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Tag : lead scoring

Why You Need a Zoho Sales Qualification Process

Published on: June 7, 2017Category: Zoho CRMLast Updated: July 20, 2023 Comments: 0

Zoho Sales QualificationSo, what is the Zoho Sales Qualification process?

With a Zoho Sales Qualification process, you can avoid deleting “bad leads” or leaving them in the sales cycle, ensuring accurate data and statistics as your pipeline expands within Zoho.

Let’s turn that around – now.

If you can relate with the story above, it’s time to implement the aforementioned sales qualification process.

So, what is the Zoho Sales Qualification process?

This process is, in a nutshell, the steps you can take to ask the right questions of your prospects and determine whether or not they are a good fit for your business. Once you determine whether or not the relationship should continue, the qualification process also continues – qualifying or disqualifying such prospects within your sales funnel. Sales qualification works for business of any size – small, medium to enterprise. After all, 50% of leads are qualified but not yet ready to buy, which means they’re taking up space in your CRM instead of being an accurate representation of who’s ready to sign on the dotted line.

There are four key steps in a Zoho Sales Qualification; this blog will provide an overview of what you need to know to go through the process.

Streamlining Your Workflow for Effective Sales Qualification

Step 1: Identify who your target prospect is.

The first step to any sales cycle is to identify who your target prospect is. By this, we mean that you should look at organization level qualification – qualifying the company. For example, you should look at the following: Zoho Sales Qualification

  1. What is your target territory?
  2. What is your focus industry?
  3. What is your ideal target company size? (either in revenue or employee size)
  4. What is your target persona’s job title? (for example, Communications Director or VP of Sales)

By understanding who your target prospect is, you can accurately perform outreach targeting and understand who should be in your funnel – and who shouldn’t.

Step 2: Determine prospect need.

After the prospect has shown interest in your services or products, such as filling out a form or sending you an email through your website, it is best to hold a discovery call to get to know one another. This is before any other move is made, such as putting together a proposal or turning into an opportunity.

Discovery calls will determine whether the prospect has an immediate need, or a need over the next 6 months. On the discovery call, you can ask the questions above to ensure your prospect is within your target audience. You should also inquire about need, pain points and company information.

Step 3: Qualify the stakeholder.

Once you have determined the prospect’s need, it is time to qualify the stakeholder. This is where the fun begins!

In this step in the process, you determine if the prospect is a decision maker. Ask yourself the question – can they sign on the dotted line? Or do they need a direct manager to do so? Is there anyone else who should be involved?

In this process, it is best to follow the BANT model. This model asks the following questions…

Budget: Is the prospect capable of buying?
Authority: Does your contact have adequate authority to sign off on a purchase?
Need: Does the prospect have a business pain you can solve?
Timeline: When is the prospect planning to buy?

Using proper qualification means you can use Zoho lead scoring to give your leads actual numerical scores, which makes the distinction between qualified and unqualified easy if you’re just looking at passing a threshold.  (Lead scoring assigns a point value to things like the usual BANT qualifiers, plus other metrics that you set.)

Step 4: Know when to disqualify.

Once you have gone through the BANT model, it is time to determine if you need to qualify or disqualify. Remember – disqualification isn’t bad! It keeps your Zoho CRM clean and with accurate data.

This makes it so you can disqualify based on asking wto simple questions:

  1. If the company is not going to purchase your services because of budget, territory, lack of business pain, etc. – it is best to disqualify.
  2. If there is an opportunity to purchase services, qualify – and nurture.

Remember – it doesn’t hurt to keep your prospects in a nurturing sequence within your email software. A prospect that is disqualified today might be ready to purchase in 6 to 12 months, and by keeping your prospects in nurturing, you’ll be top of mind when the time is right.

Questions about how to qualify prospects through the Zoho CRM? Click here and we’ll be happy to help you with Zoho Sales Qualification, Zoho implementation consulting, or anything else related to Zoho.

Why Scoring Rules are Awesome

Published on: May 10, 2017Category: Zoho CRMLast Updated: November 17, 2020 Comments: 0

zoho lead scoring

When it comes to sales outreach and performance, there are a plethora of options to help managers and leaders alike in hitting goals and reaching targets; yet, time is always of the essence. Does your team have enough time to prospect and qualify each and every lead? Do you have the bandwidth to manually research what your prospects are clicking on, and the types of content they are converting on? If the answer is “no”, you’ll want to read on and learn more about the lead scoring model – particularly, Zoho lead scoring.

The lead scoring model refers to that of “scoring” a prospect, lead or client. Over 68% of B2B marketers are already using behavioral and demographic scoring, which helps them qualify and convert prospects. Scoring rules can include:

  • Company size
  • Industry
  • Web page visits
  • Job title
  • Company location
  • Email opens
  • Fiscal revenue
  • Downloads
  • Form submissions

(and much, much more).

