The terms ‘lead generation’ and ‘sales prospecting’ are often used interchangeably. Let us read more about what is lead generation and what is sales prospecting and what are the key differences between them.
Sales Prospecting vs. Lead Generation
It is common to come across the terms "leads, "prospects", and even "lead prospecting". However, coupling them together is like claiming marketing and sales are all the same when they are not!
Lead generation is ideally the task of the marketing team while prospecting is usually carried out by the sales team. Leads are business entities or people who have expressed interest in a specific product or service by taking a predefined action such as downloading a report, visiting the website, or installing a free version of an app.
On the other hand, prospects refer to people who are deemed qualified by salespeople as highly relevant potential customers. Similarly, lead generation is all about how leads are made while sales prospecting includes the process to identify clients and nurture client relationships. Also, sales prospecting is more of a manual effort where sales reps search for new business opportunities on their own. As far as lead generation is concerned, marketers usually place a lead magnet somewhere on the web and then expect emails of leads to flow right to their email marketing software.
Thankfully, a powerful and intuitive CRM such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM can help you with both lead generation and sales prospecting. It can help you group prospects and leads based on their characteristics so you can map out your future action plan. Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM can also help you prepare engaging scripts for sales calls and personalized emails for marketing initiatives. Furthermore, you can leverage Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM to visit or revisit your buyer personas, analyze website traffic, and align lead magnets with your business offers.
Both sales prospecting and lead generation contribute to one and only business goal – driving sales. Find out how Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM can help your business make your sales and marketing move together towards the goal of growing your business. Call or email us now at C.I.G Consultants.