The Sales Lead Black Hole : On Sales Reps ' Fol low - Up of Marketing Leads

Tiie saies iead black hole—the 70% of leads generated by nnarketing departments that sales representatives do not pursue—may result from competing demands on sales reps' time. Using the motivation-opportunity-abiiity framework, the authors consider factors that influence sales reps' pursuit (or lack thereof) of marketing and selfgenerated leads. The proportion of time that sales reps devote to marketing leads depends on organizational lead prequalification and managerial tracking processes (extrinsic motivation), as well as marketing lead volume (opportunity), and sales rep experience and performance (ability). Consistent with a person-situation framework, individual sales rep factors should also moderate the infiuence of organizational processes on lead follow-up. Data from 461 sales reps employed by four firms confirm that as sales reps' experience increases, their responses to manageriai tracking of lead follow-up and marketing lead volume decrease; responses to the quality of the iead prequalification process increase. As sales reps' performance improves, their response to the volume of marketing leads increases, but their response to manageriai tracking decreases. The interplay of individual sales reps' abilities and organizational marketing and sales processes explains differences in sales reps' follow-up of marketing leads.'