Getting leads to the sales team is a number-one priority for many business owners. The success of most businesses hinges upon gaining new clients and leveraging existing clients.
We know how important it is for your sales team to contact every single lead. Here are lead sources that many sales teams miss:
Visitors to your website
Many companies pick up customers from their website with a passive call-to-action – like a button that says “click here and save” which then induces the customer to fill out contact information. However, companies like Bounce Exchange take website conversion to a new level by providing A/B testing on calls-to-action and updating the call-to-action itself using popups and creating the right wording to produce a gut reaction in customers.
Another way to engage customers is to provide live chat that initiates in real-time. This provides customers with an easy and rapid way to access the talents and knowledge of your sales team. Additionally, live chat can give you helpful information on what your clients need and do not need to have listed immediately on your website.
Finally, there is remarketing. This is a simple tool provided by Google that lets you “follow” your potential customer virtually online. If you are in a direct-to-customer business, remarketing is an invaluable tool that will keep your name and products in front of your potential client until they buy.
Following Up
Your sales team members likely go to conventions and participate in networking meetings pretty consistently. That means they obtain business cards frequently. However, the habit of any salesperson is to follow up on the hot and warm leads first, then do one “nice to meet you” email to any other leads and then forget about anything else.
While this is an understandable habit, it needs to end. Your sales team should put every prospect, hot or cold, into a drip email system specifically designed for that type of prospect.
Follow up is extremely important in any business, and it should be done immediately and consistently, until the potential customer becomes a customer in fact.
Reviewing Email Lists
You probably have an enewsletter that goes out to many of your past and potential clients. This is a great way to stay in front of people and remain in touch with them. However, instead of just leaving the follow up to the newsletter, have your sales team review that newsletter list once a month or once a quarter and see if there are names that they should get in touch with personally. Perhaps a salesperson met Bill at a trade show and this is the quarter when he said he might be looking for a new vendor. This quick review of your email list will help keep important potential customers in front of your sales team.
Here at the Business Success Consulting Group, we provide coaching for sales teams and managers to help companies boost their sales and meet their goals. Contact us today for a free evaluation.
