If you have generated a new lead or reactivated existing customers, you could transfer the contact directly to your sales department without further development and qualification. However, it is very likely that in this case your sales department will not sing a song of jubilation or start a wave of laughter. This is where the ‘green banana’ effect® kicks in.
What happens when you peel a green banana and bite into it? The typical Central European will not be impressed. Why? The banana won’t taste good. But it’s not the banana’s fault, it’s just not ripe yet. You have simply bitten into it too early. The banana needs time to ripen. If you give it more time, it will turn yellow by itself and eventually turn brown. Leads don’t usually behave any differently: if you open them too early, i.e. hand them over to sales too soon, you end up with three dissatisfied parties:
the annoyed potential customerthe demotivated sales departmentthe annoyed marketing department
Another process that – unlike bananas – does not work with leads, even if it is tried again and again: Leaving leads lying around does not lead to their maturation. Entire cohorts of salespeople have tried again and again to empirically and scientifically fathom this law. Believe me, it has been conclusively researched that this does not work.
Most leads should therefore be developed to sales maturity before they are handed over to sales and contacted. The changes in the buying process have led to (potential) customers not wanting to be contacted by sales at the beginning of their buying process, but instead wanting to inform themselves and find out more by ‘self-study’.
But that’s exactly what we do as customers in most areas. Sometimes we put ourselves directly in the hands of the sales team. However, depending on the topic and our experience with this sales force, there is a growing desire to handle the first part of the purchasing process on our own and only make contact when we are looking for further knowledge, a recommendation or an offer. Providers would do well to cater to potential customers’ thirst for knowledge and initial information in “self-service mode” in order to develop them in further steps up to the desire for personal contact (automated, but individualised). It is during this personal contact that the sales team can show its added value.
Excerpt from my book: ‘Digitalisation in marketing and sales’
