Guide
Lead manager vs acquisition manager: which do you need?
The caller gets the first conversation. Somebody has to own the second through the tenth. That's the lead manager. Somebody has to turn the tenth into a contract. That's the acquisition manager. Here is how to tell which gap you have.
In this guide
Lead manager: owns the pipeline
Works every warm lead after the first call: callbacks on time, nurture by phone and text, CRM hygiene, offer preparation for you to review. The measure is speed to follow-up and how many leads stay alive. If leads sit in your CRM for a week, this is the role you're missing.
Acquisition manager: owns the close
Takes a qualified, nurtured lead through offer presentation, negotiation, objection handling and contract coordination, and runs a weekly deal pipeline review with you. The measure is offers made and contracts signed. If you have leads being followed up but you're the bottleneck on offers, this is the role.
How they fit with callers
One caller fills the top; one lead manager usually handles the pipeline from two or three callers; one acquisition manager handles the close for an operation of that size. Most clients add the lead manager first, in month two or three, once the caller is producing more leads than they can work in a day.
What they cost and how we staff them
Both are dedicated to your account, trained on your criteria and CRM, and quoted separately from calling based on lead volume. They work in whatever CRM you run.
Questions people ask
Can one person do both?
At small volume, yes. Past two callers' worth of leads, the follow-up suffers when the same person is negotiating.
Do I need a lead manager if I have a VA?
If the VA owns follow-up and does it within a day, no. If the VA is also calling, the follow-up is what gets dropped.
Which CRMs do you work in?
Yours. Podio, REsimpli, Salesforce, HubSpot, GoHighLevel, spreadsheets.
Talk it through with the founders
One 30-minute call. Bring your market and your numbers; leave with a plan.