The lead comes in. What do you do with it?
If your lead distribution is smooth as butter, you know that it’s time to do lead to account matching (L2A).
If you don’t know this yet, this article is a must for you and your sales reps.
What is lead to account matching?
Lead to account matching (L2A) is the process of automatically linking inbound leads with the right customer account.
This process ensures data is organized and accessible for tasks like lead routing, scheduling, and analysis.
It involves setting rules to determine when a lead is ready for follow-up and assigning it to the best-suited sales rep or sales team.
The main advantage of lead to account matching is increased sales efficiency, as it prevents leads from being overlooked within the system.
How does lead to account matching work?
Lead to account matching works by linking leads to the correct accounts using specific identifiers.
The process uses the account name and email address as primary matching criteria.
Geographic details like country, state, city, and postal code help refine potential matches. The system employs fuzzy matching to recognize different versions of a company name.
For emails, it matches the lead’s email domain, such as “@salesforce.com,” with the account’s website domain to ensure it’s correctly associated with the Salesforce account.
This matching process enhances account-based analytics and routing capabilities.
Once the system identifies a match, it connects the lead with the appropriate account in your database.
Why do businesses benefit from lead to account matching?
This connection allows for more accurate and efficient lead management because it directs the right leads to the right sales representatives.
By organizing leads under their respective accounts, businesses can perform better account-based analytics, streamline orchestration, and improve overall sales actions.
It reduces errors in lead routing and helps maintain a clear view of all interactions related to a particular account, ultimately supporting more strategic decision-making and sales efforts.
How to do lead to account matching?
Depending on which lead-to-account matching technology you use, there are different features available.
You can do lead to account matching processes manually, but it can be very time-consuming and prone to human error.
There are plenty of lead-to-account matching tools and CRM with different lead routing features that do the job for you.
That’s how lead to account matching functions:
- Your CRM detects a new inbound lead in the sales pipeline
- The trigger event is initiated
- Leads are routed and assigned based on the rules and criteria you set up
- Sales reps receive alerts
These tools are made to create a link between your sales CRM and lead matching.
What are the best lead to account matching tools?
The best lead to account matching tools and routing software are:
- Lead Assign – AI-Powered Lead Routing (From $149/month for 10 agents/admins)
- LeadAngel – Account-Based Lead Assignment (From $99/month)
- LeanData – Lead Routing in Salesforce ($39/user license/month)
- Demandbase – Data Matching platform
- Syncari – Data Automation Platform for lead-to-account matching and lead routing
What should you look for in lead to account matching software?
When choosing a lead matching tool, make sure it supports fuzzy matching. Fuzzy matching is a technique that identifies the elements of text, strings, or entries that are similar but not identical.
It is particularly useful in situations where data may contain slight variations, misspellings, or different formats.
For example, fuzzy matching can connect a lead entry listed as “Greg Smith” with an account record for “Gregory Smith.” By recognizing these similarities, fuzzy matching ensures that related data points are accurately linked, even if they aren’t identical, which is crucial for processes like lead-to-account matching.
This technique helps prevent misalignment and ensures that valuable connections aren’t missed due to minor inconsistencies.
The fuzzy matching algorithm typically identifies:
- Email and web domain match
- Company name match
- Suffixes
- Geographical spellings
- Whitespace
- Nicknames
- Acronyms
- Inferred Industry
- Stock codes
- Common words
- Geographical match
- Mergers
- Special characters
Another very relevant feature for more advanced lead to account matching is customizable tiebreaks. Tiebreaks are rules or criteria used to determine the best match when a lead appears to correspond with multiple accounts due to fuzzy matching.
This situation can occur because fuzzy matching can identify several potential account matches for a single lead based on similar attributes.
Tiebreaker rules are employed to decide which account is the most appropriate match. These rules can be based on various factors such as geography, opportunity stage, company size, revenue, account type, or custom fields relevant to the business’s needs.
Customizing tiebreaker rules allows businesses to align the matching process with their specific requirements and ensures more accurate lead-to-account matching, which is crucial for maintaining data integrity and improving sales strategies.
How do you improve your lead-to-account matching?
Using the sales engagement platform lemlist enhances lead-to-account matching by ensuring that all relevant information is centralized, accurate, and detailed.
While lemlist doesn’t have a dedicated lead-to-account (L2A) matching feature, it offers several functionalities that will help you manage and align leads with accounts effectively.
The Unified Inbox enables seamless communication tracking, giving a comprehensive view of interactions across various channels.
Enhanced Contact lists allow for effective organization and detailed filtering, making it easier to align leads with their appropriate accounts.
The Email Finder & Verifier ensures that lead information is accurate, reducing mismatches and improving account association accuracy.
Finally, lemlist’s B2B Lead Database of 450M+ new buyers and their verified info provides deeper insights by adding valuable data, such as phone numbers, industries, job titles, locations, and much more.
Key takeaways
Lead to account matching (L2A) efficiently aligns leads with the correct customer accounts using specific identifiers like company names and email domains, enhanced by geographic details and fuzzy matching for accuracy.
This process not only improves data organization for effective routing and follow-up but also boosts sales efficiency and strategic decision-making.
Essentially, lead to account matching procedure ensures that leads are directed to the appropriate sales representatives.
Automated lead-to-account matching and distribution tools facilitate this process by providing features that significantly reduce errors compared to manual methods.
Key features of these tools include fuzzy matching and customizable tiebreaks, which are crucial for accurately linking data entries that vary slightly and for determining the best account match.
