7 Step Lead Generation Process — Step 7: Convert

Each of the steps in LeadG2’s 7 Step Lead Generation Process is extremely important to the overall success of your inbound marketing efforts. We have written several blog posts on each of these steps over the past year, and we have finally reached the last step, Step 7—Convert. It’s the one where you make your money and establish ROI.

For reference, here are the past blog posts where we outlined the first 6 steps in the 7 Steps to Inbound Marketing Success:

1. Plan

2. Create

3. Distribute

4. Capture

5. Analyze

6. Cultivate 

Convert

The conversion step is the last step of the 7 Step Lead Generation Process. It's where you find a percentage of your leads truly raising their hands and asking to speak with someone about how your product or service can solve their specific challenges.

Determining what to do with leads that have self-identified themselves is the easy part. Because they have, in essence, raised their hands, you know that they are ready to be contacted. The difficult part is determining what to do with the leads that have not converted or have yet to raise their hands and asked to be contacted. 

Segmentation and Lead Scoring

A key part of the conversion process is segmenting and scoring your leads so that you know which ones have a true interest in your product or service and which ones are just window shopping. Segmenting your leads can be as easy as putting them into different lead categories, such as marketing qualified lead (MQL), sales qualified lead (SQL), or subscriber. The three basic categories should cover the majority of your leads and give your team the ability to focus specifically on the MQL and SQL categories while continuing to nurture those that are not MQLs / SQLs.

If you are dealing with a large number of leads and are struggling with knowing which ones are worth further contact at this point, having a lead scoring process in place makes logical sense. Lead scoring allows you to provide a numerical score for different activities that your leads are taking. These activities can include the number of pages viewed, specific downloads, specific pages viewed (like pricing or services), or other criteria. The main benefit of lead scoring is that it helps to uncover leads that may have not self-identified at this point based on filling out a bottom-of-the-funnel contact form. Those with a high lead score are those that have conducted enough activities to possibly make them a MQL or SQL and are in need for further nurturing or need to be contacted.  

While some think that lead scoring is a totally automated process, that is far from the truth. Each lead that rises to the top of your lead scoring criteria needs to be reviewed by a human being who understands the true dynamics to what qualifies someone as a good lead.  

What to Do With the Rest of the Leads?

One question that consistently comes up when meeting with clients is, “What do we do with leads that have not converted but are still MQLs and SQLs? The simple answer is that you recycle these leads into new lead nurturing campaigns or simply change them to a subscriber if they have no potential to become a customer or client. 

If you have questions about any part of this process and how it can help your business increase the number of leads you are generating each month, feel free to reach out and contact us. We love to talk about this kind of stuff.