B2B leads

Are you getting too few enquiries, or are the wrong people getting in touch? Carnaby helps B2B companies get more enquiries from the right companies through their website, search engines and ads, and follow them all the way to a deal.

Work out how many leads you need

Start with the sales target and work backwards. That shows you which stage is holding you back and whether you need more leads or better leads. The figures below are made up, so replace them with your own from the CRM system.

If 45 per cent of all leads become meetings, 214 leads are enough for the same sales. Better lead qualification can therefore be a cheaper route to the target than more advertising.

Agree on what counts as a lead

Marketing and sales need the same definition. Otherwise marketing may measure success in the number of forms while sales measures it in deals. Write down what is required for an enquiry to be passed on to a salesperson:

• the right industry and company size
• a person who can influence the purchase
• a need you can solve
• an approximate time frame for the purchase

An enquiry that meets the requirements is often called a marketing qualified lead (MQL). Once the salesperson has approved it, it becomes a sales qualified lead (SQL). Several people at the same company may get in touch about the same purchase, so merge their enquiries in the CRM system before you count.

Let salespeople say why a lead was not good enough

Let the salesperson mark each enquiry as approved or rejected, and choose a reason from a short list when it is rejected. The reasons show what needs to change in the marketing.

Look after leads that are not ready yet

B2B purchases can take a long time and involve several people, so a lead can come from the right company but too early in the buying process. Add it to the CRM system with a date for renewed contact, so it does not tie up sales time in the meantime. Until then, newsletters and ads aimed at website visitors can remind the buyer of you.

How to choose the right channels for B2B leads

Which channel to prioritise depends on how buyers search and how quickly you need to be visible.

Make it easy to get in touch

Someone reading an in-depth guide may not be ready for a sales call, while someone comparing prices may be. Give visitors different ways in on the website: a contact form for those who are ready, and a worked example or a checklist for those who are still investigating.

In the form, ask only for what the salesperson needs for the first call. Also explain what happens next and when you will be in touch. On the pages where the buyer makes up their mind, you should show named clients and what you have done for them. A conversion analysis shows where visitors drop off.

Measure all the way to the deal

Web analytics sees the form, and the CRM system sees the deal. Save the source and campaign on each lead when the form is submitted, so the information follows it to the salesperson. Then you can track three figures per channel:

• cost per approved lead
• share of approved leads that become meetings
• revenue from closed deals

Long sales cycles mean that revenue arrives late. Judge the channels on approved leads in the meantime, and recalculate the value per channel once a full sales cycle has passed.

What rules apply to emails to businesses?

The consent requirement in the Swedish Marketing Act (marknadsföringslagen) applies to marketing to natural persons, not to limited companies and other legal persons. A sole trader business is run by a natural person, so assume the requirement applies there. Every marketing email must include a valid address to which the recipient can send a request for the mailings to stop, even when the recipient is a company.

A contact person’s name and email address are personal data, which means GDPR applies. Direct marketing can be based on a balancing of interests, which should always be documented. Anyone who objects to direct marketing must not receive any further mailings.

How we draw up a plan for more and better leads

We begin with a current state analysis of traffic, enquiries and deals. On that basis, we decide together what an approved lead is, which channels to prioritise and how the results should be followed up.

Contact us about your leads