I said it: your leads suck. And, I guarantee it. Because all lead generation programs suck. You, like so many other marketing teams, are working your butt off getting leads in the top of the funnel and then sending them to sales to develop. But, when sales gets those "leads," their eyes roll; they ignore them.

Why?

Because sales teams know that no lead they call on is going to convert to a sale until they reach BANT. Budget, authority, need and timing (“BANT”) is what a sales prospect needs to have before they can possibly say "yes" to a considered purchase. But, more likely than not, the leads you are turning over are just a shot in the dark for hitting BANT. All you know is that, perhaps thanks to a form fill, you have a prospect that showed some interest in your content and maybe meets some defined qualification based on what they look like in the data.

So, yeah. Those leads are garbage.

But, wait. Don't throw them away just yet. The good news is leads like these are still salvageable, but you MUST get out of the thinking mode of lead generation. Instead what you need to focus on is demand generation. Lead generation is just the first step. Through demand generation, you take those garbage leads you generated and nurture them through a funnel process that ensures each of those "leads" is educated on the solutions you offer that match their needs, informed on how your products and services deliver on those needs, and assured that those services are the best choice to meet those needs.

Education. Information. Confirmation. These are the three key steps that take your wasted lead generation efforts and turn them into a goldmine of high value prospects that your sales team can actually use.

Your leads suck—but they don't have to.

Read more about our process and learn how you can make it better.