A successful marketing strategy is, by default, useless unless potential clients bite the bait you’ve used to lure them in. Those who have bitten the bait, but have not yet been reeled in are what you would call “leads.” Leads are the building blocks of what could possibly be an actual sales opportunity. But countless of times, certain leads fall short of being converted into “contacts,” those clients who you’ve successfully reeled in.
To create a concrete separation between your “contacts” and your “leads,” here are a couple of tips. On one hand, your relationship with “leads” usually ends as soon as they get a hold of your marketing promotions. Another characteristic common with “leads” is that they can easily be worked by sales development reps. On the other hand, “contacts” are more associated with opportunities, accounts, and revenues.
Fortunately, Salesforce, the SaaS-focused CRM, has got you covered with the filtration of “leads” and “contacts.” The CRM does this through a special feature within its system known as the “Lead Object.” The Salesforce lead object allows for the proper espousing of best practices. By delineating leads from contacts, agents are guided on which clients they are to send certain marketing advancements (i.e. emails, SMS, or voicemails).
How Does Salesforce Lead Object Support Sales and Marketing
Before getting into why you, as an agent or as a company owner, should use the lead object, let us clear out why some unfortunately opt to do without it.
- Companies often get overwhelmed with the thought of exerting extra effort in separating leads and contacts. Honestly, this is nothing a quick dialogue between the sales and marketing teams can’t settle.
- Companies from other industries tend to think that the system only fits the B2B business model. But come to think of it, most industries out there come up with their own marketing plans to invite in potential clients, also known as leads.
- The only probably exception would be those businesses with a small to no sales team (i.e. eCommerce companies). Often times, these types focus their marketing efforts into creating only a limited yet loyal clientele.