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Leads Sales Advice Sales Basics

How to Build a Sales Pipeline

I was asked this question recently and thought I would try to answer in this post.  As simple and easy as it sounds, some intricacies need to be worked out before you ever begin.  My last article, “Cold Calling is Dead-Or Is It?” addresses an old method of simply picking up the phone and dialing.  Not much in that thought process! Nor, much success!

The trick (or secret) is to use your time wisely to build as big a sales pipeline in the shortest amount of time.  After all, the clock is ticking and the sooner you get a score on the board, the easier it is to garner some breathing room.  So where do you start if you have what is considered a fairly greenfield territory? Or your company’s presence has been minor?

You start with a collaborative meeting with your sales manager and the lead generation support (I talk more about this further down) Work with marketing to get awareness and interest in your area.  If you do not have any marketing effort at your disposal, your job is going to be a bit tough.  At the very least, you will have a sales manager, and between the both of you, you need to understand your target market, and how best to segment that market.

Building your pipeline is a bit like asking someone how to paint a picture.  You are going to get several different answers and many methods. I have seen this question asked in an interview.  It is unfair to ask someone without first establishing the premise for the question because it can have many different answers and none of them wrong.  Usually the person asking is looking for the same answer that is in their head so answering it differently does not make it wrong, just different.  Unfortunately, some interviewers do not see it that way.  That is why I think you need to understand from a collaborative view, what management is thinking and form your strategy and tactics from there.  There is not really a wrong or right answer because it can go both ways depending on the end objective.

You have to ask yourself two questions: Am I looking for numbers or am I looking for qualified numbers?  Let’s assume the latter. Qualified leads are the life-source of every company.  Why?  These leads have had a positive response from a potential customer.  If handled correctly, they turn into sales.  Lead nurturing is an absolute necessity to keep this potential opportunity from dying on the vine or your competition to swoop in and steal this right from under your nose.
Earlier I spoke of lead generation. Regardless of the size of a company, lead generation and nurturing is a requirement; period.  Your field sales force needs to be closing sales, not seeking qualified leads.  This role is one of the most overlooked, yet one of the most vital position for supporting a field-based sales force.  When you ramp-up your sales force, place serious importance on how this team is going to be getting their leads.  Do you know why companies always have a ramp up time?  Partly because of the training, but mostly because of the time to get there territory in order.

I realize there are other methods, but these really just lend themselves to the efforts of a dedicated lead generation machine.  Personal leads, contacts, and luck all are good, but a coordinated marketing and lead generation plan should be an integral part of sales.

If you find this useful, Contact Me or better yet, leave a comment. If you have a Twitter account and found this article useful, it would be much appreciated if you would retweet this with the tool at the beginning of the article!

Happy Selling!

Ed Warner

Categories
Sales Advice Sales Basics Sales Tips

The 4th Quarter and Beyond

It’s here folks, do-or-die time for those on the calendar sales cycle! Are you ready?

Right about now people up and down a sales organization’s chain are either confident or extremely worried about the approaching end of quarter (EOQ). No doubt, it has been a tough, tough year and it isn’t over yet, so don’t give up the ship just yet. There are some things you can do and some things you can’t.

Having one or more deals that seems to be stuck in the pipeline is one of the most frustrating situations a salesperson can encounter, and even more so as the year-end looms closer. One of the things you cannot do is BEGIN the selling process in hopes of getting closure by December 31. The exception to this is the transactional or commodity sale, but this isn’t guaranteed either. So What Can You Do?

Assuming you are still holding a live close, you can and must turn up the heat. But how?

    • Go back to your internal coach or advocate and ask
    • Decision maker relationships are key here; What are they waiting for? What is crucial to them?
    • Sales management can help; ASK!

Holding out could just be the company’s way of negotiating. Turn this around and re-negotiate, but before you do, make absolutely sure your tactic will make a difference.

Here is a graph I share with salespeople that explains very simply where ANY action takes place; in ANY organization. I share that with you now.  Presentation1(Click for a bigger image) Using this simple graph, you can add a tick marks and pretty accurately track the closure time of the deal.

Don’t get wrapped up in emotion and be pressured to make concessions you later regret. I am a firm believer in NO unilateral concessions. If your prospect wants to play this type of ballgame, then request something from them that has value to your company, like access to the CIO, CFO or any other officer that would benefit your company and gain a deeper business relationship.

After doing all this, the deal still may slip into the next year. It happens. Especially in this economy.

