Trick or Treat? What are your Inbound Leads?

Remember the exciting home stretch of each childhood Halloween, when you only had a few more houses to hit before you found yourself at home tallying your sugary haul?

And while you were able to eyeball a few early results during your expedition, the large majority of your take would be a surprise that you had to sort through.

Unfortunately, the process to identify the best candy was often inefficient and ineffective. I would often become sloppy in my process, let good candy fall into the wrong pile, overlook a hidden gem, and even waste time trying to find a specific flavor that just wasn’t there.

Looking back, I could have maximized my gains if I had a younger sibling at my disposal who could have efficiently “qualified” my candy while I focused on those of most importance and immediate gratification.

Fast forward a decade or two, and that same problem plagues sales teams big and small.

In many cases, quota-carrying sales reps are qualifying inbound leads directly from lists and marketing automation feeds while balancing their own outbound outreach and follow-up on leads passed from the SDR team.

Time constraints, conflicting incentive structures, undisciplined processes, and irreplaceable phone activity leave far too many opportunities undiscovered and unconverted.

And the data supports our theory:

Inbound follow-up, just like outbound lead gen, is a tactical process. There are certain MQL follow-up methods and best practices that are best left in the hands of your sales development reps – the team that’s better equipped to handle inbound inquiries.

They have the bandwidth, training, and proper incentives in place to uncover actionable opportunities for your quota-carrying reps. That allows them to do what they do best – close deals.

So let your SDRs sort through the pillowcase of candy you just dumped on the table and focus on your king-sized candy bars instead. You’ve earned it.