By Katie Ford
Smart sales teams understand that the shorter the sales cycle, the lower the sales call costs — which translates to more money in the company coffers at the end of the day. An effective way to shorten the sales cycle is to stop chasing after unqualified prospects. The more focused your target list, the better – even if that means you’re casting a smaller net.
“Most salespeople know that traditional cold calling has become a thing of the past,” says Steve Fretzin, president of Sales Results. “With the most powerful online prospecting tool at one’s fingertips, identifying the right contacts and moving forward to get in the door has never been easier.”
So, how do you determine which leads are the most promising? Theresa Hahn, director of marketing and business development for Verrex Corp., says you need to replicate your best customers. Take a look at your existing customers and identify which ones are the best. More specifically, what makes those customers the best? Is it the revenue they bring in? Their contractual terms? An alignment of company values or culture? Once you nail down the traits, create an ideal customer profile based on these qualities. Get as specific as you can. What does the company look like as an organization? Consider size, number of offices, corporate structure, vertical market, annual revenue, etc.
“Don’t just think about this profile, make it a document to share with your marketing, business development and sales teams,” Hahn says.
Once you have a fleshed-out ideal profile, find real companies that match it. To expedite your research, use an online business information provider, such as Hoover’s. Also, look up the competition of your most profitable clients.
“They most likely require the same types of services and will possibly have the same type of buying and decision-making cycles and business challenges,” Hahn says.
Another way to separate the strong prospects from the weak ones is to create an environment that allows strong prospects to step forward and identify themselves. Lisa Mininni, published author and president of Excellerate Associates, calls this pull marketing, as opposed to push marketing strategies like direct mail.
“Instead of you chasing your prospect, reverse the process and have them choose you,” she says. “Consumer behavior has changed and so should a business’ sales process.”
As Mininni explains it, when consumers need a solution, they frequently go to the internet. When they go to the internet, you want them to find your website, blog or other leadgenerating tool. Once they find you, it’s your job to engage them. Mininni suggests including a free, downloadable item of value, such as an industry white paper, an e-book, a product sample or a trial offer. The catch? To obtain the item, prospects must share their contact information.
“When they engage by putting in their names and email addresses, they have chosen you,” Mininni says. “You have just pre-qualified your prospect and reversed the sales process.”
Nick Robinson, director of client services for Social Media HQ, says blogs are effective pull-marketing environments. He suggests posting something about your target industry or vertical market five days a week to keep your blog fresh and interesting. That might sound time-consuming, but it doesn’t have to be. Have you recently read an article that your target audience might find valuable? Share your thoughts about it in a few sentences and then include a link to the article. You’re done!
Robinson also suggests inviting peers in your industry to serve as guest bloggers. Be sure choose a blog platform that makes it easy to share your posts via email, Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets.
The key to pulling in qualified prospects is to ditch the sales persona and become a respected voice in the industry, says Anthony Mongeluzo, founder of New Jersey-based Pro Computer Service. He also is an information technology expert who has been featured on Fox Television.
“The difference that separates a salesperson from an expert advisor is that salespeople know nothing other than buzzwords, pricing, et cetera,” he says. “Salespeople cannot answer the tough questions. You become a trusted advisor by being able to answer questions with confidence.”
Sales teams must be proactive in their market research and in gathering intelligence on strong prospects. Take advantage of online business information providers and customer management software to automate these processes — and save time and money. You’ll end up with a much stronger list of prospects in the end.
The individuals who use your products and services are uniquely positioned to identify companies that need your help. Chris Ezold, a business attorney in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., says he initiates these conversations by asking his customers how he is doing.
“As part of that conversation, if it is positive, I ask them to think about who they know that could use my services,” he says. “If the potential client makes sense — that is, I believe I can provide good value to that potential client — I then ask if they will set up a lunch with me and their contact.”
Ezold says the set-up request is rarely refused.
“I am then at a table with a satisfied client and a potential client,” he says. “There is never a hard sell involved. I see a one-in-four conversion rate of prospects to clients with such meetings.”
The bottom line is, straightforward product pitches are a thing of the past. Today’s successful salesperson is a trusted advisor — a person who demonstrates industry knowledge and helps businesses eliminate obstacles and reach their full potential.
Says Jason Saltzman, chief marketing officer at Bizodo: “The sale is in the non-sale, and your marketing should reflect that.”