![\"revenue](\"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/revenue-era.png\")
<\/p>\nMarketing and sales over the last few decades have been defined by three eras, \u2028each shaped by the technology, trends, and people of their time:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When 2020 forced people home, the need to meet buyers on their terms rapidly sped up digital transformation for B2B companies.<\/p>\n
Buyers now want the same conveniences in their business buying that they get when ordering a book on Amazon or a ride on Uber. And this shift has ushered us into a new era of B2B marketing and sales \u2013 something Drift calls the Revenue Era<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the Revenue Era, the customer is at the center of everything. This means marketing and sales teams need to be aligned around customer lifetime value and revenue goals.<\/p>\n The problem is, many B2B companies rely on the same-old lead generation processing and demand generation<\/a> funnels developed 10 years ago. Processes that create generic buying experiences and treat people like acronyms.<\/p>\n The antiquated processes of the Demand Gen Era put acronyms before people and leads before revenue. In fact, many marketers still use MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads) and MQAs (Marketing Qualified Accounts) to measure their performance.<\/p>\n And this has created three problems in the Revenue Era:<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s why at Drift we decided to make a change. A few years ago, we overhauled our entire marketing funnel to be more people-centric. We skipped the acronyms and are instead focusing on helping our buyers buy.<\/p>\n And because we know that words matter, we\u2019ve changed the terms we use to define the stages of our funnel. We no longer talk about MQLs; we talk about Interested People. Our marketing funnel is goaled on connecting buyers and sellers around conversations \u2013 something we call Scheduled Conversations and Held Conversations. That\u2019s what turns our Interested People into Future Customers, and \u2013 ultimately \u2013 customers. And our sales team couldn\u2019t be happier.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve changed the way we think about demand generation so that we can double down on revenue and conversations.<\/p>\n The best part? It\u2019s working. <\/strong><\/p>\n Our focus on account-based engagement<\/a> powered by AI has made it possible to deliver personalized buying experiences and conversations at scale. This has translated into a 334% increase in opportunities and 122% increase in account engagement.<\/p>\n We hope that other marketers will join us and ditch the outdated MQL in favor of conversations. That\u2019s where the connection is made. That\u2019s where revenue acceleration starts.<\/p>\n Mark Kilens The problem is that buyers get distracted. If you don\u2019t engage them in the moment, they move on to the next thing.<\/p>\n Harvard Business Review published a study from a sales technology company that found if a sales team waited longer than five minutes to follow up with a person who had completed a webform, their ability to connect with the prospect decreased by a factor of 10. The study also found that only a tiny fraction \u2013 4.7% \u2013 of companies were able to respond in that five-minute window.<\/p>\n According to Drift\u2019s State of Conversational Marketing<\/em><\/a> report, buyer demand for real-time engagement has grown over just the last year. 46% of respondents reported that they expect a chatbot response within five seconds or less. 43% expect the same using online live chat<\/a>.<\/p>\n Despite this reality \u2013 which is driven by massive changes in buying behaviors and preferences, most marketers still approach filling the sales pipeline the old way \u2013 with MQLs (marketing qualified leads). After decades of using this metric to justify its business value, marketing isn\u2019t eager to give up this familiar approach.<\/p>\n But even the most revered models have to retire someday.<\/p>\n Over the last few years, it has become clear that \u2013 with the explosion of digital consumer behavior in the B2B space \u2013 not all traffic sources or leads are created equal. Therefore, not all MQLs are created equal.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquotes","quote":"B2B buying has become a much more fragmented experience, with each member of the buying team owning only a small piece of the transaction. In this new world, each member of the buying committee needs to be engaged at different times and with different approaches and value messages, all in the hopes of building consensus across a very diverse set of functions, needs, and readiness. You need to rethink the idea that an individual MQL is an indicator of where an account is in the buying journey.","citation":"Latane Conant, CMO, 6Sense","citation_headshot":{"ID":88139,"id":88139,"title":"headshot-latane-conant","filename":"headshot-latane-conant.png","filesize":44996,"url":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-latane-conant.png","link":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-latane-conant.png","alt":"MQLs in marketing funnel","author":"357","description":"","caption":"","name":"wp-attachment-wp-attachment-headshot-latane-conant","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":41816,"date":"2021-05-25 17:55:11","modified":"2021-05-25 