How can outbound B2B sales teams effectively qualify leads? How should they maximize success?

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Director of Sales in Insurance (except health)a year ago

In my past two companies where I have been responsible for sales in the position as sales director, I have also established an outbound team, inside sales team.
It really depends on the market or better said product portfolio you deal with. For known products, just to increase the sales, it is pretty easy with a good and reliable strategy to fulfill targets. That is like using a bonus per head. Create a good story line combined with a limited offer, than it is kind of self running.
For the more complex topics you better chose a five contact way... means phone the customers and make them aware that a message will be sent, send afterwards details to these potential customers, pretty focussed but detailed, wait two working days (never have a weekend in between), call all customers, walk through the information, try to align and promise to send a summary of the call. Send the summary the same day, wait annother one to three days, call again and close.
That works also for non physic offers like services...

COO in Softwarea year ago

In my experience it is useful to consider three levels of qualification for B2B sales teams. First is the information about the organisation and individual that you can get through research and how this fits with the ideal customer profile - is it the company right profile in terms of industry, size, finances and the individual the right department, role, title, length of time at the company. The second level is about the questions you ask in discovery related the "Jobs to be Done", problems, implications and how this fits with your solution. The third level is testing the level of commitment the prospect has to investing in identifying and implementing a solution. The combination of this information then establishes which deals to focus on. Balancing sales teams investment between closing the high probability deals and developing the potential deals is another important factor for maximising sustained success as it can be easy to over focus on closing the done deals.

Founder in Mediaa year ago

I use the P-DAT qualifying framework to qualify leads. P = Product Fit. DA = Decision-making ability. T = Timeline. What I'm looking for is a prospect that I am confident will benefit from my product or service and who has the ability to determine whether or not to purchase the product. Lastly, even if they can benefit and buy it, I want to ensure the timelines match up. To discern this, I ask if this is a project, deliverable, opportunity etc that has some immediacy. I am looking for a timeline in the next 3-12 months depending on the sales cycle & length of onboarding.

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Corporate Strategy and Business Development Consultant in Consumer Goodsa year ago

I would say that while traditional tactics have their merits, it is crucial for outbound sales reps to collaborate closely with their marketing counterparts for lead qualification. In today's B2B buying landscape, customers independently navigate approximately 80% of the purchase journey before engaging with a sales rep or even expressing interest.

As a result, it's essential for marketing to funnel qualified demand directly to Account Executives (AEs), while passing qualified leads to Sales Development Representatives/Business Development Representatives (SDR/BDR) before they reach the AEs. This streamlined approach to lead qualification should be clearly defined within the go-to-market (GTM) strategy, as it guides marketing's content creation and equips SDR/BDR teams with the necessary framework to effectively filter leads. By fostering a symbiotic relationship between marketing and sales, organizations can optimize their lead qualification process and maximize their chances of success.

Founder and Chief Sales Energizer in Services (non-Government)a year ago

Best to get an introduction. You then start off with someone who is interested and you have some credibility that was transferred from the introducer. Then to effectively "qualify" you are looking for a fit between their problem, need, concern and your solution. You are not looking for BANT Budget, Authority, Need and Timeline. If you uncover a fit, they will give you all of that information as they move forward. You are looking for a fit so that you can show them how you will solve. Even if you can't get an introduction if you peak their curiosity so that they want to have a conversation, then your job is to find the fit. That's how you maximize success.