The Sales Process. Lead Generation, Lead Qualification, and Lead Conversion in Small Businesses

Transcription

1 REVENUE GROWTH BUSINESS OWNER BRIEFINGS The Sales Process Lead Generation, Lead Qualification, and Lead Conversion in Small Businesses From Lead Generation to Lead Conversion, the Sales Process is Critical to Every Company s Success. This document shows how the process works and the critical factors to consider. bigthinkresults.com Copyright 2010, Big Think, Inc. Page 1 of 8

2 Sales The Lifeblood of Your Business You may have the best widget in the world. Without an effective sales process, people won t get to experience it. Look at your process and assure that you have all your bases covered. THE SALES PROCESS There are five basic parts of the sales process, as follows. 1. LEAD GENERATION Lead generation is the set of activities that identify prospects at the front end of the sales process. This could be from networking, advertising response, website leads, etc. 2. LEAD QUALIFICATION Qualifying leads means making sure the lead has the means and desire to purchase your product or service. If the lead doesn t have a need you can fill or the means to purchase it, the lead then falls out of the sales pipeline (or gets put in another basket if they may eventually have interest). 3. LEAD CONVERSION Converting Leads is what most people call sales. It culminates in a signed purchase order, contract, or sale of goods or services. Sometimes, this is as easy as asking for the order, other times it may require several meetings, persuasion, and communicating your value. 4. FULFILLMENT Fulfillment is the manufacture, customization, and delivery of the products or services you have sold. Doing this well, and with style can positively orient your clients toward purchasing more. 5. CUSTOMER SERVICE In the customer service process, you are providing after-salessupport. This is a great time to tell about other products and services you have available after you solve their issues. LEAD GENERATION TACTICS The diagram on the next page shows a list of primary marketing tactics used to generate leads. bigthinkresults.com Copyright 2010, Big Think, Inc. Page 2 of 8

3 Lead Generation Tactics bigthinkresults.com Copyright 2010, Big Think, Inc. Page 3 of 8

4 USE ONE OR MORE TACTICS You can use one or multiple marketing tactics to generate leads. Using multiple tactics may bring in different types of leads some may be higher quality leads with a stronger need or willingness to buy. MEASURE LEAD GENERATION RESULTS Whatever you decide to do, make sure you measure the results of your lead generation (marketing) activities and track costs. Otherwise, you will never know the most effective lead generation tactics, and may pay much more than necessary for your leads. CHOOSE YOUR TACTICS BY YOUR GOALS Some tactics are better suited to particular goals. For example, if you want to develop relationships before trying to convert prospects (leads), advertising will not work, but events may be a great tactic. IF AT FIRST YOU DON T SUCCEED Sometimes your attempts at using a tactic will not provide the results you want. That does not necessarily mean the tactic is a failure. You may need to modify or tweak your tactic to generate better results. LEAD QUALIFICATION To qualify a lead, a conversation must occur. This can be planned, written and delivered to a prospect immediately, such as in an online offer to purchase. If you can tell the prospect how you can meet their needs, they may self-qualify and choose to purchase immediately. Certain tactics create automatic qualification as well, such as a download of a highly targeted e-book or article. Ultimately, you need to determine that the prospect needs what you have to offer, has the willingness to purchase, and has the means to purchase. Need Willingness Means In a relationship selling situation (typically higher priced products/services rather than high-transaction), you can ask qualifying questions such as (for a graphic design firm): Are you pleased with the image you present to clients? Do you have any new products that you need to create marketing collateral for? Is your logo supporting your company and attracting the business you want? Have you budgeted for your new logo? If you determine that they are a qualified lead (meets your purchasing criteria), you should then move to: LEAD CONVERSION To convert a lead(prospect) into a client, you must make an offer. It could be as simple as online sales copy with a PayPal button they can click to purchase. Or it could be a lengthy proposal and bid process. The industry you are in and the bigthinkresults.com Copyright 2010, Big Think, Inc. Page 4 of 8