17:55:48","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":155,"height":155,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-latane-conant-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-latane-conant.png","medium-width":155,"medium-height":155,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-latane-conant.png","medium_large-width":155,"medium_large-height":155,"large":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-latane-conant.png","large-width":155,"large-height":155,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-latane-conant.png","1536x1536-width":155,"1536x1536-height":155,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-latane-conant.png","2048x2048-width":155,"2048x2048-height":155,"third_width_square":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-latane-conant.png","third_width_square-width":155,"third_width_square-height":155,"profile_24":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-latane-conant.png","profile_24-width":24,"profile_24-height":24,"profile_48":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-latane-conant.png","profile_48-width":48,"profile_48-height":48,"profile_96":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-latane-conant.png","profile_96-width":96,"profile_96-height":96,"profile_150":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-latane-conant.png","profile_150-width":150,"profile_150-height":150,"profile_300":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-latane-conant.png","profile_300-width":155,"profile_300-height":155}}},{"acf_fc_layout":"body","body_text":" Sources range from people who visit your website to attendees at a sponsored conference to people who downloaded one of your white papers from a third-party website. Unfortunately, the MQL approach doesn\u2019t account for the fact that website visitors are expressing a much greater interest than prospects from other sources. Even if they don\u2019t convert via a webform, website visitors are almost always higher-value prospects. After all, these people made it all the way to your virtual front door, and now they are knocking to come in.<\/p>\n This realization forces us to reconsider the traditional MQL-driven model of measuring marketing funnel performance. In today\u2019s market, no buyer or salesperson is really interested in MQLs.<\/p>\n Your buyers certainly don\u2019t want to become MQLs. Buyers want solutions to their business problems and answers to their questions. They know that filling out a web form will only drown them in marketing emails and annoying follow-up calls from inexperienced SDRs. Not fun, and definitely not worth whatever is behind that form.<\/p>\n Your salespeople don\u2019t really want MQLs either. They may work with them because that\u2019s the status quo, but they’d much rather be having real conversations with real people at the accounts they’re trying to land.<\/p>\n So, if no one\u2019s interested in marketing qualified leads, what should you be focusing on instead?<\/p>\n Conversations.<\/p>\n The \u201cconversation-ready\u201d lead is the new standard for effective lead generation.<\/strong><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquotes","quote":"Marketers are facing an urgency to shift how they interact with leads and sales because of more aggressive sales goals and compliance rules. MQLs are on their way out the door. Conversation-ready leads are a more successful approach for marketing to work with sales to get over the MQL-sized hole left in our hearts.","citation":"Jessie Coan - Vice President, Marketing, Aberdeen","citation_headshot":{"ID":88138,"id":88138,"title":"headshot-jessie-coan","filename":"headshot-jessie-coan.png","filesize":48757,"url":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-jessie-coan.png","link":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-jessie-coan.png","alt":"marketing qualified lead generation","author":"357","description":"","caption":"","name":"wp-attachment-wp-attachment-headshot-jessie-coan","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":41816,"date":"2021-05-25 17:55:09","modified":"2021-05-25 17:57:52","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":155,"height":155,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-jessie-coan-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-jessie-coan.png","medium-width":155,"medium-height":155,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-jessie-coan.png","medium_large-width":155,"medium_large-height":155,"large":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-jessie-coan.png","large-width":155,"large-height":155,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-jessie-coan.png","1536x1536-width":155,"1536x1536-height":155,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-jessie-coan.png","2048x2048-width":155,"2048x2048-height":155,"third_width_square":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-jessie-coan.png","third_width_square-width":155,"third_width_square-height":155,"profile_24":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-jessie-coan.png","profile_24-width":24,"profile_24-height":24,"profile_48":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-jessie-coan.png","profile_48-width":48,"profile_48-height":48,"profile_96":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-jessie-coan.png","profile_96-width":96,"profile_96-height":96,"profile_150":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-jessie-coan.png","profile_150-width":150,"profile_150-height":150,"profile_300":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-jessie-coan.png","profile_300-width":155,"profile_300-height":155}}},{"acf_fc_layout":"body","body_text":" Savvy marketers are leading the charge as the industry shifts away from the traditional MQL-centric model to newer models that are more effective in today\u2019s markets. These new strategies focus on generating conversations<\/a> instead of clicks. They provide new ways to connect with members of a target account\u2019s buying team in a more influential and \u201chuman\u201d way.