Are you struggling to convert leads into actual customers? Well, you’re not alone. 57% of marketers say prospect engagement is the biggest challenge when generating new leads.

B2B prospecting can be challenging, especially when identifying suitable sales leads. 

A sales-qualified lead is a lead that has been vetted and deemed highly likely to convert into a customer. In B2B prospecting, SQLs are the holy grail of the sales process. 

But how do you validate quality business sales leads in the first place? 

The process involves building a streamlined approach to lead generation and qualification. This includes identifying the target audience, creating compelling content, and using various channels to distribute that content to potential customers. 

Once leads have been generated, qualifying them to determine their interest and fit for the product offered is essential. By targeting these high-probability prospects, companies can optimize their resources and maximize deal-closing potential.

This article will explore the importance of sales-qualified leads, how to validate a sales lead list and the benefits of a streamlined approach.

Prospecting – What is it?

Prospecting is the key to unlocking a treasure trove of potential business customers. The process includes deploying research, networking, cold calling, and advertising techniques to zero in on potential customers. 

The goal is to create a robust database of potential customers and systematically engage with them to turn them into committed customers. Businesses can tap into a vast pool of untapped sales leads and boost their sales with prospecting.

The difference between active and passive prospecting

A lead in sales is any prospect who shows interest in a business’s product; they are an unqualified contact with whom the business has yet to establish a relationship. In most sales processes, a lead becomes a contact once the prospect actively responds to follow-up activities, like answering emails and calls or trying out a product.

A lead becoming a contact is called lead qualification – leads are filtered, tested, and assessed before they are qualified as leads.

It’s essential to differentiate between contacts and qualified leads online as it helps businesses focus on the most promising opportunities and ensure a higher conversion rate.

• Active prospecting

Active prospecting refers to the ongoing process of actively seeking out and engaging with potential customers or leads. It involves various techniques such as cold calling, emailing, and social media outreach to identify and qualify leads for a business. 

Active prospecting is important in validating qualified leads because it allows sales teams to gather information, identify needs, and build relationships with prospects, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates and revenue. In this way, businesses can better understand their target audience and tailor their approach to meet their needs and preferences.

• Passive prospecting

Passive prospecting refers to activities where you are waiting for someone else to take action, such as direct mail campaigns that don’t generate an immediate response. This contrasts with active prospecting, where you directly reach out to potential customers. 

While passive prospecting may not generate immediate results, it is still important because it creates more opportunities and helps build a sales pipeline for potential customers or partners early. However, it may be less effective in validating qualified leads than active prospecting.

How to build a targeted lead list?

• Define your ICP and buyer persona

Understanding the ideal customer profile (ICP) and buyer persona helps identify the target audience and find websites of potential leads. Once the ICP and buyer persona have been defined, you can research and find websites of potential leads online and simplify your work using a lead extraction tool. An ICP is particularly useful if your organization utilizes Account-Based Marketing.

• Define the type of research based on various attributes

Identifying your ideal customer profile and target audience is crucial to building a targeted lead list. You also need to define the type of research you should perform based on criteria such as industry, company size, revenue, and location. 

You can use in-house researchers or outsource specialized research to create a highly targeted B2B sales leads list. Additionally, you can create a prospect list by identifying the preferred contact methods of potential leads.

• Define your target audience

Defining your target audience helps you understand your ideal customer and what they seek. This includes age, gender, educational background, purchasing power, social class, location, and consumption habits. 

Once you have identified your target audience, you can create a lead list tailored to their needs by following steps such as defining your ICP and buyer persona and using a targeted sales leads list.

• Implement, analyze, and collect data

Clearly defining your ICP and target audience is crucial to implementing and analyzing a targeted lead list. You can then use a lead-scoring process to prioritize and interact with leads based on your sales targeting strategy. 

Collecting data and measuring the performance of your sales lead list will enable you to refine and optimize your targeting efforts for better results. 

Key challenges with creating a targeted lead list  

The management of online lead research for different companies comes with a lot of responsibilities and obstacles.

