So how can you increase these odds? The key is to qualify each lead as quickly and as efficiently as possible, so that you can rule out any dead-end leads and instead focus on pursuing those more likely to convert.

Before you or your reps pick up that phone, have a little regroup. Your goal prior to actually making a sales call should be to know as much about the prospect as possible, so that you can tailor your messaging to be as relevant as possible. The more customized your messaging, the greater the chances of a positive response from the prospect.

Here’s a few things you can do in advance to gain some insider’s info:

• Check out their website: not only should you know what business your prospect is in (B2B? B2C?) you should also snoop around their site: what are their products and services? Do they use forms to collect information? Do they use ecommerce? Will your product or service integrate with their site? With their business?
• Know who you’re talking to: are you going to be calling an employee with the authority to make business decisions, or is your sales call set up with a junior, or an intern? Find out their job title on LinkedIn so that you can get a good understanding of who you’ll be talking to.
• Check out their activity: cyber-stalk their movements across your website. Did they download your whitepapers? Did they submit a form with little information or details on exactly what they are looking for? Did they read your blog posts, or watch some webinars? Be careful here, as although these types of activity definitely demonstrate they are interested in your company and what you have to offer, they still may not have a legitimate intent to move forward with a purchase.

Once you’ve done this background-check homework, it’s time to pick up that phone and go through the starter questions to further qualify them within your sales process. And remember, this point on the sales journey map is not just for you to establish that they are a qualified lead, it’s also to impress upon your prospect that you and your company are worth working with.

Next week’s post will cover some different ideas around implementing a lead scoring system that will help you even further in your lead generation and lead qualification efforts. In the meantime, check out our latest guide on the sales model…and how it may need to evolve for your business.