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquotes","quote":"Lead measurement must start from when a buyer is ready to have a conversation with your team. MQLs distort lead measurement by focusing Marketing on generating new contact lists instead of delivering value to both buyers and the sales organization.","citation":"Marko Savic, CEO and Founder, FunnelCake","citation_headshot":{"ID":88140,"id":88140,"title":"headshot-marko-savic","filename":"headshot-marko-savic.png","filesize":43465,"url":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-marko-savic.png","link":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-marko-savic.png","alt":"MQL and conversations","author":"357","description":"","caption":"","name":"wp-attachment-wp-attachment-headshot-marko-savic","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":41816,"date":"2021-05-25 17:55:12","modified":"2021-05-25 18:01:41","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":155,"height":155,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-marko-savic-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-marko-savic.png","medium-width":155,"medium-height":155,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-marko-savic.png","medium_large-width":155,"medium_large-height":155,"large":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-marko-savic.png","large-width":155,"large-height":155,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-marko-savic.png","1536x1536-width":155,"1536x1536-height":155,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-marko-savic.png","2048x2048-width":155,"2048x2048-height":155,"third_width_square":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-marko-savic.png","third_width_square-width":155,"third_width_square-height":155,"profile_24":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-marko-savic.png","profile_24-width":24,"profile_24-height":24,"profile_48":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-marko-savic.png","profile_48-width":48,"profile_48-height":48,"profile_96":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-marko-savic.png","profile_96-width":96,"profile_96-height":96,"profile_150":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-marko-savic.png","profile_150-width":150,"profile_150-height":150,"profile_300":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-marko-savic.png","profile_300-width":155,"profile_300-height":155}}},{"acf_fc_layout":"body","body_text":" We are well into a game-changing transition from the world of the MQL to a world in which conversation-ready leads are the primary marketing currency. The game is no longer just about numbers. Today\u2019s marketing landscape is about engaging customers in more authentic ways that build trust and \u2013 ultimately \u2013 stronger relationships.<\/p>\n In this book, we\u2019ll explore what it means when conversations become the primary metric for leading demand generation teams. In our experience, it changes everything.<\/p>\n"}]},{"chapter_title":"What\u2019s Driving the Shift Away from MQLs","chapter_body":[{"acf_fc_layout":"body","body_text":" Even so, it was clear that things needed to change.<\/p>\n Berkowitz called out the problem of scale that\u2019s intrinsic to the MQL-centric model. If sales targets grow by 2x, the MQL target also has to grow by 2x to keep up. Unfortunately, since marketing budgets don\u2019t automatically double when sales targets do, demand generation marketers are forced to try to generate more MQLs at a lower cost per lead (CPL).<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquotes","quote":"The first 1,000 leads typically converted at a much higher rate (all the way through the funnel) than the next 1,000 leads. And the next 1,000 converted at a rate lower than the previous 1,000. And because the conversion rates declined, you\u2019d have to keep upping the MQL target.","citation":"Todd Berkowitz, Gartner","citation_headshot":{"ID":88141,"id":88141,"title":"headshot-todd-berkowitz","filename":"headshot-todd-berkowitz.png","filesize":36794,"url":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-todd-berkowitz.png","link":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-todd-berkowitz.png","alt":"MQL conversion rate","author":"357","description":"","caption":"","name":"wp-attachment-wp-attachment-headshot-todd-berkowitz","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":41816,"date":"2021-05-25 17:55:14","modified":"2021-05-25 18:04:58","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":155,"height":155,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-todd-berkowitz-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-todd-berkowitz.png","medium-width":155,"medium-height":155,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-todd-berkowitz.png","medium_large-width":155,"medium_large-height":155,"large":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-todd-berkowitz.png","large-width":155,"large-height":155,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-todd-berkowitz.png","1536x1536-width":155,"1536x1536-height":155,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-todd-berkowitz.png","2048x2048-width":155,"2048x2048-height":155,"third_width_square":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-todd-berkowitz.png","third_width_square-width":155,"third_width_square-height":155,"profile_24":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-todd-berkowitz.png","profile_24-width":24,"profile_24-height":24,"profile_48":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-todd-berkowitz.png","profile_48-width":48,"profile_48-height":48,"profile_96":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-todd-berkowitz.png","profile_96-width":96,"profile_96-height":96,"profile_150":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-todd-berkowitz.png","profile_150-width":150,"profile_150-height":150,"profile_300":"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/headshot-todd-berkowitz.png","profile_300-width":155,"profile_300-height":155}}},{"acf_fc_layout":"body","body_text":" The results of this upside-down equation: MQL quality suffers, MQL-to-close conversion rates go down, and then the MQL target increases to try to compensate for poor performance. It\u2019s a painful, no-win cycle that every demand generation marketer knows only too well.