Here are the main challenges sales lead generation companies may encounter:

• Data inadequacy

While there are several challenges with creating a sales leads list, one common issue is data inadequacy. Data inadequacy can result from various factors, such as outdated or incomplete information, limited access to data sources, and data silos. Poor data quality can lead to ineffective targeting, wasted resources, and missed opportunities. 

• Data obsolescence

Inaccurate and obsolete data can lead to wasted resources and lost opportunities. Businesses might target prospects who are no longer relevant or miss out on opportunities that might have arisen since the data was collected. 

Addressing this challenge requires businesses to ensure that prospect data is regularly updated and verified for accuracy. This can be achieved by leveraging reliable data sources and investing in tools and technologies to help automate data cleaning and verification processes.

• Managing lead research timelines

Learning about the company you are targeting is crucial. But it can be time-consuming, and determining whether a lead can be qualified as a sales prospect takes research and connecting with leads directly. 

Lead research timelines can be a significant challenge when creating a prospect list. Setting aside dedicated time for prospecting is essential, such as scheduling batch prospecting sessions of two to three hours with short breaks in between. 

• Lead research profile with a short bandwidth

Developing a feasible topic and utilizing available resources for thorough research is important. It can be difficult to identify relevant prospects when faced with a short bandwidth for conducting research. Prioritizing leads online based on how well they fit your ideal buyer persona can help identify relevant prospects more efficiently.

• Inefficient teamwork

Inefficient teamwork includes low engagement among team members, reduced productivity, and the need for increased self-awareness among team members. These challenges can be addressed through effective communication, setting clear goals and expectations, promoting collaboration, and fostering a positive work environment. 

Team members must work together efficiently to ensure the prospecting process runs smoothly and sales leads are effectively identified and managed.

How to maintain and retain a rich qualified lead list? 

You are more likely to target the right people and create more opportunities for sales when you have an extensive prospect list. However, the marketing sales lead list must also be validated and retained. 

Here are some ways a business can validate and retain its online leads:

• Outreach: Sometimes, specific information about a lead’s current situation, needs, and plans for the future can’t be found by even the most diligent sales reps without connecting directly with the lead. Outreach is helpful at this stage of the lead qualification process to gather more information about the lead.

• Standard Operating Procedure: A standard operating procedure (SOP) can guide the validation process by designating exactly how and why a lead should be coded in a specific way. Qualified leads move along the sales funnel, while either communication is concluded with non-qualified leads or they continue through the nurturing process.

• Regularly review and update your lead database: Review your lead database regularly to ensure that your data is accurate, up-to-date, and relevant. Remove leads no longer active or relevant to your business to maintain an efficient process.

In addition, businesses can use specific lead generation tools online, such as:

• HubSpot: HubSpot offers marketing, sales, and customer service solutions in one place, including lead generation.

• Clearbit: A lead enrichment tool that helps you enrich contact profile data, so you don’t have to ask for every little piece of information in a mile-long form.

• LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms: A form tool that allows you to collect leads directly from LinkedIn using pre-filled forms with user data from LinkedIn profiles.

• Facebook and Google Advertising Platforms: Advertising platforms that allow you to target specific audiences and generate leads through paid ads.

• Carrd: A landing page builder that allows you to create simple, one-page websites to capture leads.

• Intercom and Drift: Live chat apps that let you engage with visitors on your website and convert them into leads.

• Manychat and Chatfuel: Chatbot builders that let you automate conversations with potential leads on messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger.

• Mailchimp and Benchmark: Email marketing software allows a sales rep to turn cold leads into warm leads. They frequently contain dynamic templates, customized segmentation, data visualization, and analytics to give businesses an in-depth understanding of what motivates prospects.

Final Words

Generating high-quality leads is essential for business success, as it helps attract new customers and increase sales opportunities. Businesses can fill their sales funnel with qualified leads by accurately identifying target audiences and creating customer personas. 

At Marketboats Consulting, we identify, nurture, and prepare leads for conversion while removing unqualified leads with the help of our insight-rich lead generation, enrichment, and qualification services. With us, you can concentrate your marketing efforts on prospects with the highest potential and increase your company’s revenue. 

Get in touch today!