You’re describing what Bob Moesta in the Jobs To Be Done framework has as the difference between passive and active looking. And the triggers that move buyers from passive > active aren’t the same as those that move them from active > buying. Figuring out those triggers as a marketing and sales function is gold dust!
I like Bob's story about selling houses. When people walked into the showroom, they'd ask some quick qualifying questions. Folks who hadn't gotten pre-qualified for a mortgage weren't ready to sit down with the salespeople yet. For my win-loss consulting business, one thing I look for is if they're willing to go over our allotted time with me. If they are, they're raising their hand.
You should also stamp conversion type detail on each lead and follow it through the funnel because not all hand raisers or learners convert at the same rate.
My experience is it's more reason (b), but it's because marketing is being managed to a metric: MQLs. Splitting the funnel into two funnels now shrinks your MQLs number because sales leadership doesn't care about learners. If they do, then they do on the inside. But THEY're being managed to a metric, too: revenue in a time frame (and more nuanced metrics like CAC etc., but revenue is the bottom line). And so when push comes to shove, which they always do, they need more revenue, they need better leads, they need more MQLs. So marketing delivers more MQLs so they can fight another day. Getting two funnels requires management belief, alignment, and discipline that two funnels is going to pay off.
You’re describing what Bob Moesta in the Jobs To Be Done framework has as the difference between passive and active looking. And the triggers that move buyers from passive > active aren’t the same as those that move them from active > buying. Figuring out those triggers as a marketing and sales function is gold dust!
I like Bob's story about selling houses. When people walked into the showroom, they'd ask some quick qualifying questions. Folks who hadn't gotten pre-qualified for a mortgage weren't ready to sit down with the salespeople yet. For my win-loss consulting business, one thing I look for is if they're willing to go over our allotted time with me. If they are, they're raising their hand.
You should also stamp conversion type detail on each lead and follow it through the funnel because not all hand raisers or learners convert at the same rate.
What do you mean by that? How do you identify if someone is a handraiser or a learner?
My experience is it's more reason (b), but it's because marketing is being managed to a metric: MQLs. Splitting the funnel into two funnels now shrinks your MQLs number because sales leadership doesn't care about learners. If they do, then they do on the inside. But THEY're being managed to a metric, too: revenue in a time frame (and more nuanced metrics like CAC etc., but revenue is the bottom line). And so when push comes to shove, which they always do, they need more revenue, they need better leads, they need more MQLs. So marketing delivers more MQLs so they can fight another day. Getting two funnels requires management belief, alignment, and discipline that two funnels is going to pay off.
Excellent framework Aimee Schuster. Great write up Paul