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Do More WithLeadManagementSpark Series14 MIN READ

To the Marketer WhoGoes Nonstop.You don’t try. You do. And when you get that feeling,some might call it a spark of genius, you knowanything’s possible.At Oracle, we know greatness comes from greatinspiration. Packed with powerful info, the SparkSeries will get you up to speed on pivotal marketingtrends – like lead management – lightning fast.Think of it as a catalyst that will put your strategyinto motion. Because if anyone’s going to stay onestep ahead, it’s going to be you.-13:30 MIN

What’sLead Management?Lead management combines two heavy hitters insales and marketing: lead scoring and lead nurturing.Lead scoring is an objective ranking of one sales leadagainst another. It helps marketing and sales prosidentify where each prospect is in the buying processand follow up accordingly.On the fip side, lead nurturing is the processof cultivating leads that aren’t ready to buy byequipping them with info. Successful lead nurturinganticipates the needs of the buyer based on whothey are and where they are in the decision process.-12:00 MIN

The Evolutionof Lead ScoringBuyers start gathering information long before theyhave established things like budget and timeline.Even if these factors are in place, buyers are unlikelyto reveal them on a cold-call (no matter how welltimed). Instead, buyers rely on the internet to gatherinformation. They download white papers andcasestudies, connect with peers to gut check theirobservations, and turn to social media to crowdsource experiences. And salespeople have littleto no visibility into these behaviors.To keep pace with the changing buying process,sales and marketing pros use a wide range of datapoints to determine lead quality. Job title, companyrevenue, and industry may suggest a good ft. But it’sno longer enough. Buyer behavior (how frequentlya prospect interacts with your company) is morepowerful than often inaccurate data collected overthe phone or online.-11:00 MIN

Why Lead Scoring MattersLead scoring is more than just a way to rank leads.It’s a contract between sales and marketing.A mutually agreed-upon process for defning leadquality, sales follow-up, and cross-departmentalcollaboration. By collaboratively developing a leadscoring model, your marketing and sales teams canarrive at a common defnition of what makes up a hotlead. It also empowers your organization to develop alead-ranking system that prioritizes quality interactionsor activities that demonstrate high prospect interest.With a clear defnition of what constitutes a prioritylead, the discussion can move to which leads shouldbe passed from marketing to sales. (And which shouldbe nurtured further.) When leads sent to sales have anobjective quality rating, it becomes easier to measurehow good your sales team is at engaging prospectsand closing business.And an established lead-scoring practice gives yougreater control of your pipeline. The better youmeasure and understand the quality of your leads,the more predictable your pipeline and revenueforecasts will be. It’s also easier to see projectedshortfalls in revenue by territory, product line, andbusiness unit. This allows marketing and sales teamsto react appropriately by focusing resources wherethey will have the biggest impact.-10:00 MIN

Lead Scoring BasicsLead scoring helps you understand if your leadsare the right people with the right level of interest.Don’t just wait for the perfect moment. With thisinformation in hand, you can get your game face on.A winning lead scoring approach addresses:f People: You need an executive-level championand sales involvement.f Process: Marketing and sales need to agree onthe definition of a lead. And how leads will behanded off.f Technology: You need software that cancapture information, facilitate lead handoff,and process feedback.It’s best to keep lead scoring simple. (Especially atfrst.) Scoring too many criteria can make it diffcultto determine which values defne the score.Start with two of the most commonly usedscoring dimensions and adjust as neededf Prospect Identity - Determine fit by title,industry, and company revenues.f Prospect Interest - Rate engagement throughthings like website visits and responsivenessto promotions.-09:00 MIN

Then defne lead scores:ABDocument the profle ft score.Determine the categories that defne a sales-readystage of qualifcation.CDefne how important these categories are inrelationship to one another.DAssign a tiered set of corresponding criteria valuesfor each category.Next, document the engagement scoreand take action:1.Use prospect behaviors like website visits and emailclick-throughs to defne a sales-ready stage of qualifcation.2.Defne how important these categories are in relationshipto one another.3.Assign values by weighting actions based on timeliness.(Prospects who visited the website three times last weekare probably higher quality than those who visited it threetimes over the last year.)4.Create a table that maps out the overall rating of a leadbased on percentage of profle ft and engagement level.5.Once scores have been calculated and a rating assigned,you can determine the correct action. (This includes sendingthe lead to your CRM system for priority follow-up orentering it into your long-term nurturing program.)-08:00 MIN

