How to Follow Up With Sales-Qualified Leads: 3 Best Practices to Seal the Deal

April 2, 2025
Contributor: Tom Cox

Sales and marketing must work together to close sales-qualified leads. Here's how to take action when buyers reach this bottom-funnel stage.

Since 2018, Matt Hanson – Partnerships Development Director at Gartner Digital Markets – has helped software providers accelerate pipeline development with Sales-Qualified Leads.

Through this program, buyers visit Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice to get recommendations on the best software for their business needs. Over 60 software advisors match software providers with high-intent buyers, and the impact speaks for itself: 79% of interactions that result in a purchase come from an advisor’s recommendation[1]

But, as Matt says, “You get out what you put in,” and an aligned follow-up strategy is a competitive edge. Sales and marketing teams with stronger collaboration are 2.3x more likely to attain strong commercial growth[2] compared to a siloed approach.

Inspired by software providers following a clear and effective plan for sales-qualified lead follow-up, here are three best practices you can implement today.

1. Follow up fast to stay top of mind 

Whether a prospect fills a high-intent form on your site, calls to inquire about your services, or follows a recommendation from software advisors, it’s critical to respond to their inquiry as quickly as possible, ideally within the first ten minutes.

Without following up fast, you risk the buyer getting caught up in other tasks and moving on to something else, or worse, receiving a call from a competitor before you’ve had a chance to speak. 

With Sales-Qualified Leads, software advisors inquire into a buyer's needs using the BANT framework, and send your product within a shortlist with other suitable options. In cases like this, as Matt says, “speed-to-lead is absolutely critical.”

Software providers use these strategies to ensure they are quick off the mark:

  • Sales and marketing alignment: Establish a protocol and plan to alert the sales team when leads are qualified.
  • Integrations[3]: Make life easy on your sales team by sharing leads and lead notes directly from your CRM.
  • Scheduling[4]: Software advisors schedule appointments directly in your sales team's calendar so they can focus on closing the demo. 

Here’s how FreeAgent CRM treats their sales-ready leads to increase their conversion rate:

“We understand that we are competing with others receiving and paying for leads like us, so we’ve implemented strategies within our sales team to ensure quick, personalized follow-ups to increase our chance of conversions. [...] And we’ve quickly realized that leads from Gartner Digital Markets have a higher conversion rate. ” 

- Luis Lizola, Senior Digital Marketing Manager, FreeAgent CRM

“A fast follow-up is important,” Matt advises, “but don't rely on it as your only strategy… personalization and context are key.”

2. Call the buyer and personalize your approach 

Sales-qualified leads are ideal contacts who have expressed not just an interest but a need for software like yours. Therefore, sales teams should initiate with a personal phone call and leave email nurturing to marketing-qualified leads that aren't necessarily sales-ready.

Gartner guides businesses to tailor their follow-up based on the engagement and profile fit of the lead type (ie, lead score):

But what should sales teams say in their call? Templated calls are one approach, but as Matt says “if you have this level of detail on the buyer, they will respond favorably, knowing that you've done research into their world.” 

Conduct research with existing lead notes to build an understanding of the buyer’s situation and connect the dots with your solution. If you’re already using Sales-Qualified Leads, software advisors will cover this qualification research for you, so you can focus on an effective follow-up. 

Here’s an example of information captured within a lead note…

  • Budget available: $300/user/month
  • Purchase timeframe: Within the next 2 months would be ideal
  • Previous software used: ABC CRM, but it has too many features they don’t need
  • Their advisor contact: The buyer spoke with Gina
  • Reasons for buying: The buyer is looking to move away from manual processes
  • When they’re available: During late mornings. This Friday works best.

… and how to use this information for a personalized first-contact call:

Hi Melissa, 

This is Jim from XYZ software, Gina, the software advisor you spoke to from Capterra, passed me your contact information. 

Gina told me you're trying to move away from manual processes and that you’re looking for a CRM with more self-service functionality. I see a lot of similarities between your use-case and one of our clients that we’ve just helped through this same challenge. 

I understand you’re looking to finalize a purchase within the next 2 months, so it’d be great to get the ball rolling with a demo to show how our software can help solve your needs.

Are you available on Friday?​

Detailed lead notes are what help Swipeclock stand out among competitors when its sales team follows up on sales-qualified leads:

"“The level of detail and amount of information the sales team receives from Gartner Digital Markets is a huge help compared to when a lead comes in through a basic landing page. The lead notes help prep the sales team ahead of the call rather than having to do all of the discovery work themselves. [...] We have a 15% opportunity to win rate, so both the sales and marketing teams are very happy.” 

- Dan Saunders, Senior Director of Growth and Performance Marketing, Swipeclock

3. Engage persistently with meaningful content and messaging

If buyers do not respond immediately, there’s probably a good reason. Sales-qualified leads are still high-intent, and the buyer might have other things on their plate. Best practice is to leave 1-2 touches within the first 24 hours (such as a call and follow-up email or voicemail). 

Here’s an example touch template to engage sales-ready buyers persistently and stay at the top of their to-do list:

From that point, follow-up should balance between persistence and adding consistent value, not “forcing them through the funnel” as Matt says. When you’re about to click ‘send’ on each message of your follow-up, Matt asks you to consider: “Would I respond to the message I am conveying?” 

Include relevant content that supports this late stage of the buying journey, such as pages that compare you favorably with competitors, video demos, or case studies.

Bridging the gap from lead to deal

Bringing in the right leads does not mean the job is done. It’s up to sales and marketing to align on how each lead type is different and organize a plan to close more deals using best practices. 

Whether it’s with Sales-Qualified Leads or other programs, here’s how Gartner Digital Markets can help you bridge the gap between lead and deal: 

  • Integrations for prompt follow-ups: Integrate sales-qualified leads with your CRM or marketing automation platform for a seamless connection between software advisors and your sales team.
  • Lead call notes: Software advisors get to the heart of what’s troubling buyers and document their call notes so you have all the context behind their software needs and challenges and how to solve them.
  • Customer reviews and social proof content: Refer to reviews from customers who have been in a similar situation to add consistent value during your conversation. 

If you're ready to boost pipeline and close rates with truly sales-ready leads, look no further than Sales-Qualified Leads from Gartner Digital Markets. Log in to your account to optimize your current campaign or contact us today to learn more.

Tom Cox

Tom is a senior content specialist who helps software providers better understand the market with insights from Gartner Digital Markets' network of software buyers and vendors. Since 2015, Tom has created content for a wide range of industries including education and online publishing. 

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Sources 
  1. Source: 4,649 responses received in post-advisor interaction survey, of which 2,620 (56%) resulted in a purchase.
  2. Source: Leadership Vision for 2025: Chief Sales Officers, Gartner.
  3. Integrations on Gartner Digital Markets is an add-on feature for sales-qualified leads with an additional fee.
  4. Scheduling on Gartner Digital Markets is an add-on feature for sales-qualified leads with an additional fee.
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