The Manufacturers’ Guide to Managing Leads

For manufacturing businesses, it is essential to have a system in place to manage your leads. This system helps you to weed out those that are not ready to buy and keep track of those that are interested in your products or services. The process can ensure that your sales team is following up with the right people at the right time. In this quick guide, we will discuss six steps that you can take to help your business manage leads:

1) Establish lead criteria

The first step is to establish what qualifies as a lead. This will vary from company to company, but it is important to have an agreed upon definition. This will help you and your sales team to determine who should be contacted and when.

2) Set up lead capture forms

Make sure that you have lead capture forms on your website and that they are easy to find and fill out. You want to make it as easy as possible for potential customers to provide you with their contact information. Automation capabilities can help you save time and resources by automatically creating and updating records, assigning tasks, and sending notifications.

3) Use an automated lead management system

An automated lead management system can help you keep track of your leads and make sure that they are being followed up with in a timely manner. Tools like Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud integrated with CRM capabilities to power your lead capturing abilities.

4) Qualify leads

Once you have contacted a lead, it is important to qualify them. This means determining whether they are interested in your products or services and whether they are ready to buy. Lead scoring capabilities allow you to prioritize and score leads based on criteria such as demographics, behaviour, and engagement level. This ensures that your sales and marketing teams are working towards the same goal of converting leads into customers.

5) Nurture leads

Even if a lead is not ready to buy right away, it is important to nurture them. Stay in touch with them and keep them updated on your products or services. Social media integrations on a cloud CRM platform allow you to quickly connect with your leads through platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn. This helps you build relationships with your leads and stay top-of-mind throughout the sales cycle.

6) Measure results

Finally, it is important to measure the results of your efforts. Keep track of how many leads you generate and how many of those turn into sales. This will help you to determine what is working and what needs improvement. Real-time dashboards from Manufacturing Cloud give you visibility into your sales pipeline so you can quickly identify where your leads are in the buying cycle. This information can help you tailor your sales strategies accordingly.