<\/p>\n Gartner was not alone in their prediction of the MQL\u2019s demise. Also in 2017, Kerry Cunningham and Terry Flaherty at SiriusDecisions introduced the Demand Unit Waterfall<\/a>, a demand generation model<\/a> that shifted focus away from the traditional MQL. They identified two major trends driving this shift:<\/p>\n The Demand Unit Waterfall approach recognized that the lead-centric model, which is limited to one individual within a target company, was inherently inaccurate. Most large purchases involve multiple individuals within an organization. Based on this reality, the \u201cdemand unit\u201d represents the B2B buying team<\/em>, which includes everyone participating in the research, evaluation, and purchase of a solution.<\/p>\n Experienced BDRs<\/a> and sales reps often describe an MQL as an invitation to begin prospecting into an account. It\u2019s a tentative starting point. In many cases, the marketing qualified lead is only an influencer rather than a project champion, technical decision-maker, or the person who actually has the power to make a deal. Because of the complexity involved, MQL-to-opportunity conversion rates are very difficult to measure accurately with a CRM system that is unable to account for all the players or their relationships to one another.<\/p>\n A lot happens before someone in an account becomes a marketing qualified lead. The evolution of sophisticated software tools gave marketers the ability to track and understand pre-MQL buyer activity much earlier in the sales process and at a much greater level of detail.<\/p>\n These superior data, analytics, and monitoring tools opened the door to new possibilities for your marketing funnel:<\/p>\n As marketers gained access to this wealth of information, they realized there was no reason to wait to tell sales. Timely insights about an account moving into buying mode helped salespeople hone in on the highest-value opportunities so they could prioritize their prospecting efforts and start focused research to find the right contacts in those companies.<\/p>\n Waiting for prospects to generate sufficient behavioral data to trigger the creation of an MQL results in a critical delay that puts sales one step behind the competition. In addition, by limiting themselves to an MQL model focused on individuals rather than teams, marketers are unable to uncover the signals that tell sales an account is in the early stages of the buying cycle.<\/p>\n In addition to those two primary drivers, other trends influencing marketers\u2019 shift away from the MQL lead-gen model include:<\/p>\n Salespeople aren\u2019t interested in MQLs. They are interested in establishing accounts. And, while an MQL in one of their accounts is a signal, it\u2019s only one of many. So, while the salesperson will add the MQL to emails, phone calls, invitations to meetings at industry events, exchanges on LinkedIn, and so forth, they know that MQLs don\u2019t buy, accounts do.<\/p>\n On the buyer side, the situation is even more dire.<\/p>\n They don\u2019t want MQLs either. They want answers to their questions and solutions to their problems. And they want a buying process that\u2019s tailored to the way they want to buy.<\/p>\n The problem is, in most companies the processes between marketing and sales have been optimized to measure and track internal metrics like how well you acquire, score, process, and qualify leads. The external metrics \u2013 such as how fast and easy is it for the buyer to connect with a knowledgeable salesperson \u2013 get little if any attention.<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s marketing supposed to do?<\/strong><\/p>\n To better align with sales, marketing needs to look at the business from an account perspective, not an MQL perspective. Marketers need to understand who is on the sales team\u2019s target account list for the year or the upcoming quarter. They need to be able to identify which accounts are the most important, and then help sales open those doors.<\/p>\n The best way for marketing to work in lockstep with sales is to align around ABM<\/a>. Marketing must provide sales with viable opportunities to build engagement via conversations that consider the full breadth of an account rather than focusing on a single, isolated individual within the account.<\/p>\n On the buyer side of the equation, marketers would do well to invert their thinking by looking at the process through a buyer lens, not a seller lens. They need to think about what technology buyers want:<\/p>\n In short, buyers want to be treated like real people.<\/p>\n"}]},{"chapter_title":"The Rise of the Conversation-Ready Lead","chapter_body":[{"acf_fc_layout":"body","body_text":" This is not an unreasonable expectation at a tradeshow. And it\u2019s not an unreasonable expectation on a website either. Conversation marketing strategies and technologies give brands the ability to replicate helpful, organic conversations with prospects. And these kinds of conversations provide a better buyer experience that builds trust and sets the sales team up for success.<\/p>\n Case in Point: Oracle Kicks MQLs to the Curb<\/strong><\/p>\n At the 2019 SiriusDecisions Summit, Dave Ewart, Oracle\u2019s head of digital marketing and demand generation, told the story of how Oracle\u2019s SVP of Sales said he didn\u2019t want his sales team spending any time qualifying MQLs because it was a waste of valuable time.