For example, if your target persona is a Marketing Manager in a company with $10 million in revenue, you could further score and gauge interest by creating smart lists that display contacts who are actively engaged with your content and website (indicating interest) versus those who are not.  

zoho lead scoringWhen it comes to usage within CRM software, like Zoho, the lead scoring model can be used by everyone across a range of job functions, from Marketing Managers to the VP of Sales. Typically, Marketing and Sales functions are closely tied with lead scoring, as they are the front-line in connecting with B2B or B2C clients and customers

Fun Fact: 68% of effective and efficient marketers are more likely to identify lead scoring based on content and engagement as one of their main drivers of revenue.

Now that you know what lead scoring is and who uses this sales and marketing function, it’s time to talk about how awesome it is. Zoho lead scoring, in particular, will help give your business a competitive edge unlike ever before.

Here’s why scoring rules are awesome – and why you should try Zoho lead scoring now.

Reason #1: It prioritizes prospecting.

Remember when we talked about how much time in the day your sales team has, and where they prioritize their efforts?

Lead scoring does just that – in fact, using lead scoring best practices makes it even easier.

For example, when you implement your lead scoring practice, prioritize everything. Don’t waste your time. Create a lead scoring list that only shows you leads from your target industry, with your target annual revenue, who have engaged with your website over the last three days. You’ll receive engaged, interested contacts who have budget for your services or products.

Reason #2: You’ll close deals faster.

If a lead in the opportunity stage of your sales funnel clicks on your proposal and views it five times, then visits your website, they’re probably interested. So, why not pick up the phone and give them a call?


Engaging with your prospects based on their level of interest will not only show the lead that you’re in touch with their wants and needs, it’ll also help get that pen on the dotted line quicker.  

Reason #3: Keep your prospecting and client database cleaner

No one dislikes a messy CRM more than us. After all, what’s the point of having a data center if you’re not using it properly?You can assign scoring rules based on a number of factors, but importantly, it will help you keep your database cleaner.

For example, if an email bounces you can assign a negative score. Poor feedback on your company’s social channels? Assign a negative score.

Only keep in touch and prospect with those leads who are interested in your services.

Reason #4: Send focused communications.zoho lead scoring

Through automation in Zoho CRM, communication can be sent based on engagement with your website, products or services. For example, you can send an automated email based on a click that takes place on your contact page.

Much like keeping in contact with your target prospects, keep your communications focused and concise. As you determine what your scoring rules are, you will have a greater ability to stay focused and communicate efficiently.

When it comes to prospecting and the sales process, engagement through the awareness, consideration, purchase and experience funnel is key to success. With outbound leads costing 39% more than inbound leads, this means that you need to engage with the audience you have, while prospecting further down the funnel.

Scoring rules aid in this process. From targeted prospecting to focused communications, using lead scoring best practices with software like Zoho will help your team become more efficient and drive revenue along the way.

Get Better Leads with Lead Scoring for Zoho CRM

Published on: December 1, 2015Category: Zoho CRMLast Updated: June 13, 2023 Comments: 0

Howdy, all.

Today’s post is brought to you courtesy of James Converse, Chief Solutions Architect here at ZBrains.  James has worked with Zoho for years, and has done CRM implementation even longer, so he’s a real powerhouse of knowledge; I’m happy he was able to contribute to the blog.

No one knows more about setting up your lead scoring CRM, or lead scoring consulting in general here than James, and, while this piece is a little more technical than some on the blog, the tips included for Zoho lead scoring are easy to implement and use to your advantage inside Zoho CRM – today, even.

As always, call (888) 207-4111 if you have any questions or need help.

Cheers,

Jeremy

___________________________

zoho crm lead scoring

Are you tired of spending time on leads and prospects that don’t buy?  If so, then this article is for you!  To be honest, I think we’re all a little guilty of jumping the gun when we get excited about a new lead or prospect.  After all, it’s in the DNA of a good salesperson to get a excited about a new opportunity.  The purpose of this article is to explain how to score or judge leads based on YOUR qualification criteria.  By doing this, and storing the lead score in your Zoho CRM system, you can search, sort, and filter on the lead score, allowing you to quickly hone in on the opportunities that have the highest chance of closing.  Additionally, the lead scoring system is based on the FACTS, rather than what the prospect is telling you.

Before we get into how to implement a lead scoring system in Zoho CRM, I’d like to clear a few things up about Zoho CRM and lead scoring.  Going to whip out my Certified Zoho CRM Consultant hat for this one.

