What is a B2B Lead?

For all of us involved in selling to B2B (particularly manufacturing) prospects, answering the question – What is a lead?

The short answer is one of two definitions “a new potential relationship” or “a reason to check in with an existing relationship.” You are fortunate if 10% of the leads you identify are “ready to buy” or what many in sales term “sales ready” – ready for a quote for at least what they believe they need.

That leaves the 90% of leads. These are valid leads if the prospect represents the right target company type and the right persona at that company (one you want to speak with). What should sales do with these leads? The answer is another question – Is your long-term growth going to come from winning the quote wars OR is growth going to come through deeper sales relationships with customers who position your company as the preferred vendor-partner?

If you strongly believe that the answer to growth is in deeper sales relationships, then likely your sales team will need to adjust their thinking about what opportunity a lead provides to them. Want to discuss this further or even schedule a marketing-sales alignment review? Book a meeting with me at your convenience.

Also, we invite you to download the full white paper titled Defining and Delivering B2B Leads that Salespeople Want.