What's the Criteria for Sales-Accepted Leads (SALs)?

Some leads are more likely to convert than others. Qualified leads almost always have a higher conversion rate than unqualified leads. If all leads are passed from your B2B company's marketing team to its sales team without being qualified, you can expect low conversion rates. Using sales-accepted leads (SALs), though, can yield higher conversion rates.

SAL is a type of qualified lead. SALs are leads that have met criteria set by the sales team. Your B2B company's marketing team will generate leads. It can also evaluate these leads for criteria set by your B2B company's sales team. Leads that meet this criteria are considered SALs. What criteria should you use for SALs exactly?

Relevant Business Industry

Leads must operate in a business industry that's relevant to your B2B company. Otherwise, they won't meet the criteria for SALs. Relevant business industries are those that need your B2B company's products or services. All B2B companies sell products or services to businesses. Some B2B companies, though, target businesses in different industries than others. Only leads that operate in one of your B2B company's target business industries can be classified SALs.

Sufficient Budget

You should consider the budget of a sales lead when determining whether to qualify him or her as an SAL. A sales lead may operate in a relevant business industry, but with little or no available capital, the lead won't be able to buy your B2B company's products or services.

Identifying a saleslead's budget isn't always easy. You can research the sales lead's business online for a better understanding of his or her budget, but ultimately you may need to ask the lead. Regardless, a sufficient budget is a factor in determining whether a lead is an SAL.

Valid Information

Only sales leads with valid information should be qualified as SALs. If any of his or her information is inaccurate, you shouldn't qualify the lead as an SAL. SALs require valid information. With inaccurate or otherwise invalid information, sales reps will waste time chasing them down.

Bad data is common when generating sales leads. According to Gartner, bad data costs B2B companies an average of $13 million per year. Bad data refers to invalid sales lead information. If the name, address, phone number or other information about a sales lead is inaccurate, the lead won't yield any sales revenue for your B2B company. Therefore, you shouldn't qualify the lead as a SAL. There are other factors that you can use to determine whether a lead is an SAL, but be sure to look for a relevant business industry, sufficient budget and valid information.