Re: Question for the group: What's the difference between a name, a lead, and a prospect?

[None]

Sharon, I'm so excited about being part of this group. Using some of
the names I'm currently working with, I'll explain the difference to
me.

I have a list of 1000 business contacts, address and phone verified,
but no email. (These are names)

I have about 20 of these businesses who were contacted by phone before
regarding their interest in an assessment. I don't know for sure if
the person expressing interest was the business decision maker or a
receptionist. (These are also names)

I'm reaching out to 100 of the above 1000 businesses by email this
week regarding a new campaign. If the email only goes to the business
decision maker. If I receive a notice of interest, that business name
becomes a lead. (Their saying yes I'm interested makes them a lead for
me)

Once I perform a demo, make a proposal they become a prospects.
(Prospect after I have presented to them.)

Regarding webinar attendees: Whether or not the name is a prospect or
not determines the response to where they are in the buying cycle.


Question for the group:

What's the difference between a name, a lead, and a prospect?

How can we make a name into a lead, a lead into a prospect, and a
prospect a client? Hint: the sales model will only get the folks who
were ready to buy anyway, and ignore all of those who aren't ready or
didn't know they are ready.

I can't wait to hear your thoughts :)

[Peter Krammer]

We collect names from everywhere - targeted lists, business cards from
various functions, through research we conduct on targeted companies
(both active customers and companies that don't know us.). We also
have names from web inquiries and blog interactions. Names are names
(usually with a phone number or email of course). They don't mean much
at this point.

Leads are people whom we know are shopping or whom we can induce a bit
of desire into so that they start to shop. Sometimes we have had
contact with them through email or web inquiries. Sometimes they
exhibit shopping behavior through how they interact with our blog or
other activities like that. Sometimes we identify them through
speaking engagements. Sometimes we have a referral. On occasion, we
hear of a rumor that turns out to be true after we do some
investigation. Then there are the leads who are not actively shopping
but who are people we learn might be open to change - these are the
people we can induce some desire in though good questions or a bit of
provocation (if we're brave). The thing that makes all of these people
leads and not prospects is that we have little or no idea yet what's
going on and they have not yet agreed to engage with us in any way
other than one in which they maintain control of "the relationship."

Prospects, in our business, are people who agree to engage in a mutual
discovery process, whether there is (yet) an identified problem or
not. People can go from name to lead to prospect in one conversation.

In our business, making a name into a lead is a function of marketing.
Some of that marketing might be web-based followed by calling or email
communications depending on how those "names" are behaving. Some of it
might be general networking that leads to either a referral or self-
identified interest by the person we're speaking with. Most of it,
though, happens from "friend of the firm" networking that leads to a
referral of some sort.

Getting from lead to prospect is a function of initial discovery on
the part of both parties. We're consultants, and we sell our thinking;
and of course, you can't really sell that. You can only put your
thinking out there through the questions you ask and what people learn
about you and about themselves in dealing with you. If there is an
interest in mutual discovery, which is not just finding out what their
problems are but having both people examine the situation and how it
might change or be improved, then you're in, for the purposes of this
discussion, the prospect mode.

Moving a prospect to being a client? Big subject; not enough time or
space here!

[Douglas]

A name is a person whom you have reason to believe is interested in your product.

A lead is a person whom you have reason to believe is interested in your product and you have their contact information.

A prospect is a person with whom you have reason to believe is interested in your product , you have their contact information and you have had two way communication.

[John Locke]

Hi Sharon,

Let me say up front I have never been trained in selling, but if I can
get a prospect to come to my office (self motivated and inbound) I can
close 85% of the time because a need, timeline, budget and the
purchaser are all present in that meeting and I have a solution to
meet the need. This is not the case with lead automation, referrals
or cold calls. Once someone is in my office, they have self
qualified and bought a solution to their need...

With Lead Automation positioned as a "radar" type system I have been
fortunate enough to note a direct correlation between visits to
certain pages of content, the number of visits a lead has engaged me
etc. and been able to build a 3 stage behavioral response profile of
my potential clients...

Stage one: Name
Visitor identified - Automated
This is interesting data but does not activate a response from my
sales team.

Stage 2: Lead
Self initiated interaction with key content - Analytics

A few available marketing automation metrics have proven to be very
good indicators that someone is interested in my services, not just
seeking information. For example names mapped to the number of visits
over time, plus visits to a pricing page and or testimonials page are
indicators that I should make contact at least with someone from the
visitor's organization. By filtering "names" who meet certain
behavioral criteria they become leads and are targeted with a
contextual response (automated triggers, alerts etc.).
I use automation to introduce myself to the identified contacts who
visit my site more than 2 times or invite them to a webinar.

Stage 3: Prospect
Secondary Interactions - Behavioral Profiling
If a lead clicks through an invitation or link, or fills out a form,
they become an active prospect in my system and go into a dynamic list
for calls and contextual drip campaigns . Finally, in a call if I can
assess a budget, need or timeline I can score a true opportunity even
if they do not know they are ready to buy.

This is the best way I can summarize how I leverage marketing
automation. Could the process be improved? I am sure it can, but by
integrating timely responses with drip nurturing I have a start based
on visitor analytics plus behavioral profiling and some demographics.

