Managing Sales Leads: Turning Cold Prospects into Hot Customers

Sales leads are the lifeblood of every organization's marketing effort. But they are all too often the most under appreciated and inappropriately utilized corporate assets. Companies spend thousands of dollars acquiring sales leads but then fail to maximize their potential, losing countless deals — and dollars — by mishandling the leads. But it doesn't have to be that way. This invaluable book delivers a proven solution to one of the most difficult sales issues: managing leads. Packed with practical insight, Managing Sales Leads is a powerful, hands-on reference for every manager — from mid-level sales and marketing manager to senior level corporate executive — for virtually every size of company, as it shows how to get the most out of this crucial corporate investment.

James Obermayer is a principal in Sales Leakage Consulting, a West Coast-based sales and marketing strategy consulting company. Obermayer specializes in helping small- to medium-size companies identify sales and marketing leakage issues that stifle sales growth and waste valuable marketing dollars. Aside from consulting, his career has been equally divided between sales and marketing positions in business-to-business corporations. He has served as vice president, worldwide sales at an enterprise software company, senior vice president for two industry-leading inquiry management firms, and vice president of marketing for a medical device manufacturer. He has also been vice president of sales and marketing for a direct-marketing agency.

Obermayer is co-author of Managing Sales Leads, How to Turn Every Prospect into a Customer and Sales and Marketing 365. In addition, he has written more than 80 articles on sales and marketing management. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and training seminars for such organizations as the Direct Marketing Association and the American Marketing Association and at corporate sales meetings.