Transcript

Unqualified Leads – Episode 015 Highlights

Hosts: Harry Hughes & Dan

Topic: Why lead volume breaks B2C funnels, how unqualified scale wastes sales capacity, and how to design creative, forms, and landing pages to pre-qualify properly, so fewer leads close faster.

The Core Problem: Lead Volume ≠ Revenue

This episode zooms in on B2C lead generation, where the obsession with volume is often most damaging.

The common belief:

More leads = more sales.

The reality:

• Scaling volume usually reduces quality

• Sales teams hit capacity fast

• 50–70% of leads turn out to be:

  
  

  • not ready

  • not qualified

  • not a fit

  
  

• Sales time (your most expensive asset) gets burned

The result:

• Slower deal velocity

• Lower close rates

• Frustrated sales teams

• Higher staff churn

• More spend to replace inefficiency

The goal is not more leads, but a more efficient funnel.

Step One: Diagnose Where the Funnel Is Breaking

Before changing tactics, you need to identify where qualification is failing.

1. Lead → Qualified Rate

Question:

Of all inquiries, how many become qualified leads?

• If this rate is low, the issue is pre-qualification

• Likely causes:

  
  

  • creative

  • targeting

  • offer

  • landing page clarity

  
  

Rule of thumb:

~50%+ qualified suggests decent filtering

Too high can also be a warning (you may be excluding viable buyers).

2. Qualified → Call Show Rate

Question:

Are people actually turning up?

If:

• 60–70% no-show rate persists

• despite reminders, calendar invites, SMS/email nudges

Then the problem isn’t follow-up.

It’s intent mismatch. People inquiring ≠ people ready.

3. Close Rate

Question:

Of “qualified” leads, how many actually buy?

Low close rates indicate:

• price shock

• misunderstanding of offer

• mismatched expectations

• wrong timing

  
  

Key point:

If deals die late, the fix is usually earlier in the funnel, not in sales.

A Key Reframe on MQLs, SQLs, and Measurement

Dan adds an important first-principles lens:

• Digital marketing forces over-measurement

• In reality, inquiry ≠ readiness

• Some leads are:

  
  

  • problem-aware

  • solution-aware

  • price-aware

  • not in-market yet

Not every inquiry should be forced into an SQL bucket. Intent exists on a spectrum.

Where to Fix It First: Creative

Creative is the first gate in the funnel. If the wrong people walk through the gate, nothing downstream fixes it.

Price as a Qualification Tool

Example:

• £20,000/week luxury holiday

• If price isn’t shown:

  
  

  • platforms show ads to £2,000/week buyers

  • budget gets wasted instantly

Platforms like Meta largely learn from creative signals, not intent.

Including price:

• excludes the wrong audience

• attracts buyers already comfortable at that level

Price doesn’t scare off the right buyers.

It repels the wrong ones.

Identity-Based Copy

Instead of features, speak to who the buyer is.

Examples:

• “For entrepreneurs seeking EIS/SEIS relief”

• “For investors with £500k+ liquid capital”

• “For teams who’ve already tried X and need Y”

If someone doesn’t recognise themselves in the copy, they self-exclude. That’s the point.

Think in Exclusion, Not Just Inclusion

Harry reframes it:

Instead of asking:

“How do I attract my ICP?”

Also ask:

“How do I deliberately exclude the leads we don’t want?”

Simple phrases can do this:

• “For serious investors only”

• “Designed for established operators”

• “Not suitable for beginners”

  
  

Exclusion sharpens quality.

Forms as a Qualification Layer (Not Just a Capture Tool)

Instant Forms (Meta / LinkedIn)

Pros:

• Low friction

• Fast conversions

Risk:

• Poor quality if left unfiltered

Best practices:

• Always enable 2FA

• Use multiple steps (not one-click submits)

• Reinforce key qualifiers from the ad

• Add conditional logic

  
  

Example:

• Budget bands

• Timeline to buy

• Type of requirement

  
  

Then:

• Qualified → sales call

• Not ready → nurture / alternative product / resources

  
  

WhatsApp & SMS Flows

Used like conversational forms:

• question → answer → branch

• route based on readiness

• delay sales contact if intent is low

  
  

Especially effective in B2C and geo-specific markets.

Landing Page vs Instant Form: Strategic Choice

Key question:

Does the buyer need to see something before they can qualify?

• Property → landing page essential

• Services / consultations → instant forms may outperform

  
  

Best approach:

• Split test landing page vs instant form

• Compare:

  
  

  • qualification rate

  • close rate

  • speed to sale

    
    

No dogma, just outcomes.

Landing Pages: Built for Cold Traffic, Not Referrals

A critical warning:

Most sites are built for:

• referrals

• warm intros

• word of mouth

Cold traffic needs:

• proof

• clarity

• credibility

  
  

Landing Page Must Answer:

• “Is this for someone like me?”

• “Has this worked for others like me?”

• “Can I trust this?”

  
  

That means:

• testimonials

• reviews

• case studies

• recognisable logos

• clear FAQs

• pricing clarity

  
  

If buyers have to Google proof themselves, you’ve already lost them.

FAQs as a Sales Efficiency Tool

FAQs should:

• mirror real sales objections

• remove reasons to inquire “just to ask”

  
  

Every unnecessary inquiry is wasted sales time.

The Feedback Loop That Most Teams Miss

Every non-conversion is data.

You should be tracking:

• no-show reasons

• close-lost reasons (with detail, not just categories)

  
  

Best practice:

• one high-level category

• one detailed free-text explanation

  
  

Then:

• review monthly or quarterly

• identify patterns

• update:

  
  

  • ads

  • forms

  • landing pages

    
    

Qualification improves by iteration, not guesses.

Advanced Layer: Feeding Quality Back to Ad Platforms

Final closing point:

Don’t optimise platforms for:

• “lead”

• “inquiry”

Instead:

• send SQL data

• send closed-won data

• optimise toward buyers, not clickers

  
  

Platforms learn from outcomes, not intentions.

Key Takeaways

• Lead volume hides inefficiency

• Sales time is the constraint, not traffic

• Diagnose before scaling

• Creative is the first filter

• Exclusion is a feature, not a flaw

• Forms and flows can pre-qualify at scale

• Landing pages must mirror the buyer

• First-party sales data is your strongest optimisation lever

  
  

Fewer leads. Better buyers. Faster revenue.