Most companies strive to generate many leads, but if those leads do not convert, they are of minimal value.
A complete strategy, the right technology, sufficient training, and several other factors must all come together to convert leads into sales.
This is no small task; which is why most companies with solid budgets and clear goals hire the best inbound marketing companies to help them build their business across many digital platforms.
Internal teams, startups, business owners, and marketing managers responsible for driving expansion through digital marketing initiatives will find in this article three reasons why sales leads do not convert.
- Your basic strategy
The core of your approach should be lead qualification. A simple matrix (and one that HubSpot recommends) looks like this:
Leads deemed suitable for an intensive inbound strategy via marketing automation software are in the top row. Leads that don’t fit well, on the other hand, are in the bottom row. This could be for many reasons, such as their sales process, industry, etc.
The left column contains leads that have already engaged with material, while the right column contains audiences that have only made a single point of contact and have shown little interest. While this is a solid starting point for qualifying leads, you can include in a third column people who have spoken with or expressed interest in speaking with a salesperson.
The difference between good and bad leads is easy to determine. Your staff needs to understand which types of buyers are most likely to invest with you, versus those who have a harder time seeing the value in what you have to offer.
Bear in mind, however, that these figures will almost certainly evolve. When you begin to qualify leads using this matrix, you will see that each bucket has a regular conversion rate. If groups within the same bucket convert more or less quickly than others, they will have to be moved to a new bucket.
You can design a strategy based on really existing and current data if your buckets and internal buyer groups are defined.
- Disagreement between sales and marketing
A gap between sales and marketing is one of the main reasons leads do not convert into sales. First, these two departments have a long-standing “hate/hate” relationship.
A HubSpot study found that 87% of terms used to characterize sales and marketing are negative. Sales teams see marketing as “tinkering,” “academics,” and “irrelevant,” while marketing sees sales as “basic,” “incompetent,” and “lazy.”
Leadership must bring these departments together while reminding them that they all have the same goal in mind: to generate revenue. Leaders must also connect teams around common goals, such as deploying marketing pipelines to meet sales targets.
Poor communication follows a lack of alignment. If internal communication is lacking, leads will fall through the cracks due to a lack of understanding among buyers. Details about buyer personas should be communicated throughout the company, and sales and marketing should notify each other of new information and build specialized teams around specific personas.
- Poorly designed landing pages and site architecture
Apart from the fact that websites and landing pages with an outdated look lack sensuality, they also send the message to prospects that your services and goods are equally outdated.
Make sure your brand has a modern look that matches your personality and the customers you want to do business with.
Another area where leads can be lost is in the architecture of the site. “Online leads usually don’t convert because of poorly built site architecture,” explains Abi Solomon, marketing director for ClickTale.
Either the route is confusing, causing visitors to get distracted and miss the last step, or the path is excessively long, requiring tourists to take too many steps before reaching the last step.”
The navigation and usability of your homepage are essential. A strategically placed call-to-action button should also be there, and visitors should be able to find your offer in no more than three clicks.
Want to grow your business today? Then contact one of our digital marketing experts at GigaLeads today!
