and cultural requirements that impact go-to-market decisions. That makes addressing niche markets such as Federal, State & Local government, education, and healthcare a challenge. In fact, 28% of inside sales leaders report that providing coverage of specialty markets is one of their biggest challenges. Due to time constraints and a lack of expertise, many companies outsource coverage of these niche markets to an outside partner.