@Rob - Sounds like the perfect storm to make the move. Go for it!!
When your "traditional" sales team is cradle-to-grave with internet leads, you MUST be aware of...
Lead Fatigue.
Define:
Lead Fatigue
Is a nearly constant state of weariness of a particular lead source(s) that develops over time from a preconceived notion around the quality of that particular lead source(s) and reduces the motivation and consistency it takes to achieve a desirable lead to show ratio.
Example: "Out of the last 20 leads I've received from ABCLeadProvider, ONE included a bogus phone number, therefore EVERY lead from ABCLeadProvider must have a bogus phone number and is now considered to be a sh!t lead provider." ...said Tommy.
Example: "These trade-in leads SUCK. Every lead I'm able to get on the phone wants a ridiculous number for their trade-in. Therefore, all trade-in leads are sh!t leads." ...said Sally.
Okay, I may be a bit on the extreme side with my examples (and maybe not) but you get the picture. As soon as "traditional" sales person labels a lead provider as a SH!T Lead Provider, that's it. Always a SH!T lead provider. This preconceived notion can and will differ between salespeople.
Your traditional sales professionals will still stand outside on the front line, waiting, for what they believe to be the low hanging fruit. Unfortunately this usually carries over to your online opportunities (internet leads) as well. They want leads that sell, quickly. Leads that take little to zero follow-up effort and magically show up after after Auto-Email Template #3 "Are you still in the market?"
There are times I wish I could HIDE the lead source from showing in the CRM so the sales team wouldn't know and wouldn't be able to formulate opinions around the different lead providers. I believe this to be one of the toughest challenges when moving from a structured BDC to Cradle-to-Grave.
How do you or will you
@Rob prevent Lead Fatigue??