<\/p>\n Though he was new to Oracle, Dave was ready with a counter-offer. \u201cWhat percentage of conversation-ready leads would you accept?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n The SVP didn\u2019t hesitate, \u201c100 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the last few years, Oracle has transformed its marketing funnel through an initiative called CoRe, which stands for Conversation-Ready. They distinguish core leads (or CRLs) from non-core leads as \u201cqualified responses with intent to have a conversation.\u201d The result: Oracle dramatically reduced<\/em> leads being sent to the BDR and sales teams while significantly increasing<\/em> results in terms of opportunities, pipeline acceleration, and conversion rates.<\/p>\n To be clear: fewer<\/em> leads resulted in more<\/em> sales opportunities.<\/p>\n Why does this work? <\/strong><\/p>\n While Oracle focuses on increasing the volume of CRLs, they acknowledge that there\u2019s a limited number of conversation-ready buyers in the market at any given time. Because of this, they continue to generate non-CoRe leads through traditional marketing activities<\/a>. These secondary leads fill the top of the funnel, and then marketing nurtures those buyers through the awareness and consideration phases of the buyer\u2019s journey.<\/p>\n Non-CoRe leads represent the highest volume of leads in their marketing funnel, at over 80%, but their role is different. Oracle marketers no longer consider these non-core leads as ready for the handoff to sales. Instead, they focus on nurturing them to become CoRe leads that will be much more valuable to the sales team.<\/p>\n In addition to understanding the difference between CoRe and non-CoRe leads, Oracle knows that time is the most valuable commodity to both buyers and sellers.<\/p>\n How you treat your buyer\u2019s time makes a huge difference in lead generation<\/a> outcomes. Let\u2019s consider two possible scenarios as an interested buyer visits a product website:<\/p>\n Applinks\u2019 technical decision-maker is in full research-mode because her executive team gave the green light on a major new initiative. Your company has a perfect solution for their problem, but she\u2019s not quite ready to commit to a 30-minute sales conversation. She\u2019s just researching, gathering ideas from vendor websites.<\/p>\n This decision-maker is impressed enough by your content to complete a form to download a whitepaper developed by your product marketing team. Her information gets processed according to the traditional MQL process, and, 24 hours later<\/strong>, she receives a generic follow-up email from a BDR with little industry expertise.<\/p>\n Now, with the odds stacked against you, the BDR begins the cat-and-mouse game of trying (often unsuccessfully) to get this high-value prospect to schedule a discovery meeting.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a cringe-worthy situation.<\/p>\n Next, imagine the Applinks buyer landing on your #1 competitor\u2019s homepage. This time, instead of a form, a chat window powered by chatbot technology<\/a> pops up with a personal greeting:<\/p>\n The decision-maker engages in the chat. Based on her inquiries and responses, the bot offers the decision-maker case studies and other content relevant to her vertical industry.<\/p>\n Next \u2013 having been alerted by the chatbot<\/a> \u2013 the company\u2019s sales rep joins the chat to answer the decision-maker\u2019s top three to four technical questions. Satisfied with the sales rep\u2019s responses (and impressed by how personal and easy the process has been), Applinks\u2019 buyer responds:<\/p>\n Emily, the sales rep, gives her a choice of two options:<\/p>\n Emily and the decision-maker have a meeting that afternoon, and Emily opens an opportunity for $100K by the end of the day.<\/p>\n But what happens if Emily isn\u2019t available to respond? In many cases, rule-based chatbots are great at managing \u201cthis\u201d or \u201cthat\u201d questions. Rule-based chatbot software<\/a> responds based on predetermined actions built into chat playbooks. In several cases, rule-based chatbots can be linked to a sales rep\u2019s calendar to book future meetings for buyers.<\/p>\n But your competitor went one step further. <\/strong>Not only do they want to facilitate buyer conversations outside 9 to 5 work hours (and provide bandwidth support for reps) \u2013 but help all visitors answer their questions \u2013 big and small.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why the competition also leans on artificial intelligence to help Emily and her buyers. Specifically, AI chatbots<\/a>. An AI chatbot can answer more complex queries. For example:<\/p>\n Meanwhile<\/strong>, your whitepaper download-triggered MQL is sitting in a BDR\u2019s queue \u2013 because they only qualify whitepaper leads between 9 and 10 each morning. And your MQL arrived at 11 am.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t know it, but you\u2019ve already lost this deal to the competition.<\/p>\n"}]},{"chapter_title":"Exposing the MQL\u2019s Achilles Heel","chapter_body":[{"acf_fc_layout":"body","body_text":" The Q in MQL \u2013 the qualification \u2013 is usually performed by the marketing automation platform (MAP) using a scoring model that considers both the firmographic and behavioral scores.<\/p>\n The firmographic score is typically based on a combination of the following criteria:<\/p>\n The behavioral score is typically based on whether the prospect:<\/p>\n Using this approach, a marketer determines a score for each of the above data points, and then the automation platform calculates an overall score by adding up all the relevant values for each data point. The marketer assigns a threshold score value that dictates whether a lead qualifies as an MQL worthy of being routed to a BDR or sales team. If the lead is routed, the BDR or sales rep typically has 24 hours to accept the MQL, and another 24 hours to start working it.