{"id":514,"date":"2022-03-08T22:17:54","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T22:17:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/321-growth-academy-2023.local\/growth-snacks-recap-how-many-leads-do-you-actually-need\/"},"modified":"2023-11-02T21:12:03","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T21:12:03","slug":"growth-snacks-recap-how-many-leads-do-you-actually-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/321growthacademy.com\/growth-snacks-recap-how-many-leads-do-you-actually-need\/","title":{"rendered":"Growth Snacks recap: how many leads do you need?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
At our most recent Growth Snacks<\/a>, leads were a hot topic. We pointed out that at 321, we often see entrepreneurs putting lots of emphasis on driving leads into the top of the funnel (which is good), but without the clarity that comes from knowing how many qualified leads are actually required to hit their revenue targets (which is bad<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luckily, that\u2019s why our Growth Snacks series exist\u2014to clear up important points about how to grow your business sustainably and successfully. Read on as we show you how to figure out precisely how many leads you need to hit your revenue targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not every lead is equal, so understanding how to categorize your leads is key to knowing how to manage them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a lead is \u201cqualified\u201d, it means you\u2019ve determined they are a good fit with your ideal customer profile (ICP) and thus likely have the problem your product or service solves and might be interested in what you\u2019re selling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there are different levels of qualification. Let\u2019s take a look at the differences using some common acronyms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n MQL<\/strong>: Marketing Qualified Leads are those that have been generated through marketing campaigns and have likely interacted with your brand and shared enough info (such as by filling out a form) that marketing deems them a reasonable \u201cfit\u201d and ready for sales attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SAL<\/strong>: Sales Accepted Leads are those that have been handed off to the sales team for follow up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SQL<\/strong>: Sales Qualified Leads are those where Sales has done some additional qualification and they are confident that they are a good \u201cfit\u201d, and Sales is \u201cworking\u201d the lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The number of leads your organization needs depends largely on your customer acquisition model\u2014i.e., The number of leads your organization needs depends on your customer acquisition model. Do you take a marketing-intensive approach or are you more focused on direct sales?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marketing-intensive customer acquisition models tend to be a great fit for B2C and B2SMB companies, where the product has a lower price point, it\u2019s a transactional sale, the product is simple with little to no customization \u2013 and thus your unit economics (i.e. skinny margins) means you can\u2019t afford direct sales. Marketing-led acquisition likely means you need more leads at the top of your funnel, as they can have lower conversion rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sales-intensive customer acquisition strategies tend to be more a focus for B2B companies, for selling pricier, more complex or customized products, where the customer might want more of a relationship-sell. Sales-led acquisition likely requires fewer top of funnel leads, they typically convert at higher rates but take more effort and investment to convert.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\nDifferent types of leads explained<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How many leads do you need? It depends…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Marketing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Sales<\/h3>\n\n\n\n