5 market you serve will largely determine the norms to follow. However, some innovative companies change the game and don t follow the norms. Some succeed wildly. MAKE AN OFFER Making an offer can be as simple as asking for the order. It does not have to be complex. However, you must ask. People will not generally push you to tell them how to buy. FULFILLMENT When you deliver a product or service, continue to add value. Include something unexpected to make them think they re getting an even better deal even if it costs you nothing. For example, you could include a coupon to a strategic alliance partner s company, or an extra gift that uniquely meets their personality, lifestyle, or interests. CUSTOMER SERVICE When a client calls for help, help them the best you can. Companies that skimp on this part of the business are essentially telling a client that they are only interested in the client s money not their relationship. Customer Service should be an integral part of everyone s job from CEO to dumpster cleaner. After you have helped your client with a cheerful attitude and willingness to serve, you can then ask how things are going, see if you can uncover any additional needs they may have, and seeif they are interested in complementary products/services. By asking, you can easily increase sales by another 10-30%. The main thing to keep in mind though is to Deliver What You Promise By delivering what you agree to, you will be above the baseline expectations for many people (some have been burned so much they don t trust companies to deliver what they promise). Once you have the basic promise fulfillment down, then you can begin to add other pieces such as up-sells, addon sales, and subscriptions. Fulfilling Your Promises well enables you to leverage that goodwill into future purchases, referrals, and more. bigthinkresults.com Copyright 2010, Big Think, Inc. Page 5 of 8

6 AICDC SALES PROCESS The AICDA process is one of the most commonly used processes for gaining sales. There are often hesitations, objections, and concerns. If you can properly address them, you increase your likelihood of a sale. ATTENTION Grab their attention. The easiest way is through a referral. INTEREST Get their interest, and ask questions that determine their specific needs. When you uncover needs, you can more directly target the rest of your message. CONVICTION You must then convince them you can deliver the solution to their needs. You can use facts, benefits, evidence, showmanship, and other methods. DESIRE Engage them in seeing the future where your product/service has solved their problem or met their need. Help them to internalize the future state where their life is better because of your company. CLOSE Ask for the order. This can be multiple steps or a direct close. Trial closes use techniques such as asking, Is there anything that would prevent you from working with us to [restate your solution to their problem]? bigthinkresults.com Copyright 2010, Big Think, Inc. Page 6 of 8

7 PUTTING SALES IN CONTEXT As you are building your business, you want to make sure you build it in a logical method. You need to have something to sell before you can produce, production capacity before you sell, a sales process before you qualify leads, and a qualification process before you get leads. The following diagram shows these dependencies: 1. Create a Vision, Including Position 2. Create Your Corporate Identity 3. Product/Service Packaged for Sale 4. Build your production capability to deliver what you sell. 5. Work on how to convert leads into sales. This could be a proposal, process, or just asking for the order. 6. Figure out how to qualify leads by asking clarifying questions. Do they have a need and budget? 7. NOW you can go get leads. Get creative in your approach to lead generation. Consider the Lead Generation Tactics shown on page 3. Pick the ones that will align best with your approach to marketing. THE BIG THINK BUSINESS FRAMEWORK AND GROWTH PROCESS 4. Production Capacity 5. Sales Conversion Process 6. Lead Qualification Process 7. Lead Generation Process If you are having trouble with revenue generation, follow this approach: 1. Create an effective vision and position that differentiates you 2. Create a corporate identity with logo, tagline, and messaging 3. Make sure you have a clearly defined product or service to offer. bigthinkresults.com Copyright 2010, Big Think, Inc. Page 7 of 8

8 Big Ideas for Serious Results. JOIN OUR E-LIST To get the Big Thoughts newsletter, register at GET MORE BUSINESS OWNER BRIEFINGS Strategic guidance. Business owner issues. Sales growth. Find more Big Ideas at BUSINESS OWNER SERVICES Strategic Guidance Business Model Optimization Executive Coaching Fractional CEO Service Hands-On Implementation Revenue Growth Double and Triple Digit Growth Guarantees Business Growth Training and Resources bigthinkresults.com Copyright 2010, Big Think, Inc. Page 8 of 8