Our marketing department tracks leads generated on our scorecard, but our sales team complains these leads are of poor quality. How do we adjust our scorecard metrics to measure lead quality at the point of entry rather than waiting for weeks to see if they close?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The classic conflict between marketing and sales occurs when marketing celebrates high lead volume while sales complains the leads are useless. To end this finger-pointing, you must stop tracking raw lead volume on your leadership scorecard and start measuring lead quality at the point of entry.

First, replace the metric for raw leads with marketing qualified leads. A marketing qualified lead must meet strict, pre-determined criteria, such as company size, industry, or budget, before it can be counted on the scorecard.

Second, track the sales acceptance rate weekly. This is the percentage of marketing-generated leads that the sales team accepts and moves into the pipeline within twenty-four hours. If this percentage is low, it indicates a clear misalignment between marketing and sales.

Third, track the time to first touch. Even high-quality leads turn cold if sales takes days to respond.

By tracking these leading indicators on your scorecard, you create an early warning system. If the sales acceptance rate drops, do not wait for the end of the quarter. Bring it to your Level 10 Meeting™ and use IDS® to align your marketing targeting with your sales criteria.