Lead Generation and Lead Distribution

Lead Generation is one of the most widely used search terms in search engines. If you take a look at Google Keyword research tool, you may see at least a few million searches a month for the term Lead Generation. Most marketers and small business owners use the terms lead generation and lead distribution to mean the same, although these two activities are totally different. The reason could be that lead distribution follows the demand generation step.

Lead Assignment Vs Distribution

Distributing leads is a relatively small but critical process of the marketing cycle. Once the prospect information is obtained (in whatever fashion), it needs to be passed on to some individual within the organization to carry forward the sales process further. The person could be an inside sales rep, lead administrator, a field sales executive or even a channel team member (such as a dealer or distributor). As discussed in earlier posts, when the prospect information is distributed within the organization, it is generally referred as Lead Assignment.

However, this takes a different connotation if you are a lead generation company or lead provider. The acquired leads need to be sold to one or more external parties (or organization) using certain rules. This process is known as Lead Distribution as the leads are distributed to one or more external entities.

Lead Generation

We receive a quite a few inquiries through our product website on a daily basis inquiring about lead generation software and if our LeadPro tool can be used as a lead generation software. In fact, there is no such thing as a Lead Generation Software. A plethora of tools and web 2.0 strategies can be used for online Sales Lead Generation. For example, this blog is a tool for online lead generation. The following are the most commonly used tools for lead generation. Note that the traditional demand generation sources are fast losing relevance and online lead generation methods are gaining ground.

• Websites (with landing pages or sign-up forms)
• Blogs
• Forums
• Pay Per Click Advertising
• Cost Per Action (CPA) Advertising
• Email Marketing
• Social Marketing Media (such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
• Call Centers (traditional)
• Direct Mail (traditional)
• Print / TV / Radio Advertising

Lead Distribution Software

There are several software tools in the market place for distributing leads. Some include both internal lead assignment and external lead distribution and some include one or the other function.

Internal Lead Assignment (or routing) software will generally include the following features:

• Sales Organization Maintenance
• Sales Territory Definition
• Manual review / qualification
• Lead entry / import / interface
• Assignment Engine with criteria such as:
  • Geography (State, County, Zip / Postal code, Telephone Area Code, etc.)
  • Lead Source
  • Lead Profile parameters (such as Product / Service, Budget, Authority, Time frame, etc.)
  • Lead Score / Lead Rank / Class (based on Qualification process)
• Manual Assignment of Leads (individually or in batch)
• Reassignment of Leads (individually or in batch)
• Definition of Sales Followup Stages
• Lead Tracking Activities Logging
• Analysis Reports

External Lead Distribution software will have an entirely different set of features, though the above feature might also be included for internal management.

Typical features included in an online lead distribution sofware will be:

• Lead Capture from multiple sources
• Lead Capture forms (can be used with Landing Pages)
• Integration with leading Lead Vendors
• Custom Interfaces to various lead generation systems
• Lead Aggregation in a central database
• Lead Buyers / Clients setup and maintenance
• Support for multiple verticals and industry segments such as:
  • Insurance leads (health, life, LTC, auto, home, mortgage protection, annuities, etc.)
  • Mortgage leads (New purchase, refinance, home equity loan, line of credit)
  • Real Estate leads (home buyers, sellers)
  • Loan Modification leads
  • Debt Consolidation leads
  • Credit Card leads
  • Auto leads
  • Warranty leads
  • Higher Education leads
  • Student Loan leads
  • Satellite TV leads
  • Identity Protection leads
  • Other Consumer product leads
• Comprehensive Lead Distribution Engine
• Real Time Distribution of leads
• Aged Leads distribution in bulk / batches
• Lead management tool for buyers (as a value addition)
• Credit Request and Approval process (for invalid leads)
• Order processing (for real time and bulk leads)
• Online Credit Card Payment processing with multiple gateways
• Lead sales statistics
• Profitability Analysis and metrics

Thus lead marketers can look for and use a suitable lead distribution software solution to manage their distribution and delivery processes. However, there is no single piece of software or solution to generate leads. A combination of strategies including web sites, blogs, email marketing, PPC, and SEO can be used to generate internet leads. And there are several tools and solutions to execute these strategies.