We've moved beyond viewing MQLs as the definitive metric to adopting what I call 'handshake metrics' with sales. While we still track MQLs as leading indicators, we're now focused on more meaningful measurements like opportunity creation, meetings set, and meetings held. This shift has transformed our approach into a genuinely collaborative effort between marketing and sales. We take a comprehensive view when reviewing leads and opportunities, analysing everything from origin points to the number of touch points and examining both marketing and sales nurture strategies. What's particularly valuable is that we're not simply acknowledging when an AE converts an opportunity - we're looking at all the contributing factors that led to that conversion. This holistic approach has significantly strengthened our partnership with the sales team and improved our overall effectiveness. To maintain this alignment, we've implemented weekly meetings with our SDR Manager to review leads and address any issues, ensuring our lead management system remains effective and responsive to both teams' needs. Through our various CRM tools like Hubspot and Salesforce, we've developed a robust system for tracking and evaluating these metrics consistently.

Our approach is unique in that we've found significant success in building strong relationships with individual champions. This strategy works particularly well because, in our target market of small to mid-sized businesses, the user and the buyer are often the same person - typically an HR administrator or general manager. However, when dealing with larger organisations, we've learned that focusing on the right level of stakeholders is crucial. While C-level executives may control the budget, it's often the director or senior manager level who conducts the product research and makes recommendations. Additionally, we've discovered that executive assistants can be powerful champions, as they often have direct access to decision-makers and significant influence over the buying process. This focused approach has proven more effective than trying to engage multiple stakeholders simultaneously. We've also found that industry-specific targeting yields different results - for instance, insurance companies tend to have quick conversion rates but higher churn, while sectors like hospitality and legal services show more consistent, long-term engagement due to their ongoing hiring needs. Understanding these industry-specific patterns has helped us refine our targeting and retention strategies accordingly.