How important is it to implement lead tracking software?

“It is critical” says Larry Caretsky, president of Commence Corporation, a provider of CRM software for lead tracking and sales pipeline management.

“Many of the sales executives I talk with are frustrated with the accuracy of their monthly and quarterly sales forecast. They have discovered that deals forecasted to close for that month or quarter were not properly qualified and as such provided an incorrect assessment of anticipated revenue. This indicates that their sales team was spending valuable time and money chasing tire kickers instead of highly qualified opportunities. In addition, the inaccurate forecast significantly impacted the decisions they were making regarding future investments in their business.”

Commence Corporation has addressed this business challenge by automating the lead tracking and pipeline management process. The sales tracking component of the software ranks and color codes each new lead based on how the sales representative answers a series of qualification questions built into the CRM software. The questions are customized to your business and include drop down responses. Here is an example.

Does this prospect have a critical need for our product or service?

Answers:  Yes or No (I am not sure, or they have a moderate need).

Do they have an approved budget for the purchase of our product or service?

Answers: Yes or No (I am not sure).

Are the decision makers engaged in the process?

Answers: Yes or No.

Do they have a definitive timetable for a decision?

Answers: Yes within 30,60, 90 days or more; or No (they do not have a timetable).

Once the answers to the questions are submitted, the Commence CRM system automatically rates and color-codes each lead based on the responses provided by the sales representative. Those that are highly qualified based on the answers above (red stars) are moved into the sales funnel so that you can track each phase of the sales cycle from introduction to closure. Those that are not qualified (yellow & blue stars) remain in the lead tracking system where they can be nurtured using the system’s drip marketing email feature. This enables the sales team to continue to track and manage the leads and determine if the unqualified ones are progressing towards qualification.

Red indicates a highly qualified lead, yellow not fully qualified and blue not qualified.

The objective here is to ensure that each new business opportunity is qualified based on a set of measurable criteria and not the gut reaction of the sales representative. The results have been substantial with customers reporting a much improved monthly and quarterly sales forecast and a higher close ratio of new business. This makes sense because the sales team becomes laser focused on the most qualified opportunities.

Setting up the sales tracking system is quick and efficient. Several lead qualification questions are automatically loaded in Commence CRM upon implementation and can be edited by the system administrator.

To learn more, contact Commence Sales at 877-266-6362 and ask for a demonstration or free trial.