This post is the third and final post in a series on Creating a Service Level Agreement between Marketing and Sales.

Previously in this series, I discussed the creation of an SLA that contains a definition of a marketing qualified lead (MQL) and a process for level of effort. In the final post on this topic, I wanted to show you how you bring this all together with reporting and what Brian Carrol refers to as Closed Loop Feedback.

As with any process change, proper tracking and reporting will let you know what needs improvement and what is not working. In the case of MQLs and level of effort, we have implemented a MQL dashboard at ReadyTalk, which tracks how many MQLs are accepted by sales, how many are won/lost and the average deal size. The most important of these is the MQL conversion rates in these areas. If a large percentage of MQLs are being rejected by sales, the MQL definition needs to be revisited and tweaked. Similarly, if a large percentage of MQLs are being accepted but the opportunity is not created, the MQL definition needs to be revisited. This is especially true in our model since all accepted MQLs should be made into working opportunities.

While the dashboard gives you a quantitative measure of how your new process is performing, the closed loop feedback system gives you a qualitative look at each lead. Brian defines this system on his blog. We have instituted weekly gatherings of pertinent parties for this closed loop feedback process. Each lead that has made it to MQL status is discussed. With direct feedback from the sales representative who owns the lead, we are able to fine-tune the process.

Any process change should be accompanied by metrics that can be used to judge the success of the new process. The MQL dashboard and closed loop feedback system are tools we use at ReadyTalk to help our sales team with more qualified leads. What are some of the processes you use? Did I miss anything?