John Locke
FeedFactoryPro.com

On Jan 4, 10:07 am, None <anitaymat...@gmail.com> wrote:

[None]

Forgive me, but I'm not sure about using Gmail groups. I couldn't
find your new post, but I'll give it a try again.


A (name) is someone I may or may not know of at this time what COULD
eventually benefit from what I have to offer.

A (lead) is someone I've communicated with that has a need.

A (prospect) is someone who is willing to stay in communication with
me as they move through their buying process.

A (client) is somewho who listens to what I have to say.

> > I can't wait to hear your thoughts :)- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Sharon Drew]

you're still talking about 'sales'. i'm attempting to move you away
from the 'sales' angle, into the buyer's decision journey. because
until you enter that world, you'll continue having the same issues.

if your job was NOT to 'induce a bit of desire' but truly help them,
from the very first moment, figure out how to consider change, how to
consider what Excellence might look like in their environment,
separate from what you have to sell, what would have to be different??

start there. as i said in the original post, let's go out of the box,
and not work with 'sales'.
sd

> >From Sharon Drew: Question for the group:

>
> > What's the difference between a name, a lead, and a prospect?
>
> > How can we make a name into a lead, a lead into a prospect, and a
> > prospect a client? Hint: the sales model will only get the folks who
> > were ready to buy anyway, and ignore all of those who aren't ready or
> > didn't know they are ready.
>

[Sharon Drew]

Question from Sharon Drew:
What would your answer be if it were independent of what you have to
sell, and only involving why buyers would go through a change
management process at all?

[Sharon Drew]

From Sharon Drew:
let me say that i'm truly curious, and if your number is correct,
you're the first person i've met in the field of sales in 22 years
that can close 85% of prospects FROM FIRST PROSPECTING CALL....

you use a BIG 'if.'

and, of course, 'if' or 'when' we can get someone to see us, we can
all close huge numbers. that is not the problem or question at hand.

as i suggest in my original post, let's take this out of the box and
NOT use the sales model or sales thinking.

if your job is not to sell, but to help people discover how or why or
if or when or with whom to go on a journey to do/have something
different from what they've got. what would you be doing differently
than what you're doing now??

and my first name, btw, is sharon drew.

[TW]

Sharon Drew,

It sounds like you're trying to have us use the labels - 'Name',
'Lead' and 'Prospect' from the buyer's perspective. But this
terminology is only how we as salespeople describe potential customers
to each other. It's not how buyers describe themselves.

If we were to take the buyer's perspective, they likely wouldn't call
themselves a 'lead' or a 'prospect' ever (unless they were
salespeople).

If we're only considering the buyer's decision journey only, what
labels would fit as they move through this process? We'd probably have
to use something more descriptive like:
i) Person is aware that a change is needed and wants it him/herself
ii) Person is aware of how the change will affect others in their
organization, and who needs to be involved in the decision making
team.
iii) Person is willing to engage with outsiders to help discuss/
implement this change.

I don't know if name, lead and prospect fit when taking this
perspecitve.

From the perspective of a salesperson, we do need a way to categorize
who may hold an interest in your product or service (name), vs who has
expressed interest in some form of change that relates to your product
or service (lead) and who has engaged with you personally on this
(prospect).

> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

[rcauvin]

Very nice reframing of the issues and mindset, Tyrone. In the same
spirit, I offer the following possible alternative:

1. Person or organization has identified a problem. (At this stage,
the problem is sitting comfortably within the buyer's systems and is
resistant to change.)
2. Person or organization realizes there are change management issues
and is open to outside help in identifying and navigating them. (At
this stage, one or more people in the organization wants help
effecting change.)
3. Person or organization has identified the people, processes, and
systems affected by the possible changes and has assembled them into a
decision-making team. (At this stage, one or more people in the
organization, possibly with guidance from the outside, have understood
and worked on the internal systems issues enough to form the team that
would need to buy into any change decision.)

Roger

[TW]

Roger,

I like your clarifications, something about the term 'problem' is a
bit jarring for me. Not that I'm afraid of negative terminology,
sometimes products and services are more than problem solvers. Perhaps
it's my personal training background talking, but when we work to
create greater levels of excellence, it doesn't feel like problem
solving only. Perhaps I'm being too philosophical here...

Nonetheless, do the terms name, lead and prospect apply to your
clarifications in any way Roger? Or are we running in the same
direction on perspectives?

[Douglas]

A name would be a person who is likely to be in need of a change management process with relation to my product but is not actively seeking to make a change. At this stage my task would be to motivate the buyer to want to explore the need to go through the change management process.

A lead is a person who has expressed a desire to fulfill an identified  need by going through the change management process involving my services and has provided me with their contact information.

A prospect is a person with whom I am actively accompanying through the change management process while providing solutions through my services to the identified need. At this stage I am exploring with the buyer any other additional needs that the change might incur and illustrate how my services can address these newly discovered needs as well.

My particular product involves me educating the customer on what their needs are in order to successfully navigate themselves through the change management process.

 

[rcauvin]

Tyrone, I'm not sure the terms "name", "lead", and "prospect" are very
important. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the direction you and
I are both heading is simply looking at the "funnel" from a change
management perspective instead of a traditional sales perspective. At
any given time, customers may be in different stages of the change
management process. The manner in which we approach them will depend
on the stage.

Roger

[TW]

I agree.