How to Use Lead Qualification to Optimize Your Marketing

A WhatConverts Power User is someone who achieves incredible marketing results by using WhatConverts to its full potential. Results like a 12.4X ROAS,  42% boost in new clients YOY, and 78% drop in cost-per-acquisition in just one quarter. But besides these incredible results, what do these Power Users all have in common? They all qualify, categorize, and value their leads.

Our research has shown that lead qualification is the single most powerful predictor of measurable marketing campaign success. In this playbook, we'll teach you exactly how to do it.

"The biggest thing is being able to go in and see if our leads are quotable or not. We can generate leads all day, but if they aren't quotable, there's no way to show our clients their return on their investment."

 

– Willie Campos, Sophisticated Marketing Solutions

Why Should I Qualify My Leads?

Why is lead qualification such a defining factor in determining whether a marketing campaign will be successful? Easy: it gives you information about the leads that actually convert, which lets you make smarter strategic decisions that optimize for value instead of raw volume.

Lead qualification is the process of categorizing leads based on how likely they are to become a paying customer. By enriching your lead database with key demographic and behavioral data, you can track patterns and gain insights into what your converted leads have in common and begin to optimize for these data points.

Optimize for Legitimate Leads

Let's say you're running two marketing ad campaigns.

Looks like Campaign A is killing it, right? Not so fast. WhatConverts tracks the actions and behaviors of each individual lead, and this enriched data tells a very different story:

Turns out that when it comes to producing real prospects, Campaign B is a lot more effective than Campaign A. So that’s reason one for qualifying your leads: you can optimize for leads that are most likely to actually turn into a sale.

Case Study: How to 3X Qualified Leads

WhatConverts user Gumpo Ltd. revives dying PPC campaign by shifting KPIs from lead quantity to quotable lead quantity and applying other best practices.

Read Their Story: How to Earn 336% More Leads from a Dying PPC Campaign

Optimize for Legitimate Leads That Actually Make Money

Alright, so Campaign B is bringing in the most legitimate leads. That’s where we should invest our budget then, right? Again, not so fast. WhatConverts also lets you tie sales values to each of your leads, so you can see not just how each group of leads is likely to behave, but also how much money each group is likely to spend.

Let’s take a look at our campaigns with dollar values attached:

Campaign A is starting to look pretty good again, right? With sales values attached, you can optimize your strategy and your marketing spend for the things that actually matter. That’s not raw traffic volume, clicks, or even sign-ups: it’s value.

“The bottom line is that WhatConverts is helping us make smarter decisions about where to put our marketing efforts. We can see what's working, double down on that, and cut out the stuff that's not delivering.”

 

– Charlie Jackson, International Granite and Stone

How to Qualify Leads

1. Choose Your Qualification Criteria

What does a qualified lead look like for your business? Lead qualification is about anticipating value by identifying which data points are the most powerful predictors of future sales. Every business and industry will have different data points that predict success.

To help you find your qualification criteria, ask yourself: what do all of our converted leads have in common? What data points can we use to gauge buyer intent? What characteristics disqualify potential leads?

Below are a few suggested criteria other Power Users have in place.

2. Set Up Custom & Mapped Fields

Once you know what pieces of information are key predictors for future sales and conversions, it’s time to make sure your WhatConverts account is set up to track those data points accurately. That’s what Custom and Mapped Fields are for.

You can sort and filter leads by Custom and Mapped Fields, just like any other dimension. So if you wanted to know which channels brought in the most new vs. existing customers for example, Custom and Mapped Fields would let you see that.

Custom Fields

Custom fields let you add new data to a lead. For example, if a phone call lead mentioned wanting a quote for sump pump repair, you can create a "Requested Service" Custom Field and add "sump pump repair" to it. Then you can organize your leads by the service they're interested in.

Learn How to Set Up Custom Fields

Mapped Fields

Mapped Fields let you bring data into the Lead Manager from unique form fields. For example, if a lead fills out a vehicle trade-in value form with "Make" and "Model" fields, you can create Mapped Fields for each so you can sort leads by the make or model they're interested in.

Learn How to Set Up Mapped Fields

Case Study: Agency Earns 42% YOY Growth Using Custom Fields

Marketing agency Bake More Pies delivered incredible results by using Custom Fields to segment client leads by Location and by Requested Procedure. With Custom Fields, the agency can now fine-tune their ads to send leads interested in certain procedures only to the locations with the capacity to handle them.

