What We Learned About Turning Leads into Opportunities: 5 Takeaways from Event #2!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who attended our second ‘Sessions with scale’ event last week!  🥳 

This time, we focused on improving MQL to SQL conversion (in other words, how to turn leads into real sales opportunities), and the energy in the room was great! 

There was a lively discussion between our panellists—Olivia Seggsworth (Head of Growth at Seccl) and Chai Clarkson (Head of Sales at Cygnetise)—plus plenty of cheeseboards and space for people to share what was really on their minds.

As promised, here’s a quick recap of the five key takeaways on turning leads into opportunities in 2025:

Key takeaway #1: It's okay to define leads differently, as long as you're aligned internally

One theme that stood out from the discussion was the importance of definitions. 

Whether it’s MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads) or SALs (Sales Accepted Leads), there’s no single “correct” way to define a lead. Every company will have their own take on it, and that’s completely acceptable.

In short, it’s important that everyone across sales and marketing in your own company is working from the same definitions. This ensures there is clarity and consistency in how leads are managed.

Key takeaway #2: Sales and Marketing need to work as one growth unit

Another key takeaway was that Sales and Marketing really need to come together as one growth unit, especially when it comes to leads captured at the top of the funnel.

For Olivia and Chai, this means having a single central commercial dashboard that everyone works from, i.e., a single source of truth that keeps both teams on the same page. This is exactly our advice too and it's what we work on with clients early doors.

Sales and Marketing specific dashboards can then be used as drill down dashboards.

From there, set up regular Top of Funnel (TOFU) meetings between Sales and Marketing.

This was a big one for our panellists. When leads don’t convert, it’s all too easy for Sales and Marketing to start pointing fingers. But that kind of blame game is wasted energy.

TOFU meetings help surface those pain points early and on an ongoing basis.  With your central dashboard as a shared reference, both teams can check in, swap ideas, and make decisions together.

Key takeaway #3: Speed to lead matters…but speed to value matters more

Speed to lead matters—but speed to value matters more. It’s not just about how fast you respond, but what that first touchpoint actually delivers.

Chai shared that having a real human follow-up with leads often reveals far more valuable learnings than automated emails, but only if your team has the capacity. For this reason, Chai's preference is for leads to go to AEs right from the off, and doesn't necessarily agree with an SDR > AE model. While we do prefer an SDR qualification step (it will depend on how many inbound leads you have tbh) — it has to work well for the client and make sense for your product sales journey.

Be smart about your approach as well. Chai shared how, while at Hubble, they trialled a holding email to fulfil 'speed to lead', but it didn’t drive the right behaviours, so they went back to human touch from AE as soon as possible. Essentially, build a strategy that matches your current stage in the GTM journey and sets the right tone from the outset.

Olivia’s take was a bit different: her SDR team have an SLA of 3 hours to get in touch with a client (and does send a holding email)—a quick, valuable touchpoint that filters for real intent. While Chai prefers to chat to every lead, Olivia's mindset is that a lead is  “guilty until proven innocent.” In other words, don’t waste AE time on leads that aren’t ready to buy.

So, when it comes to speed to lead, here’s what you need to think about. Getting back to someone quickly is great, but what really matters is what you say in that first touchpoint, who it’s coming from, and how much value it offers.

If you're worried about your SDRs delivering real value, then training seems like a logical next step so they can answer key questions for the client and offer value while qualifying.

Key takeaway #4: Lead routing isn’t a one-size-fits-all—it depends on your team and lead source

There is no universal model for lead routing.

A common question raised during the discussion was whether every lead should be directed to an SDR or if some should go directly to an AE.

The answer depends on a range of factors: your product, price point, team structure, and the origin of the lead all play a role.

As Simon from NCSquared put it, “There isn’t a blueprint. There are best practices, but what works at one company won’t necessarily work at yours.”

The most effective approach is to test, refine, and adapt. Evaluate your team’s skills and capacity, understand what drives performance, and build a routing strategy that reflects the realities of your business.

The goal isn’t to copy what works elsewhere, but to define what works best for you.

Here's a blog we wrote alongside NCSquared, the lead distribution champs, on exactly this.

Key takeaway #5: SDRs help with speed, but don’t let your AEs lose momentum

For Olivia, routing inbound leads to SDRs can be a smart way to boost speed to lead (and value).

Not only does it create a more consistent and scalable process, but it can also improve initial conversion rates while freeing up your AEs to focus on progressing deals through the pipeline.

But be careful not to cut AE's off entirely.

As Chai put it, AEs thrive on momentum. A steady flow of inbound leads keeps their energy high and their confidence sharp.

While SDR teams can help generate quick wins, solely relying on them over time can unintentionally stall your AE team. Without a few warm inbound leads landing in their queue, AEs may lose pace, motivation, and that proactive edge that helps close deals.

 See you at the next one!

And that's a wrap! Thanks again to our amazing speakers and attendees for making our second 'Sessions with scale' event one to remember!

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