<\/p>\n You can already see the problem, right? That\u2019s almost 48 hours until first contact. <\/strong>That\u2019s not good enough to get ahead of the competition.<\/p>\n"}]},{"chapter_title":"MQL Processing Delays: A Deeper Dive","chapter_body":[{"acf_fc_layout":"body","body_text":" What happens when an interested buyer lands on your website? If your lead generation flow is designed to deliver marketing qualified leads, the buyer probably browses some free content while you try to guide them to some gated premium content. Once the prospect fills out the form, the MQL process is set in motion.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a look at the typical MQL flow and (and how each step in the process represents a delay):<\/p>\n Clearly, there are a lot of steps in this process, but the issue is less about the complexity of the process than it is about the sequence of events. In the MQL flow, each step represents a delay \u2013 something standing between the prospect and a conversation. The whole process has to be completed before a salesperson can even begin the follow-up process to initiate a conversation. The entire operation is rife with potential bottlenecks and roadblocks that can derail an opportunity.<\/p>\n"}]},{"chapter_title":"Conversational Marketing: Helping Buyers And Salespeople Connect More Quickly","chapter_body":[{"acf_fc_layout":"body","body_text":" This instant response keeps the conversation going while lead processing systems do their thing in the background. This allows a salesperson to step in at the appropriate time to take the relationship to the next level.<\/p>\n Conversational Marketing doesn\u2019t mean your marketing strategy needs to start from scratch. You\u2019re improving your existing customer experience and making it easier to connect buyers with sales and solutions.<\/p>\n Implementing Conversational Marketing is grounded in three steps, known as the Conversational Framework<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, are these buyers MQLs? No, they\u2019re a step ahead. At Drift, we refer to buyers that go through this framework as conversation-ready leads (CQL).<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"cta_block","title":"Become Conversational Marketing-Certified","body":" Grow your Conversational Marketing expertise and level up your resume with Drift\u2019s Conversational Marketing Certification.<\/p>\n","button_text":"Get Certified","button_url":"https:\/\/insider.drift.com\/certifications\/conversational-marketing\/","open_in_new_tab":true,"button_text_two":"","button_url_two":"","open_in_new_tab_two":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"body","body_text":" The process for creating conversation-qualified leads (CQLs)<\/strong><\/a> offers a much faster, more direct route from a prospect\u2019s initial inquiry to a productive conversation with a salesperson. While the MQL process leaves the buyer hanging during lead processing, routing, and sales follow-up, the CQL process engages the buyer immediately.<\/p>\n The lead processing still happens in the background, but it doesn\u2019t slow the buyer down. And there\u2019s no need to route the lead or give a salesperson time to respond because the conversation is already happening.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s walk through an example of a typical CQL process for an existing and known buyer. <\/strong><\/p>\n When an interested buyer returns to your website, the CQL process is designed to skip any steps to profile the visitor, and instead get right to the good stuff: connecting the lead to the appropriate rep to continue the conversation.<\/p>\n A Chat Development Rep (CDR) monitors chats between prospects and chatbots<\/a> so that, when the time is right, they can insert themselves into the conversation to take over the task of booking an actual meeting.<\/p>\n With the advent of digital and artificial intelligence (AI), conversations are more scalable than ever before.<\/p>\n And Conversational Marketing isn\u2019t just the chat on your website. Conversational Marketing and live chat solutions<\/a> can be embedded across your website, email, video, and more.<\/p>\n But, at a granular level, there are four ways to use Conversational Marketing:<\/p>\n In our ideal world, all business websites would be formless. No buyer would ever have to wait, and messy CRM databases would be replaced with conversational data. In fact, when we first started Drift, we decided to remove all the forms on our website. And we\u2019ve never looked back.<\/p>\n But we understand that ripping and replacing forms with chat isn\u2019t always possible out-of-the-gate. Company workflows are intricate and change takes time. That\u2019s why new chat software has emerged to make the transition to CQLs that much easier.<\/p>\n Today, with static lead forms, buyers are forced to wait hours or even days to be followed up with someone in sales. With form-to-chat \u2013 or conversational forms<\/a> \u2013 once someone fills out your form, they are qualified in real-time using customer data on the backend. Once a buyer is qualified, they\u2019ll be invited to chat with sales \u2013 or book a meeting for later \u2013 instantly.<\/p>\n This process is ideal for several reasons:<\/p>\n Live chat<\/a> allows buyers, customers, and employees to chat online in real-time. Live chat requires companies to have staff available to engage with buyers accordingly. Like the CDR role we shared earlier or dedicated BDRs. Still, this isn\u2019t always scalable.<\/p>\n However, it is a great way to facilitate human-to-human interactions in a digital space.