Marketing and especially selling has changed since the advent of the web. As an 'old' hand at this, I see how it has changed how companies approach selling. Although, there is no substitute for 'belly to belly' selling, the cost of getting in front of those bellies certainly has. I ran across some numbers on lead nurturing that might help you.

Fully 77% of leads that are further out in the sales cycle, are often ignored by salespeople. We all know why that is the case - salespeople are focused on near term opportunities.

In fact, most prospects don't buy right away, but they do buy. An study by Cahners Business Information found that 23% of manufacturing buyers buy within 6 months, and 67% still intend to buy after 6 months. That means 90% of those looking, are qualified buyers, either from you or your competitors.

If advertising/marketing inquiries, and 'internet leads' are simply passed to salespeople, dealers or distributors, you risk losing 80% of them because they are not ready to buy. It's also why salespeople consider those leads 'not worth' following up.

The solution is to have an ongoing marketing campaign, and to bring in salespeople when the prospect is inside the 6 month window. Nurturing those leads until then can yield up to a 200% increase in qualified leads. Better yet, the close ratios are higher and the sales cycles are shorter. An added benefit is a better overall impression of the company as well as improved customer retention.

A professional email 'drip' campaign was cited as being key to nurturing these leads. Make sure those leads are harvested at the right time!