How to Increase Win Rates on Qualified Leads w/ Dan McDade [Episode 289]

Among the many topics Dan and I discuss are the importance of sales & marketing alignment in lead generation, effective strategies to improve sales & marketing collaboration, the differences between inside sales reps and outside sales executives and how to choose the right candidates for each role, and establishing good KPIs, such as the percentage of sales qualified leads an effective sales organization should expect to close.

My guest on this episode of Accelerate! is Dan McDade, Founder and CEO of PointClear and author of The Truth About Leads.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dan take a point from his book, The Truth About Leads, to discuss how marketing departments are spending too much for the leads the generate.

Dan discusses The SiriusDecisions Demand Waterfall and breaks down the difference between the marketing qualified lead, the sales accepted lead, and the sales qualified lead.

Why companies need to have an independent team, composed of the CFO and executives outside of sales and marketing, to evaluate the causes of lead failure between marketing and sales.

Dan talks about his 3 categories of salespeople, hunters, beaters and farmers, and explains which type of salesperson best succeeds as an inside sales reps.

Dan asserts it is a mistake to train account executives by starting them as inside sales reps as each position requires an entirely different skill set.

According to research from SiriusDecisions, sales reps close about 20% of the sales qualified leads at average companies, while those at best in class companies close about 30% of the sales qualified leads.

Why companies need to adopt account-based marketing and the reasons why marketing automation doesn’t work for everyone.

MORE ABOUT DAN MCDADE

What’s your most powerful sales attribute?

ROI.

Who is your sales role model?

The late Tom DiPrizio of Dun & Bradstreet.

What’s one book that every salesperson should read?

New Sales: Simplified: the Essential Handbook for Prospecting and New Business Development, by Mike Weinberg.

What music is on your playlist right now?

Jersey Boys.