Management of leads is an essential task for both the marketing & sales teams to enhance sustainability & growth in the company.
In this blog, I will discuss one such term which plays important role in lead management i.e. Sales Qualified Lead.
Before we start discussing Qualified sales leads, Let’s understand Qualified Leads.
What are Qualified Leads?
A Qualified lead is a lead generated by the marketing & with them being fit to buy the product & an opportunity to make a sale. A Lead goes through various criteria to be termed a Qualified Lead.
Though there will be no case that 100% of Qualified leads will become the customer. But the Qualified lead will be the one who is most probable to buy the product.
As a result, the Marketing & Sales teams focus more on the qualified leads for sale. Some terms of Qualified leads are Marketing Qualified lead (MQL), Sale acceptance lead (SAL) & Sales Qualified lead (SQL).
What is Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)?
Sales Qualified Leads (SQL) are leads with a better possibility of converting into a customer. SQL is a lead that has shown interest to buy & has met certain criteria that makes them more qualified than MQL & SAL.
The lead qualification criteria vary depending on the sales teams & marketing teams but an SQL has these qualities:
1. Need for the product
2. Shown interest in the company or the product
3. Budget to buy the product.
SQL is the highest-ranking lead that is handled by the sales team. The probability of an SQL converting a Customer is only around 5-20% based on the product, competition & criteria of selection of SQL. But this possibility is much better than MQL.
SQL is a lead that is picked after research & qualities checked by the Marketing team. Basically, when the Marketing team finds that the MQL is more interested in the purchase then they are transferred for talks to the sales team.
Why are Sales Qualified Lead Important?
Really why take this Headache during our already busy time? What is the benefit of creating these criteria & manage our leads through them?
Let’s know then.
1. Helps to calculate the sales conversion rate.
2. Tracking the leads through the sales funnel.
3. Finding out the stage & maybe also be the reason why the Qualified didn’t convert to a customer.
4. Helps in changes in the product or the way to buy the product more user friendly.
5. Adapting the competition & performing better than the competition.
Let’s understand this by an example
Suppose, You are running a paper company. By seeing a difference between the Sales Qualified Lead processed & sales generated, you can estimate the place of improvement.
If the sales conversion rate is very low then you need to work on the strategy to make your product more attractive. Also, work has to be done to express more information & use of the product. With such improvements, you can be able to increase the sales conversion rate.
If your sales conversion rate is already good enough then now the focus should be on how to make the lead’s journey more smooth & efficient.
An important point in the customer journey, a company’s success at the sales-qualified lead stage can provide insights into how successful its overall sales strategy is.
How is Sales Qualified Lead determined?
The determination of the SQL is done by a discussion between the marketing team & sales team. The number margin of Qualified leads varies for different companies based on the product, Pricing & competition. BANT is the process that describes the SQL criteria for the company.
Budget
The amount that is to be spent by the Qualified Lead. Eg- The lead is willing to spend $100 for the speakers & that is in your product.
Authority
Who is going to buy the product? Decision-making freedom is one of the qualities to make the lead a SQL.
Need
The product must be suitable to the need of the lead. Eg- In B2B sales, Stationery products will be a need for any corporate company. This need will make any corporate company an SQL for the paper company.
Time
Is the lead going to buy the product in very near time? This quality makes the sales team more attractive as they have to invest less time in them.
So this was simple & complete information about Sales Qualified Lead.
Hope you find the information you were seeking for.
If you are in a need of growth in finding leads, outreach & data then check out Prospectss. Get the experience of simple & fast Growth Marketing tools.
To find more such helpful blogs on Growth Hacking & improving your outreach Find them here.