Read Their Story: Agency Earns 42% YOY Growth With 3-Point Strategy

3. Start Valuing Leads

Adding quote and sales value data to leads lets you make marketing decisions based on value, not just quantity. Value can be based on behavior (e.g, converted on a certain landing page) or conversion data (e.g., mentioned a keyword for a particular service during a phone call).

Add value straight from the Lead Manager...

...or on the Lead Details page.

Power User Pro Tip – Add Value Using Custom/Mapped Fields

Always add sales value to leads if you have access. However, if you don’t have access to that data, add a “Requested Service” Custom or Mapped Field to estimate lead value. E.g., leads interested in a dentistry crown replacement are likely worth $1,200. This lets you shift your success KPI from quotable lead type to lead value.

4: Boost Efficiency With Custom Views

Use Custom Views to focus the Lead Manager’s 70+ datapoints down to only the information you need for a task. Below are some Custom Views from Power Users.

Sales Inbox Zero

Sales reps use this view to quickly identify leads that need to be followed up with. Columns to include: Type, Lead Score, Quotable (not set), Contact Name, Status, Email Address, Company Name, Call Duration, Call Recording, Lead Analysis, Notes.

Qualifier

This view gives the lead qualifier the information they need to quickly qualify a lead. Columns to include are: Type, Quotable (not set), Contact Name, Status, Email Address, Call Duration, Call Recording, Lead Analysis, Custom Fields.

Client View

This view is specifically for clients of marketing agencies. It shows that leads are high quality and are real customers. Columns to include: Type, Contact Name, Status, Sales Value, Quote Value, Email Address, Company Name, Custom Fields.

Marketer

Marketers use this view to see which marketing brings in quality leads using granular attribution data. Columns to include: Type, Quotable, Source, Medium, Campaign, Keyword, Landing Page, Custom Fields.

Power User Pro Tip: Qualify in Seconds with Lead Analysis

Lead Analysis uses the power of AI to provide accurate, actionable call summaries so you can qualify in seconds. With Lead Analysis, you can get a quick and detailed summary, view discussed topics, see spotted keywords, and even understand the intent and mood of a call right from the Lead Manager. Lead Analysis lets you qualify a 15-minute call in under 30 seconds. Make sure it's added to your Qualifer Custom View.

Putting It All Together: Example Workflows

How you enrich leads and who does it will depend on your business. What’s important is that you put defined processes in place and hold stakeholders accountable to follow those processes. Use the real Power User example processes below to start defining your own process.

For Agencies: Daily Qualification

1. Switch to Qualifier View.
2. Qualify call leads with Lead Analysis and forms with Mapped Fields or form field data.
3. Mark lead as quotable or not.
4. Use Lead Details page to fill out Custom Fields. If quotable, input the requested service ("sprinkler installation"). If non-quotable, input the reason why ("out of service area").
5. Add Quote or Sales Value based on Custom Fields. E.g., if “Requested Service” is "sprinkler installation", Quote Value is $3,000, etc.

For Clients: Live Qualification

1. Switch to Qualifier View.
2. Answer call.
3. Ask questions to qualify the lead and mark Custom Fields appropriately.
4. Mark lead as quotable or not based on criteria.
5. Use Lead Details page to fill out Custom Fields. If quotable, input the requested service ("crown replacement"). If non-quotable, input the reason why ("existing patient").
6. Add Quote or Sales Value based on Custom Fields. E.g., if “Requested Service” is "crown replacement", Quote Value is $1,200, etc.

For Clients + Agencies

Client Process

1. Use the Sales Inbox View to sort by which leads need to be followed up on.
2. Mark spam leads in Notes. Look for red flags like legitimate email address and name. If spam, leave “Invalid - Spam” in Notes and mark as Not Quotable.
3. Contact legitimate lead. If they respond – say “contact made” in Note. If they don’t respond – say “no response” in Notes.
4. Add notes about requested service.
5. Mark lead as quotable or not.

