Data decay is a significant issue for any sales team, but it’s especially problematic in life sciences, where organizational changes and research projects happen quickly. You might think your contact list is solid, but if it’s even a few months old, it could already be out of date.
What is Data Decay?
Data decay refers to the process of contact information and organizational details becoming inaccurate over time. In life sciences, this happens fast—researchers change roles, labs shift focus, and funding priorities evolve. Some reports suggest up to 70% of data goes stale in just one year. If you’re not keeping your data current, you’re losing ground.
The Cost of Outdated Data in Life Sciences
In life sciences sales, bad data isn’t just an operational issue; it’s costing you real opportunities. Here’s how:
- Missed Connections: If the head of a lab has left the organization, your outreach is a dead end. Meanwhile, the new decision-maker is slipping through the cracks.
- Lost Ground: It’s estimated that it takes between 7 to 11 touchpoints to get a cold prospect to respond. The longer you wait to reach out, the longer it takes to even start building that relationship. If you’re working with outdated data, every day that passes adds to the effort it’ll take to catch up and be noticed by your target.
- Buying Committees: Research projects often have multiple contributors and collaborators involved in the study design and execution. By relying on incomplete or outdated data, you risk missing these key influencers. Identifying and contacting collaborators ensures your product or service is considered by the entire buying group, increasing your chances of gaining a favorable decision.
Keeping Your Data Current
This is where tools like SciLeads come in.
SciLeads is built specifically for life sciences, enabling you to keep your data fresh and actionable. Here’s how SciLeads supports your sales efforts:
- Relevant and Accurate Scientific Data: SciLeads is one of the largest sources of data for scientific researchers, their recent activities, their projects, funding, collaborators, and employers. Use it to find relevant leads to target with Sales and Marketing activities.
Automated Updates: SciLeads continuously refreshes your data, ensuring you have up-to-date contacts and organizational insights.
- Real-Time Activity Tracking: Whether it’s new grant announcements, conference presentations, or research publications, SciLeads keeps you informed about what your prospects are doing right now.
- Targeted Data: SciLeads specializes in life sciences, which means your data is curated for the specific needs and timelines of scientific organizations and researchers.
Keeping your data fresh isn’t just a best practice—it’s a must if you want to stay relevant in a fast-moving market.