B2B Lead Generation (Subscription Services) - Sprint
Overview & Challenge(s):
As the new B2B support lead at Sprint, my role was to lead the team responsible for evaluating and implementing programs and processes for targeting new business customers (small, mid, and enterprise) for the sales teams. B2B was a newer channel for Sprint, the support team was lean, there was little budget, and a majority of sales leaders had little experience. Leadership was eager for quick wins but focused solely on hunting for new business, regardless of the value it may or may not bring for the effort. We had to gain their trust quickly to meet aggressive goals set by the EVP of Sales.
Goal(s):
Gain sales team trust
Upskill sales reps
Improve lead quality
Shorten the sales cycle
Define metrics
Provide real-time data and reporting.
Strategy and Approach:
Led a team of up to 30 people, assigning responsibilities and holding accountability for:
Creating B2B personas (small business to enterprise) and qualification parameters.
Partnering with finance to align on acceptable cost-per-lead metrics, scoring models, and budget.
Conducting competitive research and focus groups to capture B2B customer needs.
Optimizing the company site for B2B content, keywords, and brand voice.
Automating the process for assigning new leads using internal systems and platforms.
Upskilling sales teams to support the entire lead generation journey vs. just 'the hunting'.
Updating the lead form to capture incremental customer information and implement API to update the data real time.
Partnering with IT to define and implement proactive, automated communications to the sales teams based on lead behavior.
Creating customizable, real-time dashboard reporting for executive updates.
Results:
New leads increased by 15% within six months (~ 300 new clients entered the pipeline).
Leads were 80% more qualified, resulting in an increase of 22% higher conversion.
The number of lines per new account increased by 20%.
Enterprise accounts increased the most, bringing in higher revenue and word-of-mouth referrals.
Sales teams became 30% more efficient by qualifying/disqualifying leads early in the process.
Account retention increased by over 30% with lifetime value improving by an average of 18%.
Personally nominated as the Office of Privacy ambassador for the sales and marketing channels.