Historically, sales people have been terrible at “nurturing” leads. They are paid to close, so a bookable deal almost always pre-empts opportunity development.

That’s why most of my clients have moved “nurturing” from sales to marketing, and they are more effective for it. Of course, both sales and marketing must collaborate to establish definitions and criteria for “lead” and “sales-ready,” as well as the process for handling no-go’s and not-yets.

And a caution: do not over-rely on technology to nurture or produce results. Especially for considered decisions, most b-to-b prospects want to communicate with a live human being during the consideration and buying cycle.

Michael A. Brown, President

Business To Business By Phone
http://www.michaelabrown.net