Agency Process

1. Use the Qualifier View.
2. Use sales rep notes to fill out Custom Fields: Spam, Responded When Contacted, Requested Service (e.g., living trust).
3. Add Quote or Sales Value based on Custom Fields. E.g., if “Requested Service” is "living trust", Quote Value is $4,000, etc.

Power User Pro Tip: Qualify Leads Daily

We recommend qualifying leads as often as possible, preferably on a daily basis. The faster you can understand which channels produce the most value, the sooner you can make impactful marketing decisions and steer campaigns towards success, especially if you’re sending only certain leads back to Google as conversions (more on that later).

Resource: How to Use Lead Grouping to Qualify Leads Faster

Power Moves: Discover Optimization Insights

You’re qualifying and enriching leads on a daily basis. Great! But now what? The next step is uncovering insights from your data and acting on them. And luckily, WhatConverts makes that incredibly easy. Below are a few optimization strategies from WhatConverts Power Users.

Uncover High-Value Keywords

Use Sales Value by Keyword reports to find high-value keywords in just a few clicks. From this data, you can then increase your ROI by allocating low-value keyword budget to high-value keywords.

1. Click "Reports" in the top navigation.
2. Select "Report Library".
3. Click "Sales Value by Keyword".

Optimize Conversion Rates for Landing Pages

Find high-performance landing pages with the Quote Value by Landing Page report. From here, you can then replicate strategies from high-value landing pages onto others or redirect all traffic to high-performing versions.

1. Click "Reports" in the top navigation.
2. Select "Report Library".
3. Click "Quote Value by Landing Page".

Identify Your Most Valuable Channels

Which channels are generating the most value for your clients? Use the Sales Value by Source report to find out. With this information, you can then allocate more budget (or push for budget increase) in your most valuable channels while reducing budget in low-value ones.

1. Click "Reports" in the top navigation.
2. Select "Report Library".
3. Click "Sales Value by Source".

Find Your Most Valuable Services Per Lead

Which services generate the most value for your clients? Build a custom report to find out. With this data, you can decide which services to target with your marketing.

1. Click "Reports" in the top navigation.
2. Select "Report Builder".
3. Add the "Requested Service" Custom or Mapped Field as a Dimension.
4. Choose "Sales Value" as how you want to measure it.
5. Select "Per Lead" on the chart.

Power Moves: Optimize Google Ads Automatically

Since Google doesn’t inherently know a good lead from a bad one, the automated bidding algorithm makes bidding decisions based on signals you set up (e.g, conversion actions). The problem is, Google can’t tell how valuable a lead was after they make that conversion action. Was it a salesperson calling the number from your ad? Or someone looking for a service you don’t offer? Google can’t tell.

With WhatConverts, you can send only certain leads back to the algorithm so it learns to target higher-quality leads. Instead of just sending back all leads as conversions, you can send:

• Leads where a sales value is received or added
• Leads that were set as quotable
• Leads picked out by Lead Intelligence rules

Power User Best Practice – Grow ROAS with Value Based Bidding

Sending quotable leads as conversions to Google is great, but the next level up is sending sales value (i.e., Value Based Bidding). With this data, the algorithm can shift from favoring quotable vs. non-quotable leads to high-value vs. low-value leads. Combine with smart bidding strategies like Target ROAS and Maximize Conversion Value for even better results.

How Does This Help?

With this integration (and some diligence with qualifying and valuing leads), you can steer the algorithm and make automatic optimizations, improving your campaigns little by little every day.

Note: The sooner you send data back to Google, the sooner the algorithm can adjust. This is why daily qualification and enrichment is so important.

Case Study: Agency Trains Algorithm, Earns 12.4X ROAS

See how one agency trained the algorithm to attract higher quality leads, resulting in a 12.4X ROAS, a 57% growth in revenue, and 21% more qualified leads.

Read Their Story: Agency Wins 12.4X ROAS by Training Google Algorithm

Wrapping Up

WIth the right processes for your team and the right tool by your side, you too can earn the same incredible results as these WhatConverts Power Users.

But remember – the first piece of the puzzle is lead qualification and enrichment. Start by following the steps in this guide. And once you've found your footing, tweak your processes to match your own unique needs.

And if you don't have a WhatConverts account yet, be sure to start your 14-day free trial today!

If you don't have a WhatConverts account yet, sign up for a 14-day free trial and get started with qualifying your leads today!