<\/p>\n Chatbots<\/a> help scale your website engagement and live chat.<\/p>\n Rule-based chatbot software<\/a> uses a predictable, controlled experience to guide website visitors towards a specific goal, like:<\/p>\n Where rule-based chatbots use tightly-controlled chat experiences and are not programmed to respond to changes in language, AI chatbots provide flexibility. AI chatbots<\/a> operate more or less on their own, using a process known as Natural Language Processing (NLP), combined with AI and the annotation of human data. That means AI chatbots get smarter over time and can be trained to respond like your best SDR and CDR.<\/p>\n For those just getting their feet wet with Conversational Marketing, here\u2019s how we suggest getting started:<\/p>\n Giving buyers the option to talk directly with sales via live chat<\/a> can go a long way toward boosting their engagement with your website and your sales team. Many people simply prefer chat to other methods of communication. It\u2019s convenient, unobtrusive, and provides immediate gratification. Caveat: live chat can only be available during business hours, but it\u2019s still a worthwhile step that will help close the gap between buyers and sellers.<\/p>\n Hitting website visitors with a barrage of annoying questions about the size of their company and their revenue levels can be a turn-off. But, that information plays a critical role in prioritizing incoming leads based on ideal customer profiles. Without that data, your sales team won\u2019t know where to focus their efforts. Use technology like reverse-IP lookup<\/a> to identify visitors in real-time and access key firmographic information behind the scenes. You can also identify people your sales team has already reached out to, and connect them directly with the appropriate rep.<\/p>\n Once you have identified the visitor\u2019s company, you can add available CRM data <\/a>in real-time, things like the account owner, whether they are a strategic target account, whether there\u2019s already an open opportunity, or an existing account.<\/p>\n Chatbots<\/a> can handle a wide range of simple questions once you have established key contextual information about the visitor. For example, a chatbot can inquire about whether a visitor is interested in talking to sales, support, or learning about job opportunities. It can ask questions that help establish where a visitor is on the buying journey such as, \u201cAre you here to chat with a rep or are you just researching?\u201d A chatbot can inquire about what specific kind of information a visitor would like to access, or what department they work in, or whether they already have an account manager. The use cases are endless.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"cta_block","title":"Become a Playbook Pro (For Free)","body":" Creating chat playbooks is equal parts art and science. To help our customers develop high-converting playbooks of their own, we created the quintessential playbook certification.<\/p>\n","button_text":"Get Certified","button_url":"https:\/\/insider.drift.com\/certifications\/the-playbook-basics-certification\/","open_in_new_tab":true,"button_text_two":"","button_url_two":"","open_in_new_tab_two":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"body","body_text":" Rule-based chatbots move buyers down controlled paths. But, today\u2019s buyers want more control. And today\u2019s sellers still spend a lot of their day researching and qualifying buyers. With AI chatbots<\/a>, your team can engage buyers just like your SDRs would qualify buyers and book meetings for sales. This means sales teams can focus less on repetitive tasks and more on selling to target accounts.<\/p>\n You can use data enrichment and chatbots to help you determine the most appropriate resource. 100-person company? Notify your small business team. Large company from the strategic target list? Notify the enterprise rep on the account. Company located in the UK? Notify the EU sales team. You get the idea. The best part is that you can do all of this in real-time so that the appropriate salesperson can join the chat with a friendly, \u201cHuman here!\u201d By inserting a live person into the conversation in real-time, you ensure that the conversation doesn\u2019t lose momentum like it would if the buyer had to wait a day or two to get a follow-up email.<\/p>\n You never want to miss an opportunity to book a meeting<\/a>. Connect your rep\u2019s calendar to your chatbot so the bot can propose meeting times. After that, sync the meeting with your MAP or CRM system.<\/p>\n Even if a buyer isn\u2019t interested in talking to a salesperson just yet, you can still capture their contact information via relevant and helpful offers from your chatbot. For instance, maybe there\u2019s a particular piece of content that would be useful to the buyer. Tailor your bot to request an email address so that it can send the content. Or, have it ask for an email in case the chat is disconnected.<\/p>\n At Drift, we use Conversational Marketing<\/a> for webinar and event registration, newsletter and blog signups, and even capturing email addresses to send premium content. Could we use forms in some of these instances? Of course. But we find that the chat option usually drives better engagement and conversions. Still, we know getting rid of all your forms right away isn\u2019t possible for some. That\u2019s why our customers hesitant to remove forms altogether use:<\/p>\n Or<\/em><\/p>\n We have the data. We have the technology. We know Conversational Marketing works. Now, all we need is the confidence to follow the lead of companies like Oracle and say \u201cNo\u201d to the old MQL method and \u201cYes\u201d to a process that\u2019s designed to generate conversation-ready leads.<\/p>\n The potential is enormous for companies that are willing to embrace this new way of engaging with buyers: happier customers, streamlined lead generation, better conversion rates, more productive sales teams, and a healthier bottom line.<\/p>\n\n
