What is a Sales Qualified Lead?
A sales qualified lead (SQL) is a potential customer that has indicated they are interested in a company’s product and is ready to speak with a sales rep. They’ve already been identified as an appropriate sales prospect and fit the company’s ideal customer profile. While it’s not guaranteed that a SQL will make a purchase, there’s a good chance they will if the sales process goes smoothly.
Marketing Qualified Lead vs. Sales Qualified Lead
You’ll often hear both “marketing qualified lead” (MQL) and “sales qualified lead” used by sales reps. It’s important to understand that they’re not the same.
An MQL is a potential customer who has interacted with a company’s marketing materials and has shown interest in their product. However, it’s yet to be determined if they’d be a good fit for the product, or if they’re actually interested in speaking with a sales rep to learn more.
It’s important for a company’s marketing team to be aligned with the sales team so they can properly understand what to look for when qualifying leads. The marketing team will analyze their MQLs and determine if they meet the sales team’s needs, and then pass them over.
An MQL that matches the sales team’s ideal customer profile, and is likely to convert to a customer, becomes an SQL when they enter the next stage of the sales funnel.
Why Are Sales Qualified Leads Important?
It’s important for a sales team to identify SQLs because it allows them to target and sell to the right people at the right time. Sales reps have very specific goals to achieve, and only so much time to work with. If they spend too much time prospecting the wrong audiences they’d never be able to hit their targets.
Identifying SQLs allows them to target their outreach, cater sales pitches to specific segments and individual companies, and ensure their time and resources are used strategically.
Sales reps need to know who their ideal customers are, and they need to know where to find them so they can keep their prospect pool full. Knowing what attracts SQLs is also important because it allows a company to focus more marketing efforts in specific areas.
SQLs are important for sales reps to target and sell to, and they help provide valuable information for the marketing team to utilize when it comes to outreach and external communication. The two go hand and hand: knowing your existing customer base helps provide information on how to generate more leads, which results in more SQLs entering the sales pipeline.
Using Videos to Attract Sales Qualified Leads
One way to stand out from your competition is to use videos for lead generation. Incorporating these tips and tricks will increase the amount of SQLs entering your sales pipeline.
- Video prospecting. Reach out and introduce yourself with a quick video. Video prospecting helps boost email open rates and responses, and will help you stick out from the competition and make a good first impression.
- Demo videos. Demo videos are a great way to show off your product’s unique selling point. Many sales reps use this tactic on sales calls, but you can also work with your marketing team to include demo videos in newsletters or on your company’s website to showcase specific product features.
- Use scripts and templates. If you’ve never incorporated videos into your sales strategy there are plenty of video scripts and templates you can use. Determine who you’re reaching out to first, and use these resources to help guide your outreach, and always make sure to personalize your message.