5 ways automation can be used to simplify manufactures sales leads

Identifying potential sales and having a process that allows you to effectively generate sales leads is a necessary part of your business, and it is one that is not without its challenges. Business Process Automation (BPA) can help to make better use of your resources, simplify your activities, and help you gain quality sales leads to build your bottom line. In this article we look at how to obtain sales leads, the challenges in the process of qualifying sales leads, and five ways that manufacturing sales leads can be quickly and accurately qualified with automation.

How to generate sales leads?

Depending on the type of manufacturing your business is doing, there are going to be a wide range of customers and different ways in which you need to connect with them in order to make your sales.

Whether you are operating a business to consumer (B2C) manufacturing model, or are selling your products to other businesses (B2B), there are various lead generation methods that could work, including:

• Word-of-mouth referrals from existing customers
• Use of sales triggers
• Purchasing leads
• Engaging with potential leads
• Generate leads through marketing engagement
• Cold calling
• Cold emailing
• Create Bottom of the Funnel (BoFu) content
• Improve Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and keyword rich content

These are just some of the most popular methods that businesses use in order to engage with their audience, drive interest, and gain more leads to work through their conversion process.

Being supported by the right tools and a data-driven approach makes lead generation and gathering much easier, and TEB Apps utilises strategic applications to make opportunity management an automated process, where you can pre-determine what indicators you want to watch for, and arrange your processes according to your needs. This allows you to maximise your lead conversions and never miss an opportunity for profit and growth.

Lead Qualification process

Getting in leads is extremely important, but being able to make use of them, understand which ones are worth the time and effort in following up, and what is going to be of ultimate benefit to your business is arguably even more important.

Qualifying sales leads allows you to ascribe values to the leads, weigh them according to different values, such as one-off price value, customer value, overall lifetime value, etc.

Depending on your process, requirements, and company objectives, there may be different factors that you look to consider when qualifying the leads.

These lead qualification processes could include:

• Conversion rate
• Cost per lead (CPL)
• Bounce rate
• Lead-to-Customer conversion
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
• Website traffic

Without exception, every method for qualifying leads relies on data, and if your data is not accurate, available, or in suitable format for analysis, you are going to struggle to setup a qualification and weighting process that works.

Utilising TEB Apps allows you to ensure high quality data, as well as processes that make it easy to understand and use whenever you need.

5 ways automation can be used to simplify sales leads qualifying

Business Process Automation (BPA) can be highly effective in optimising business activities, reducing errors, and making the most of your resources.

When it comes to sales lead qualification, automation can be used to simplify the process by:

1. Applying analytics and metrics in real time to identify high quality leads that give your team the ability to prioritise leads with the most value and likelihood of conversion.
   
   
2. Ensuring the right team members are given the tasks with automated assignment that leans into their strengths and the best use of your resources.
   
   
3. Reduce human error and ensure data security is applied at every stage, ensuring that data used is correct and usable.
   
   
4. Centralising data to ensure all customer records and engagements are recorded and stored in a single location, allowing for ‘full picture’ understanding of customers on a granular level.
   
   
5. Reduce overall turnaround times and allow flexibility not only in marketing and advertising approaches, but also in adoption of new strategic approaches, and to capitalise on short-term or quick opportunities that might otherwise be missed.

What should you consider before adopting automation for converting sales leads in your manufacturing business?

Before you adopt automation into your business, you need to know how your processes are currently structured and ensure that you roll out software and tools that are going to support your work, and not hinder your team’s ability to get their work done.

Considerations you ought to be looking at include:

• What will automation do for your process?
• How will you monitor and measure the data?
• What metrics will be used as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?
• Is your existing structure capable of supporting the upgrade?
• What is your budget, and does your chosen tool meet your needs on its own?
• What training and support is available for your team?
• What scalability and upgrades are available to keep the technology meeting your needs as your business grows?

Manufacturing businesses often require quick turn arounds and it is essential that stock and material management is considered even at the stage of measuring leads, so having a tool that supports integration across all your company data is going to be far more beneficial than trying to patch together a solution with dozens of different products.

How can TEB Apps help you convert quality sales leads?

TEB Apps supports your entire business structure, giving you the tools you need to make the best use of your data, keep your records up-to-date, and ensure that you are always working at optimal efficiency.

Use TEB Apps to quickly qualify leads:

• Automatic assignment of leads to ensure fast response times and the right team members working where they are best suited.
• Better understanding of customers with centralised data and real-time tracking.
• Automated follow-ups and reminders to ensure your team are always on top of the work that requires their attention.
• The ability to leave notes and documents on clients to share with team members
• Pinpoint your most valuable leads and lead sources

Book a demo today, and discover how your manufacturing business can determine the best approaches to take, and benefit from the most efficient use of your resources – leading you to bigger profits, and more valuable customer relationships.