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I think I’m like a lot of people in that I have to watch my weight. And just like a lot of people I’m always looking for that magic pill (literally) that will help me get and keep the pounds off. Sometimes I think if I just read the right diet book that it will give me some profound insight that will help me get slim and trim forever. I have even hired expensive exercise trainers that I’m sure gave me all kinds of good advice on weight control. Through all of this I have truly learned one important thing. Any type of weight control that I’ve been able to accomplish has solely been because of what I did for myself.

The same is true when it comes to sales leads. Your company can throw all kinds of leads at you and subscribe to all kinds of lead services, but the leads that matter the most are the ones you create yourself.

Think about it for a second. Does your company ever really scrub the leads they send you? Is there really someone that is aggressively qualifying those leads before they send them your way? They are doing nothing more than forwarding you a bunch of unqualified leads because there is no motivation or capability for most sales organizations to do anything else. A lot of companies shotgun out a bunch of leads to make them at least feel like they are doing something to help you find new business, but they are in denial.

Let’s look at it another way. What is one of your primary functions as a sales professional? To find new business of course. At the end of the day it is your responsibility to locate new business and therefore it only makes sense that it is also your responsibility to load your own gun with qualified prospects. No one is going to be as interested in finding you qualified leads as you are. You know what your strengths and weaknesses are, you know your territory and you know what kinds of companies you like to cold call. When you create your own lead you also have an investment in that lead and a higher level of commitment in making something happen.

The close ratio for leads that are self generated is vastly higher than those leads sent from the home office. You’re much better off creating and nurturing a few prospects on your own than you are sifting through 1,000 leads sent to you from headquarters.

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Tags: leads

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