Nurturing LeadsNot Ready to BuyNot every prospect is ready to buy now. But it’sa mistake to ignore those leads. Most prospects thatdon’t make the grade today will go on to buy fromsomeone within the next 24 months. Put yourcompany at the top of their list.Nurture prospects in the funnel with helpful, relevantcontent to move them through each considerationstage until they’re ready to be passed on to sales.Nurturing is the safety net for every stage of thebuying cycle and helps ensure you don’t miss outon revenue opportunities.Lead nurturing typically focuses on convertingcontacts that are already in your database (not generating new inquiries). Companies without lead nurturing processes see a huge drop-off in the number ofleads they are able to generate for their sales teams.Without lead nurturing, all those inquiries are nothingmore than hand-raisers. They’ve demonstratedinterest but require further profling and cultivationbefore they get passed to sales. Put in the workto nurture leads and see your numbers increase asinquires turn into qualifed demand.-07:00 MIN

Lead Nurturing BasicsThe vast majority of leads fail to convert to sales.So, companies can’t afford to abandon prospectswhen they fail to become buyers. Start tightening theslack on your lead nurturing tactics to cultivate moremeaningful conversations.01SegmentingBuilding lasting relationships based on trustrequires an extensive knowledge of yourprospects. Only then can you provide themost dynamic content, messaging, and assets.Nurturing paths should be based on uniquecustomer profles. Segmenting allows you to usetitle, role, industry, or sales stage to account fornuances in messaging. You can slash unsubscribesby ensuring content resonates with recipients.02Customer NurturingNurturing isn’t just for prospects. Even whenyou’re bringing on a new customer, there areplenty of ways to nurture the relationship anddrive adoption. You can segment based on userrole (e.g., champion, power user, executivesponsor, etc.) Use this knowledge to funnelcustomers through onboarding programs tailoredto their roles – making the transition seamless.-06:00 MIN

03Give to GetYou have two prime opportunities to gatherinformation about a contact during the buyingcycle: when someone is new to your organizationand when someone decides to become a customer(or transact new business with you). Increase thefrequency and number of touches during thesetimes to come out on top.04Customer FocusUse personalization whenever possible. Call thecustomer by name. Provide relevant assets. Ensureevery communication is matched to that buyer’sneed at that time. Each communication should bedesigned to answer a specifc question, “What’s init for the buyer?”05Progressive ProflingRequiring registration in exchange for an offeris called gating. Because lead nurturing typicallyapplies to contacts that already exist in yourdatabase, it’s not necessary to put forms in frontof every offer. But there are always gaps in contactrecords. Progressive profling (incrementallyasking contacts for additional information) canhelp you build a rich data set on each prospect.With progressive profling, each time a prospectclicks through on an offer, the system asks for justone or two pieces of information.-05:00 MIN

What’s Next inLead Management?It’s important to understand lead scoring andnurturing as it stands today. But you also need toanticipate what’s next. Here’s what you need toknow to be prepared to achieve your goals.Growing Awarenessof Prospect infuencesProspects receive more messages, information,and education during the buying process than everbefore. And peer-to-peer channels will continue togrow in relevance. Awareness of how an individualdiscovered a message (along with where and fromwhom) will continue to feature prominently inmarketers’ lead-scoring and nurturing routines.-04:00 MIN

Experimenting with ScoringLooking at different ways of scoring leads canunlock powerful opportunities. Advanced salesand marketing pros should practice:f Content-Based Scoring – Focusing on white papers,product information, and customer testimonialsinstead of download activity.f Account-Level Scoring – Scoring leads to pinpointwhen a certain role is appearing in the buying cycle.f Customer Scoring – Analyzing all customertouchpoints to identify opportunities and riskthroughout the lifecycle.f Opportunity Scoring – Analyzing behavior of a leadall the way through the middle of the pipeline topredict the likelihood of an opportunity closing.Predicting ChangesYour lead-scoring model needs to remain closelyaligned to your sales and marketing processes (evenas they evolve). Predictive modeling tools allowyou to constantly monitor prospects’ behavior andunderstand how your model may need to change.Delivering Customized ExperiencesMarketers need to nurture people in the channelsthey prefer. And deliver the same types of contentand information they’d typically deliver viaautomated emails. These channels will increasinglyinclude social media and company websites.-03:00 MIN

Flexing to How People BuyUsing known information about buyer behavior,marketers can predict whether different combinationsor types of communications will infuence response.(A simple skill even the savviest marketers can useto get ahead.)Driving the Conversation with DataThe more you know, the more relevant yourconversation will be. This means you will have a betterchance of converting your prospect to the next stage.Marketers should aggregate insights from varioussources (including CRM, LinkedIn, and marketingautomation systems) to tip the conversation.Automating the Buying CycleAs marketers adopt marketing automation, CRM,and granular measurements (and grow more adept attracking buying-cycle stages) they will be better ableto target the right message to the right person – at allstages of the buying cycle.Fusing Social Mediaand Demand GenerationMarketers can reward people for engagement insocial channels. For example, marketers could addprospects to a VIP program once they’ve reacheda certain threshold of engagement.-02:00 MIN