As a sales or marketing professional, you need constant access to quality sales leads. They’re the bread and butter of your day-to-day operations. So why would you trust just any company to provide such a vital service?
There are plenty of lead-generation tools out there, and it’s easy to get lured by a too-good-to-be-true deal. But with no real guarantees on quality and freshness, those leads may prove to be costly over time.
What Are the Real Costs of Bad Leads?
Time
Chasing after bad sales leads is a huge waste of time, taking you and your staff away from productive tasks and bringing down your sales volume. And it’s no small cost. It’s estimated that businesses lose $20,000 every year per sales representative on poor quality sales leads.1
Resources
Whether you’re sending a direct mail piece or conducting a telemarketing campaign, there are hard costs associated with your activities. And for every bad lead, your business is losing money. In fact, the average company will waste $180,000 annually on undeliverable direct mail alone.2
Opportunities
At the end of the day, inaccurate or incomplete sales leads mean missed opportunities. Every year, bad data quality costs U.S. businesses more than $600 billion.3 Take a few minutes to estimate what that bad data could be costing your business—it’s probably more than you think.
So How Can You Find Real Value?
Quality is imperative to getting real value out of your sales lead provider. Here’s what you should look for:
- Experience – The length that a company’s been in business is generally a good indicator of its reliability. Beware of fly-by-night operations that could disappear quickly—taking your money and leaving you high and dry.
- Quality control – Some sales lead providers simply resell other companies’ data, regardless of age or quality. Be sure to find a provider that openly shares its compilation and verification processes.
- Reputation – Before handing over your money, research what other customers are saying about the company. ResellerRatings.com and other consumer ratings sites are a good place to start.
- Service – Great customer service is becoming increasingly rare these days. Look for a company that has experienced people who will be available when you need them.
Look to the Experts
Chasing after inaccurate or outdated leads slows down your processes, wastes precious resources, and keeps you from hitting your goals. Don’t fall into the trap of choosing price over quality—it could wind up costing you in the end. Do your research and put your trust in a company that has the data and services that will help you build your sales.
Sources:
1 http://bigdata.sys-con.com/node/1922955
2 http://lemonly.com/work/the-cost-of-bad-data
