As a marketer, you might have noticed a certain ebb and flow in the requests you get from your sales department. "At the beginning of the year when the funnel is looking light and the end of the quarter or year seems far away, eager sales people see their friends cashing bonus checks and decide they want more, more, more," writes Michael Brenner at B2B Marketing Insider.

Salespeople often change their minds, however, when deadlines come into view. "As the end of the fiscal period comes to a close and the pressure to hit the sales goals becomes tangible," he continues, "[t]he request for better quality is made and sales wants to work with fewer and better leads that they can close."

According to Brenner, the typical process looks something like this:

• Sales asks for more leads.
• Marketing sends more leads.
• Sales complains when quality decreases and conversion rates plummet.
• Marketing tightens standards and sends fewer, better-qualified leads.

As frustrating as this back-and-forth tidal pattern might be, Brenner says, marketers should go with the flow. "Our marketing processes should support and even expect this natural shift by our sales colleagues," he argues. "So when our 'customers' in sales ask for more leads, give them more. When they ask for better leads. Give them leads they can close and then we can all share in the success of hitting the numbers."

The Po!nt: Work on the assumption that your sales team will vacillate between requests for quality and quantity—and be prepared with the leads they want.

→ end article preview
Read the Full Article