The first step is to have a working definition of lead stages in your business. For example, lead stages are not the same for a sex shop and a B2B software company.
Sometimes, the highest lead quality will be someone who knows about you and specifically indicates the interest for an engagement. In other times, anyone who has downloaded the product brochure in exchange for contact information will be considered as a higher quality lead. Sometimes, it’s the meeting appointment. And sometimes, provision of contact information in a direct message.
The next step is to create an effective lead management system so that you don't lose track of your leads. This may include setting up different tracking mechanisms like CRM and marketing automation systems.
One of the biggest mistakes that marketers make is assuming that all their leads are equal and using them all in the same way, which can be disastrous when it comes to sales conversion rates calculation.
The reason why some businesses see better results than others even with lower numbers of leads is because they have identified a strategy for each type and they focus on nurturing these specific types of leads individually.
If you're looking to increase your sales conversion rates, take some time to look at your current systems and figure out how you can improve by classifying each individual lead according to their needs and options for cooperation. Then, focus on optimizing conversions of each single stage to the next one.