The Challenge
TTEC sales development representatives (SDRs) were producing a large quantity of sales qualified leads (SQLs) but not enough of those were becoming sales accepted leads (SALs). A low SQL-to-SAL conversion rate meant our sellers weren’t getting enough good leads. Instead, leads that hadn’t been properly qualified were making their way to sellers.
SDRs also lacked sufficient knowledge about who our preferred personas were, so sellers wasted time on sales calls with personas who weren’t the right decision makers.
The Solution
We trained our SDR team on BANT qualification—Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing. Aligning these BANT characteristics with our buyer personas meant SDRs now targeted the right people from the outset, so sellers landed meetings with people who had the authority to make buying decisions.
We also created a buyer persona table, organized by vertical, that was shared with all SDRs. The table outlines the right personas that SDRs should target in each vertical TTEC serves. This helped ensure SDRs directed their time and effort toward decision makers.
To hold SDRs accountable and incentivize them, TTEC also began ranking SDRs based on the number of SQLs and SALs they generate using this new approach.
The Results
With a better process for qualifying leads, TTEC has seen both lead quality and quantity increase, which has significantly bolstered our sales pipeline. Sellers received better leads from SDRs, which made it easier for the sellers to closer more deals more quickly.
TTEC’s SQLs increased by 25% and SALs grew by 15% in one quarter. The higher-quality leads have created $100 million in new pipeline average contract value (ACV).
