First and foremost, you must capture the data from websites, phone calls, distributions centers, direct mail and landing pages. If these requirements sound like too much, it is what most corporate clients want and need to succeed. That fact alone should get you going. Next, make sure you have the ability to perform several types of data transmissions. For example, HTTP posts for CRM’s as well as XML. For older CRM programs, rely on GET or SOAP post. For certain vertical packages, try ping and post. 
For those sales franchises or teams that have no solid CRM or optimized lead management program in place, continue to deliver your data and leads by email and in-bound calls in real-time with call routing. Track and record your calls and organize the system by setting up call flows. Always track your data in order to keep up with other solutions that could ensure good delivery. Be able to measure the data that is delivered by tracking ROI and other activities.
Finding One Solution
Few companies can combine all of the features into one program or solution. Most lead management programs are designed to build on parts of them. If you are considering implementing an optimization tool for lead management, it could take time to integrate what is required and you should determine for yourself what your needs and goals are within a company that are necessary and work to optimize your system internally. Proper lead management can be the secret to success for a company, but integration to an optimized program must be considered to determine if it fits your business.
Growing Pains
More than likely, your current system is typical of most business systems. An outside developer or a team is relied upon who have built upon the existing system over time with component or program on top of program. Because of growing and fast-paced technology, these types of growing pains cannot be ignored. You likely experience frequent outages or technology down times. The time lost is cumbersome and updates, or getting new lead sources could take days. There are also manual functions that must be used in order to retrieve or report data changes.
Over time, you likely could even experience complete breakdowns in an outdated system without an optimized lead management program.
If these types of problems sound all too familiar, it is probably a good idea to begin to build a program of optimization. Determining whether to build on your current programs internally or going with an outside provider are just a couple of the choices to be made. However, there really is no way of determining what is best since company’s vary in their requirements for a good optimized lead management programs. Growing your business is a top priority and many companies believe that is achieved with more leads. In fact, without the proper lead management program, it really makes no difference how many leads you have. Managing your sales leads and optimizing those opportunities is where success is determined.
Handling Volume
Many companies push lead generation and some department heads still believe that large numbers of leads are better than a small number. Truth is, a large number of bad leads will be time consuming and not produce successful numbers. If you have leads that result in high numbers, your automated optimized lead management software should follow up the leads, and work to categorize them into different campaigns. Your job is then to generate the sales from those leads. If you are searching for a smoother workflow and a lead nurturing campaign that is built to work together, optimizing your lead program with software that can seamlessly provide that service is where you want to be. It could result in a faster growing company with the results you are seeking.
Lead Nurturing
For many companies, lead nurturing is much like nurturing a baby. The key to any good lead management is nurturing. A built-in nurturing program will automatically send emails and schedule calls for a sales team. This leaves nothing to chance or forgetfulness. An optimized lead management program makes a complex workflow easier and moves the leads in an efficient manner. You have probably used countless numbers of programs if your company is established. Some may have worked for you, while others did not. Some probably failed due to lack of nurturing or they were in need of further automation or rules. Others may have been so complex that they were just too expensive or too difficult to train or customize.
