{"id":28327,"date":"2022-08-19T10:12:38","date_gmt":"2022-08-19T17:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/?p=28327"},"modified":"2026-09-15T19:32:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T19:32:39","slug":"what-is-lead-churn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/what-is-lead-churn\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Lead Churn?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever reached out to a vendor to learn about an offering \u2013 and been refused? Have you ever clicked the \u201cBook a Demo\u201d button on a vendor\u2019s website \u2013 and never saw a demo? How did you feel?<\/p>\n

What is the likelihood that you would go back to that vendor when you were ready to buy?<\/p>\n

If you have experienced this, you are an example of a Lead that has Churned. You would be unlikely to pursue the vendor that refused to show you a demo, particularly in a market with multiple vendors and reasonably equivalent offerings.<\/p>\n

Why Should You Care?<\/b><\/p>\n

As a vendor, if you are only worried about this quarter\u2019s forecast, then Lead Churn is not (yet) a concern. On the other hand, if you want to build your pipeline for next quarter and the quarters that follow, Lead Churn may be a huge issue!<\/p>\n

Lead Churn can be defined as prospects who exit your sales process even before<\/i> they enter your funnel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many are prospects who are \u201cjust browsing\u201d, interested in understanding what the solution set looks like for a problem they are considering addressing. Business.com noted<\/span><\/a>, \u201cAccording to Gleanster Research, 50% of the leads you generate are qualified but not ready to buy right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, Brian Carroll, author of Lead Generation for the Complex Sale<\/span><\/a> observed, \u201cUp to 95 percent of qualified prospects on your website are there to research and not yet ready to talk with Sales, however up to 70 percent will eventually buy from you \u2014 or your competitors.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sadly, many may be qualified prospects who were qualified out for not fitting sales process definitions of a qualified lead! They may have been less experienced members of buying committees, unfamiliar with navigating vendor sales processes. They might also have been experienced buyers who similarly didn\u2019t pass qualification constraints.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sales<\/i> Process\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Fascinatingly, these vendor sales processes are working perfectly! They are designed to \u201cprotect\u201d sales resources by qualifying out prospects who are not qualified or in an active buying process. They are working exactly as built, accordingly \u2013 but they may not be operating in your best longer-term interests!<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s go back to your personal experiences. If you have ever reached out to a vendor to learn about an offering and been refused, or clicked the \u201cBook a Demo\u201d button on a vendor\u2019s website and never saw a demo, you\u2019ve suffered this fate yourself.<\/p>\n

When you clicked the \u201cBook a Demo\u201d button, an SDR reached out to you and scheduled a time for a call \u2013 a qualification call, from the vendor\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n

During your SDR discussion, the SDR determined that you were not sufficiently qualified. You lacked one or more of adequate authority, budget, timing, defined set of needs, and\/or not yet in an active buying process. The result, for the vendor, saved valuable salesperson (and possible presales) time by avoiding an \u201cunproductive\u201d demo for you.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, it\u2019s largely about seeing<\/i> a demo. Gartner said, “Demonstrations remain popular with prospects, as buyers often choose a demo as a quick way to figuring out what a solution offers.\u00a0 <\/span>A call to action that mentions a demo likely will get interest, as 58% of buyers cited \u2018demonstrations\u2019 as a call to action they would respond to in a marketing campaign.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You were qualified out so the sales team could focus on leads that are well-qualified and are more likely to proceed through their sales funnel. Their sales<\/i> process was working perfectly.<\/p>\n

What Happens Next?<\/b><\/p>\n

If you were actually in an active buying process and were qualified out by one vendor, what would you do? You\u2019d go to another vendor with offerings in the same space. You just churned \u2013 ever before<\/i> you entered the first vendor\u2019s sales funnel!<\/p>\n

Note that you\u2019d likely have learned your lesson for the next engagement, and subsequent conversations with SDRs\/vendor reps would go differently. You\u2019d provide responses to qualification questions that would ensure you get to the next stages \u2013 to see an introductory demo, at least.<\/p>\n

And if you were not yet ready to buy, but simply exploring solution possibilities, what is the likelihood that you\u2019d return to the first vendor who disqualified you? Pretty low! You\u2019d be predisposed against<\/i> that vendor and would explore solutions with other<\/i> vendors before ever considering a return to vendor number one. That\u2019s Lead Churn.<\/p>\n

What should we call prospects who are not yet in an active buying process and\/or would otherwise be qualified out? Let\u2019s identify them as \u201cPipeline Leads\u201d or \u201cPipeline Prospects\u201d \u2013 leads that should<\/i> become active buyers in the future.<\/p>\n

Above are examples where sales processes are working exactly as designed, because they are focused on short-term sales and are not embracing buyer enablement principles. What could be done differently?<\/p>\n

Buyer Enablement\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Here are three approaches that draw upon buyer enablement principles of \u201cwhat can we [the vendor] do to make the buyer\u2019s process as frictionless and effective as possible?\u201d<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Tech Touch \u2013 using automated demos\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Low Touch \u2013 using junior-level resources\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. High Touch \u2013 using sales, presales, customer success or specialists, specifically trained<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Tech Touch \u2013 Automated Demos<\/b><\/p>\n

    This is a simple, very elegant approach to address your Pipeline Prospects: provide them with a crisp overview of your offering via automated demos. Tools such as Walnut, Reprise, Demostack, and a host of others provide mechanisms to satisfy Pipeline Prospects\u2019 desires to see what is possible while capturing valuable information for vendors.<\/p>\n

    Low-Touch<\/b><\/p>\n

    For organizations that want to engage with Pipeline Prospects human-to-human (for a range of possible reasons, including a desire to do real discovery and\/or actually help<\/i> prospect get what they want), consider training and devoting specific resources to these prospects. You are investing in your pipeline!<\/p>\n

    Existing SDRs, other junior-level staff and new hires targeted for sales, presales or customer success positions may be perfect for this role. These resources would require training similar to that provided to SDRs\/BDRs, inside sales, and junior-level sales, presales and customer success staff:<\/p>\n