\n<\/strong>VP of Marketing
\nDrift<\/p>\n"}]},{"chapter_title":"Executive Summary","chapter_body":[{"acf_fc_layout":"body","body_text":"Timing is everything. Especially in sales.<\/h5>\n
In today\u2019s market, no buyer or salesperson is really interested in MQLs.<\/h4>\n
In early 2017, Gartner\u2019s Todd Berkowitz announced the impending death of the MQL.<\/a> Most B2B marketers were sympathetic to the idea but unable to change. After fifteen years of using the MQL as the primary demand-gen KPI, marketers weren\u2019t ready for an alternative model. More to the point, in 2017, alternative models didn\u2019t exist.<\/h5>\n
Defining \u201cThe Buyer\u201d More Accurately<\/h3>\n
Ability to Track and Analyze \u201cPre-MQL\u201d Activity<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
Ever tried to get an experienced salesperson to follow up on an MQL? Marketers that target mid-market or enterprise companies know this is an impossible task.<\/h5>\n
\n
When you walk up to a booth at a tradeshow, you don\u2019t expect to be interrogated about who you are, which company you work for, your title, your role, your company revenue, and so on. You expect to have a meaningful, \u201chuman\u201d conversation with smart reps who are interested in what you have to say and ready to provide you with the information you need. Ultimately, you hope to walk away with a better understanding of how they might be able to help you.<\/h5>\n
\n
Why MQL Processing Delays are an Opportunity Killer<\/h3>\n
Scenario 1: Your ideal prospect, Applinks, arrives on your website and completes a form<\/h4>\n
Scenario 2: Your ideal buy arrives on your competitor\u2019s<\/em> website and a chat window pops up<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/applinks-bot-chat.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/applinks-buyer-chat.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/applinks-emily-chat.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vsa.png\")
<\/p>\nA marketing qualified lead is defined as a lead that warrants sales follow-up because:<\/h5>\n
\n
\n
\n
![\"Flow](\"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/endless-hoops.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"MQL](\"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/typical-mql-flow.png\")
<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"cta_block","title":"B2B Website Engagement ","body":"\n
\n
In contrast to the process we just outlined, Conversational Marketing<\/a> enables a much more streamlined buying experience that unfolds in real-time, ensuring that the buyer\u2019s needs are met immediately.<\/h5>\n
The Conversational Marketing Framework<\/h3>\n
![\"Conversational](\"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/conversational-framework.svg\")
<\/p>\n\n
Conversation-Qualified Leads (CQLs): The Shortest Distance Between Inquiry and Conversation<\/h3>\n
![\"MQLs](\"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/cql-vs-mql-1.png\")
<\/p>\n\n
Introducing Chat Development Reps (CDRs)<\/h3>\n
\n
Fours Ways to Introduce Conversational Marketing in Your Marketing<\/h3>\n
Form to Chat<\/h4>\n
\n
![\"Drift](\"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/form-to-chat.png\")
<\/p>\nLive Chat<\/h4>\n
![\"MQL](\"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Live-chat-1.png\")
<\/p>\nChatbots<\/h4>\n
![\"MQL](\"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/chatbot-options.png\")
<\/p>\n\n
![\"Marketing](\"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/chatbot-person.png\")
<\/p>\nAI Chatbots<\/h4>\n
![\"Marketing](\"https:\/\/www.drift.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/ai-chatbot.png\")
<\/p>\n"}]},{"chapter_title":"Getting Started with Conversational Marketing","chapter_body":[{"acf_fc_layout":"body","body_text":"As we shared in the previous section, you don\u2019t need to go from zero to 60 with Conversational Marketing<\/a>.\u00a0 As you begin to modernize your marketing funnel, there are a wide variety of options to introduce conversational elements into your lead generation process \u2013 from conversational forms<\/a> to chatbot software<\/a> to AI Chatbots<\/a>.<\/h5>\n
Implement Live Chat<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Enrich Firmographic Data in Real-Time<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Connect Your Live Chat and CRM<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Use Live Chat with Chatbots to Qualify and Scale Conversations<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Use AI to Scale Further and Help with Bandwidth During Working Hours<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Route Leads More Appropriately<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Make It Easy for Buyers to Book Meetings<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Use Chatbots to Get Email Addresses<\/strong><\/h3>\n
If You Use Forms, Make Them Conversational or Lean on a Second Net<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n
It\u2019s amazing MQL-driven lead generation has held on as long as it has. So much has changed in the last couple of decades. Pivotal shifts in technology have influenced profound changes in the way we work, play, and communicate. It\u2019s time to modernize the way we market to align with this new paradigm.<\/h5>\n
It\u2019s time for a change. So if you\u2019re ready to ditch the forms, treat people like people, and start having more conversations with your buyers, we can\u2019t wait to talk to you.<\/h5>\n
Book a demo with us <\/strong>here<\/strong><\/a>. <\/strong><\/h5>\n"}]}],"include_intellimize_async":false},"yoast_head":"\n