Middle of the Funnel: Getting Qualified Leads to Become New Sales

Marketing Qualified Lead vs Sales Qualified Lead

In the last couple of blogs, we have discussed the marketing and sales funnel, who’s responsibility it is, and a deeper dive into the top of the funnel. Following the sequence of the funnel, we look at the middle of the funnel which is the duel responsibility of Marketing and Sales that requires communication and collaboration. It consists of two stages – Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL) and Sales Qualified Leads (SQL). This area of the funnel can cause confusion if businesses do not know there is a significant difference between MQLs and SQLs.

Before looking at the differences, let’s look at what happens when a business does not differentiate leads into MQLs and SQLs.

All leads are treated the same, both poor and qualified
Your CRM becomes cluttered with leads who feel pressured and confused
Ownership of leads is ambiguous
Divisiveness rises between Marketing and Sales due to unnecessary work and follow up
The business loses money in this area of the funnel when qualified leads leave the funnel because they were not properly nurtured

This is not good. Your CRM pipeline should be filled with qualified leads, ownership should be defined, Marketing and Sales should be unified, and your business should not be losing money. This is attainable by understanding the two types of leads.

Marketing Qualified LeadMQLs are leads that are likely to become a customer based on criteria that is defined by intelligence gathered from data. This data is gathered from sources of analytics such as Google Analytics, Crazy Egg, Facebook Insights and Twitter Analytics. When leads enter into the MQL stage, Marketing must vet the lead and determine based on historical data and patterns if they are considering a purchase or undecisive.
Sales Qualified LeadSQLs, as previously mentioned, have been vetted in the MQL stage and are considered ready to buy. Sales takes the reigns and can guide the lead into a purchase. When the lead is properly vetted, the SQL often moves quickly into the bottom of the funnel.

When Marketing and Sales work together, quality leads are attracted, data is shared easily and leads move quickly from MQL to SQL. When leads slow down in the funnel, either Marketing or Sales takes over based on where the lead is positioned in the funnel. This is a conversation Marketing and Sales need to have to prevent the middle of the funnel from becoming bloated with qualified leads that are not ready to purchase and eventually leave.

If your Marketing and Sales departments have not had a conversation about MQL and SQL, now is the time. 2020 is just a couple of weeks away. Contact us if you would like to talk about integrating the middle of the funnel (MQL and SQL) into your sales funnel.

When you stack magnets, their power is exponential.

Stacking Magnets

Think about your best clients and what actions they took when first buying from you. Build magnets based on these actions. Here are examples of how to stack magnets:

Fractional CFO Service Company

TOFU – Cash-Flow Forecast Template for Founders.
MOFU – 3-part email class on “Scaling from 500K to 5M using videos.
BOFU – Free 30-minute “Financial Check” with a 90-day pilot option.

. Residential HVAC / Plumbing Contractor

TOFU – Seasonal Maintenance Checklist to Avoid Breakdowns
MOFU – Educational videos on “What To Check Before Calling For Help.
BOFU – Free home system inspection plus a discount on annual plans.

Specialty Retailer or E-Commerce Shop

TOFU – “Find Your Perfect Product Style” quiz with personalized recommendations and a small first-order discount.
MOFU – How-To Guides, Lookbooks, and Comparisons

BOFU – Limited-time starter kit, cart-abandonment coupons, and free shipping.

This “magnet stack” approach—clear value at each stage, linked to your core offer—will pull the right prospects from curiosity to commitment.

Getting it Done

Apex Advisory Group, a professional services firm, had four sales reps plus the owner selling and servicing clients, but deals were inconsistent and follow-up was ad-hoc.

Apex engaged CCC, www.cccsolutions.com, to help build their sustainable sales pipeline. The team focused on the ideal client’s journey, selected magnets, and created a sales process to manage prospects. The magnets were:

TOFU – Risk and Readiness Checklist.

MOFU – Quarterly Webinars and Case Studies

BOFU – Business Circle Invitation

CCC set up X2CRM to segment, track, and reach prospects and remind salespeople to follow up. At every stage, the CRM captured new information and responded based on specific prospect actions.

Apex Today

Apex now has a repeatable sales engine: Their magnets consistently attract new prospects, X2CRM nurtures and scores them, and the sales team focuses its energy on the best opportunities.

With CCC Solutions guiding strategy and configuration, Apex built a sustainable, measurable pipeline that increased sales while reducing the chaos of manual follow-up.

FREE ebook:
Build More Revenue with Less Follow Up Fatigue

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