Houston, TX -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/03/2010 -- Well, to some it is an appointment with anyone on a target list. To others, it is an appointment with a target contact in a target company that meets pre-defined criteria in a standard scoring model like BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing). Some would say any inbound lead works. Another must have a qualifying conversation before considering something a "lead".

The important thing is to not worry about what someone else calls a lead, define it for your organization. What is a qualified prospect? What are the demographic criteria? What are the key roles and responsibilities in a company that make a decision for your B2B solution? Does budget have to be allocated before you should engage? It’s hard to sell something that is "nice to have" so what level of pain must be uncovered or quantified to call something a lead?

It is critical to define these not only for your own organization, but also for any partner companies that are performing any marketing services, especially telemarketing services for you.

If you can answer these questions for your company, you can define what you should work on in sales and what should be included in a lead nurturing campaign or discarded as not a fit.

Apollo {Houston, TX – B2B Sales Leads, Marketing Campaign Development, e-marketing/eMarketing and Lead Generation Services}

Apollo's central hub for up-to-date B2B marketing, lead generation and nurturing information and best practices: http://blog.apollosmg.com

Apollo Sales & Marketing Group
http://www.apollosmg.com