Lead Generation Test

In the constant struggle to generate qualified leads, most sales and marketing executives unfortunately don't have an objective way to measure the overall effectiveness of their lead generation efforts. And yet, generating new leads is a fundamental and vital part of a growing business. For many companies today, generating new, qualified leads is one of their most challenging business issues.

After years of studying, developing and implementing successful lead generation programs and processes, we have developed a lead generation test that companies can now use to measure the effectiveness of their lead generation program.

Compiled from our RAMP™ Audit - our comprehensive lead generation and lead management audit service—the following test questions are a cross representation of the various components and programs companies need for an effective lead generation process. Our RAMP™ model is a closed loop system based on tight integration between strategic marketing, lead generation activities and lead management practices.

Successful lead generation is no longer an event-driven, activity-based process. Gone are the days when a company could rely on its sales team to generate enough leads to meet its sales goals or use a simple direct mail campaign to produce highly qualified leads. Companies today are finding that only through the right integration and proper implementation of strategic marketing, lead generation activities and lead management can they achieve true lead generation success.

While this short test is obviously not a comprehensive review of your lead generation process and does not analyze individual lead generation activities, it can provide you some objective insight as to the overall effectiveness of your current lead generation process.

To begin the test - simply answer each question "yes" or "no" and then check your total score at the end of the test.

Questions

1. Do you use your own in-house database as a list source for 80% of your direct mail, telemarketing and e-mail campaigns instead of renting or purchasing lists?
2. Does your marketing database and CRM system contain at least 8 different types of classifications or categories to segment suspects, prospects and qualified leads?
3. Can every member of your sales and marketing team clearly state your company's unique value proposition?
4. Does your marketing group know the exact number of qualified leads they need to forward to your sales team each month to meet your annual sales goals?
5. Is your senior management or executive team satisfied with the results, justification and ROI from your lead generation expenditures?
6. Do you have at least four of these items available and clearly visible on your main web page; webinars, customer success stories, white papers, free product trials, analyst reports?
7. Do you have a quantifiable and predictable “marketing pipeline” and can you accurately forecast your lead generation results?
8. Is your sales team satisfied with the quantity and quality of leads generated by your marketing efforts?
9. Do you maintain cost per raw lead, cost per qualified lead and cost per close reports for every lead generation activity and are these reports available to sales and the executive team as part of a formal reporting process?
10. Are you currently building your own internal prospect email list?
11. Do you have a documented MPM program in place?
12. Does your sales team seldom or rarely have to prospect for their own leads?
13. Do you "test" multiple variables for each lead generation activity and make the test results available to both the sales and marketing management teams?
14. Does more than 70% of your total sales revenue come from new customer sales vs. sales to existing customers?
15. Do you have acquisition cost objectives for your sales and marketing activities and do you know your allowable cost per qualified lead and allowable cost per close?
16. Are you currently performing 80% or more of your telemarketing efforts in-house as opposed to outsourcing that function?
17. Do you have a published SOP document that outlines procedures and responsibilities for all lead inquiry handling, database/CRM usage and lead management/lead nurturing processes for sales and marketing?
18. Does someone from your sales or marketing team make personal contact with every qualified lead within 24 hours of their initial inquiry?
19. Do you include multiple offers or multiple “calls to action” in all of your tactical lead generation activities?
20. Do you have a documented process to get prospect information immediately back into your marketing database on every qualified prospect Sales does not close and is this process proactively managed with real-time reporting made available to both the sales and marketing teams?

Scoring

For each "yes" answer give yourself 1 point. Maximum score is 20 points.

If you scored:

18 - 20 - Congratulations on a job well done. You're maximizing your marketing potential and building a solid future for continued sales success! Keep in mind however that marketing and lead generation are dynamic processes that change just as your market and customers do. Stay focused on your customers and continue to test, analyze and adjust your lead generation strategies as needed.

16 - 17 - You have strong potential to stay ahead of your competitors. But, you also probably need some fine tuning of your lead generation programs and processes to make sure you can sustain your efforts. You still need to enhance and improve various aspects of your lead generation process to stay ahead of the competition. Making improvements now will be much easier - and more effective - then waiting until results decline.

14 - 15 - Lack of new sales is probably keeping you up at night and you may want to consider this a "wake-up" call. You've got potential, but you need to catch up quickly - while you still can. Major program changes may be needed. Your focus should be on creating a strategic plan as soon as possible to improve your overall process and eliminate specific problem areas.

13 and under - Your new sales are probably few and far between. Your competitors are almost always winning the new deals. You're probably spending very little - if any - resources on building a strategic lead generation plan and probably have not had much success with your own lead generation activities. How much longer you can stay in business may depend on how quickly you can make major changes to your current lead generation process.

Next Steps

If you're not satisfied with your score, Pipeline Direct Marketing Solutions can help increase your results and solve your lead generation problems. Our experienced staff can help accelerate your lead generation success through our full range of services. With Pipeline DMS your company won't be forced to "re-invent the wheel" or experiment with new ideas or techniques to generate new business opportunities. Our solutions are based on accepted best practices and years of practical, hands-on experience.

If you'd like to discuss your score in more detail - or if you have a question or feedback regarding this test, please contact us today.