A full list of leads doesn't necessarily mean a full pipeline.

More leads do not equal more revenue

Paul Ferron, Vice President and B2B Research Director at Forrester, says in an interview with Marketingfacts: MQLs don’t close deals—opportunities do. There’s a lesson in that for every sales team.

A lead is a signal. Someone downloads a white paper, opens three emails, or visits the pricing page. If you lower the threshold, you’ll get more leads—though not necessarily better ones. Ferron refers to that threshold as a limit that organizations have set for themselves.

Every sales manager is familiar with the result. Your team spends hours following up with prospects who have no budget, no decision-making authority, or no sense of urgency. Meanwhile, the real opportunities are left unaddressed for too long.

Your buyer isn’t a single person, but a group

On top of that, buyers rarely make purchases on their own. According to Ferron, an average B2B purchase involves about twelve people within the organization, plus about eight from outside, such as industry peers and analysts. So a single enthusiastic download says little about the likelihood that the entire group will sign up.

And the information you send to that group often doesn’t reach them. According to a Forrester study, 52 percent of B2B buyers find the information they receive from suppliers useless. Pumping more content into the funnel won’t solve that problem.

Screen candidates in advance, during a real conversation

So what should you do? Ferron recommends starting small: stop counting MQLs and focus on opportunities. That starts with a clear definition of what an opportunity is, and with someone who verifies that definition up front. Here’s how MisterSales approaches lead generation:

• Let’s work together to define the ideal customer profile. Which industries, company sizes, roles, and challenges are truly a good fit for what you have to offer?
• Personal contact with the right decision-makers. Not a standard script, but a conversation tailored to the prospect’s situation.
• Evaluate each lead against predefined criteria. Only those who meet the requirements will move on to your sales team.
• A meeting with a briefing. Your account manager knows in advance who will be at the table, what’s going on, and what the needs are.

A conversation also offers something a download never does: a response. You hear which objections come up and who else is involved in the decision-making process. That’s exactly the information you need when the purchasing group consists of twenty people.

Count What Counts

A full list of leads feels like growth. A calendar full of qualified appointments is growth. Those who focus on opportunities rather than volume free up the sales team’s time for conversations that can lead to a deal.

Would you like to know how MisterSales approaches this for your organization? Schedule an introductory meeting.