So you’ve tried gathering leads for your sales team only to find they aren’t even using them because they quickly found they were a waste of time? Now they won’t even look at what you send them. Time to make sure you’re following at least the basics in today’s world of lead acquisition. Here are 5 things you should make sure you’re doing if you want more of those leads to convert to sales:
1. Talk to the Right People
The decision makers may be different than the recipients of your marketing and sales efforts. Someone needs to find and interview the true decision makers in your target accounts. Do you have someone on it?
2. Aim at the Right Target
Sounds obvious but you’d be surprised how often marketing efforts are so broad they waste valuable resources with a message to the masses that only relates to a small percentage of the audience. Use rifles instead of shotguns to fire marketing messages to specific targets that have been determined to present a higher opportunity for potential sales. Perhaps a mass media rainstorm over every business in your market is a waste. Using targeted marketing techniques, you can focus in early on the prospects that are most likely to close.
3. Account Timeline
Once you’re talking to the right people, learn whether now is the time they are ready to buy or chart a timeline into the future for the next 6, 12 or 18 months regarding purchasing plans. Every prospective account should have a timeline in their file and if you can automate your follow up, you’re really going to roll. Timing is everything.
4. Trade Show Intelligence
If your business requires a presence at trade shows, don’t just go through the motions. There’s too much invested time at stake. Make this opportunity work for you with some intelligent strategies. Be prepared for the different types of trade show traffic: Toy Gatherers, Browsers, Information Junkies, True Future Prospects, and Ready-to-Buy Decision Makers. Sure you want to close business now if possible, but in most cases that’s difficult, so your focus needs to be on the True Future Prospects. A sound strategy for maximizing the results from the time you commit to a trade show is paramount. Having a pre-event plan, a good lead qualifying/gathering system and most importantly a strong follow up, will make what can be a time-waste into a true high-quality lead machine. The highest return on time investment for a trade show can be found by placing an emphasis on follow up. Don’t just pile up business cards in a corner and expect them to magically turn into orders. (See MA and CRM below)
5. Let Technology Help
MA (Marketing Automation) and properly implementing an appropriate CRM (Client Relationship Manager) is well worth the investment. We are in the information age. The time spent setting up a solid MA system which can often be an integral part of a CRM, is well worth the trouble and can not only increase the number of quality leads your sales team gets, but dramatically improve the quality. Providing your prospects with relevant content on a regular basis creates a positive image of expertise that leads to trust and sales. Handing the response to this MA information strategy with a well-managed CRM is mission critical. Timing, Timing and Timing! If you aren’t practicing these policies in-house, it may be time to either hire an employee who can or engage a service provider who has the expertise and can tailor a program that makes sense for your business. Timing is everything.