Lead Scoring Consulting: What is a Lead Score?

zoho crm lead scoring

A lead score is a number assigned to each lead and prospect, which rates these records based on certain factors.  The higher the score, the more likely the company/person is to buy from you.

What’s the difference between a Lead and a Potential in Zoho CRM?  

Consultants define these two modules in different ways, but the easiest way I can describe it is the Leads module is for the marketing funnel and the Potentials module is for the sales funnel.  From a system standpoint, the Leads module does NOT have pipeline history, whereas the Potentials module DOES.  That being said, if you want a Zoho CRM record to show up in your forecast, it needs to be a Potential, not a Lead.  On an almost daily basis, I see implementations of Zoho CRM where the Potentials module is not being used at all, which completely defeats the purpose of using a CRM in the first place!  If I can give one piece of advice to anyone using Zoho CRM, it would be to use the Potentials module.

What is a prospect in Zoho CRM?

When a Lead is converted into a Potential in Zoho CRM, but that Potential has not been “Closed Won,” it is considered a prospect.  When a Potential is set to “Closed Won,” it is considered a Client or Customer.  To convert a Lead to a Potential, simply click on the lead and then press the “Convert” button at the top of the page.

zoho crm lead scoring

Defining a Qualification Process

Now that you know what and where the “Convert” button is in the Leads module, you can substitute the word “Convert” for “Qualify” – when you are converting the lead, you are qualifying it, and the putting it into the sales funnel.  At the very least, DO NOT CONVERT LEADS THAT AREN’T QUALIFIED.  If your marketers and lead generators continually convert leads that are not qualified, it’s a big problem because the odds of closing an unqualified prospect are slim to none.

You probably know what the right questions are for your business, but at a minimum, I would use what’s called a BANT qualification, which stands for budget, authority, need, and timeline.  A good salesperson likely has a much smoother way of asking these questions, like this:

  1. Is this a funded project? How big of a problem are we trying to solve? (Budget)
  2. What is your role in this project? Is there anyone else involved in this project? (Authority)
  3. How will this product/solution help you/your organization? (Need)
  4. When are you looking to launch? (Timeline)

How to Design a Lead Scoring CRM System

zoho crm lead scoring

Now for the good stuff!  If I take those questions above and define a set of possible answers, I can associate a number to each of those answers.  Then, I simply add up the numbers to determine a score.  Personally, I like to set a maximum lead score of 100 because I can associate it one-to-one to a probability percentage.  Then, when I compare my actual probability to my score, I can adjust my scoring system accordingly.  By studying and adjusting the score over time, you’ll be able to nail down a pretty accurate score for every lead that comes in the door.

To keep it simple, let’s associate 25 points to each of the four questions above:

Q1. Answers for Budget: Small (5 pts), Medium (15 pts), Large (25 pts)

Q2. Answers for Authority: Director (5 pts), VP (15 pts), C-level (25 pts)

Q3. Answers to Need: Small (5 pts), Medium (15 pts), Large (25 pts)

Q4. Answers to Timeline: > 6 months (5 pts), 3-6 months (15 pts), < 3 months (25 pts)

Please note any answers that are “None” or no answer at all result in a score of ZERO.

How to Implement a Zoho Lead Scoring System

To do this, you’ll need to know a little Deluge syntax.  If you don’t want to fumble with it for two days, then get help from a Certified Zoho CRM Consultant.  After you’ve defined the scoring system, create a Formula type field in the Leads module of Zoho CRM. Use the “IF” function to create conditions for your score, putting the actual score after the “THEN” clause.  For example:

  • IF(CONTAINS(${Leads.Budget},’Medium’),15,0)

You’ll have to nest several “IF” statements to cover all the options of a single question.  You’ll also have to add up the results of these “IF” statements with the “+” function (duh).

Make sure to copy the fields and formula over to the Potentials module in Zoho CRM because after you qualify the lead and convert it, the answers to the questions can change, thus changing the lead score in Zoho CRM.

zoho crm lead scoring

Once you’ve debugged your lead score field, run a few tests to make sure it’s calculating correctly.  Unfortunately, formula fields don’t go retroactively in Zoho CRM, but you could always open them in Zoho Sheet View and run the calculation in the spreadsheet.

Lastly, add the lead score field to your Views in both Leads and Potentials, sorting highest to lowest.  The key part about having an accurate score is collecting the information, i.e., the answers to your questions.  Don’t hesitate to call those prospects that haven’t answered your questions and just ask them.  If your prospects don’t have answers, chances are you’re wasting your time with them.

Hope this helps!

~ James Converse

Zoho CRM Certified Consultant | Zoho Creator Certified Developer

Chief Solutions Architect, ZBrains.net