Ok you are wondering about the “Beyond” part from the article title. As I stated before, some deals are going to slip into the next quarter. Here and now is where you want to begin planning for the coming quarter even if you have no idea about your quota, territory, etc. Begin planning with the thought of moving some of your customers into the top tier of your account list. In my last article, So You Wanna Be the CEO I explain how this can be accomplished. Additionally, I have another article, 5 Tips to Practice Daily that explains the refocusing of your efforts towards the top percentage of your customer base. TPresentation2he following picture illustrates what your goal should be, achieving the top level of this pyramid. Once you reach this pinnacle, the customer sees you as golden. Word of caution; rarely is this level obtained in the eyes of the customer.

If you find this useful, Contact Me or please leave a comment. If you have a Twitter account and found this article useful, it would be much appreciated if you would retweet this at the beginning of the article!

Happy Selling!

Ed Warner

Categories
Sales Advice Sales Basics Sales Tips

So You Wanna Be the CEO?

CEO’s have a tremendous burden in that they must not only perform, they must often outperform. They fail not for the lack of planning, strategy gazeor the lack of a long-term vision, rather because of a simply task, Execution.

Too often we (salespeople and alike) act as though our tasks and daily routines are insignificant. On the contrary, everything you do has a certain degree of separation that touches the bottom line. We fail to realize just how important our job is, regardless of the occupation. In spite of where you are in the corporate structure, treat your sales territory as though you were the CEO… Execute!

In order to execute, you still have to have a plan, but the execution must plancover the humdrum details of account management. Many a salesperson has made the mistake of believing they can do these at their leisure. and the customer will be happy! Nothing could be further from the truth. I am a relationship sell kind of person, therefore I believe in cultivating relationships for the long-term. I do not believe in the churn-n-burn mentality. If that’s your nature and it suits your job description, then more power to you. But if your goal is to keep the customer in hopes of selling to them again, there are continuous must-do’s you have to perform.

  1. Follow-up and make sure your solution did indeed perform–their pain MUST be gone
  2. Regular contact–this allows you to uncover additional pain or issues as they arise
  3. Competition Watch–contact allows you to understand their penetration, if any

So what’s your excuse?
Sounds fairly simple, so why is there such a disconnect in execution? TIME Make the time and make the call or visit. I have heard just about every excuse, but the one that stands out is: I don’t have time, I need to concentrate on this quarter’s numbers. hourglassThis excuse is the biggest reason for not doing anything; the illusions of time dwindle. You actually have more time than you realize and here is how you dispel the myth and reclaim the edge.

Account Division
In order to make sense of your time this really only works for those that do account management. Divide your customers into three groups, 1,2,3 or A,B,C. Decide on one key element that will divide them. It can be something like: yearly potential selling value, lifetime selling value or whatever makes sense for you.
Start by putting the top 20%-30% customers in the first tier, the next 50%-60% into the middle tier the rest in the last tier. Once that happens, make a contact plan for each of the tiers according to importance. Put this into your electronic calendar as a to-do!

Rule of thumb: 1st tier call monthly, 2nd tier call quarterly, and 3rd tier call every six months. What are we trying to accomplish? Relationships. It’s all about relationships. Still true today, people buy from people! All of your 1st tier customers should be your key account or best prospects. Increase ten-fold, the relationships you now have within those accounts. fightFailure to win this battle will guarantee you lose the war! This is a priority so treat it as such. Do what is necessary to cultivate the relationships

Your goal is to follow the same procedure for the next tiered accounts, but in a more restrained role. Tier 2 accounts can be thought of as the next Tier 1 accounts so starting early puts you ahead of the curve. The last tier of customers need to be jettisoned or cultivated. As a salesperson, no one likes to say goodbye to a customer, but consuming more resources than their sales potential is capable of replenishing, it is time to cut the strings.

I will leave you with this thought provoking question: Why win additional customers if you cannot keep the ones you have?

If you find this useful, Contact Me or please leave a comment. If you have a Twitter account and found this article useful, it would be much appreciated if you would retweet this at the beginning of the article!

Happy Selling!

Ed Warner

Categories
Sales Basics

Down the Sales 101 Trail- Part 2

This is the last half of Down the Sales 101 Trail. I hope this helps accelerate your close ratio. This is going to be a ONE topic discussion, so let’s get with it!

THE GAME PLAN


A Must Have image8

I can’t emphasize enough how important having a game plan is. Seasoned sales professional or just starting out, you have to have a game plan. If you are winging it day-by-day, go find something else to do because you are not going to survive without some divine intervention. The stakes are too high in the current economic atmosphere.

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

Old saying or not, it’s true, or at least true enough to do harm. When I started in sales, I struggled. One of my senior mentors sensed this as well and towards the end of the day came over to offer his advice. The first thing he asked me was, “What are your plans for tomorrow?”  Not knowing his intentions, and thinking he was going to ask me to lunch, I answered, “Nothing, what do you have in mind?” We certainly were not on the same wave length. He went on to tell me how at the end of each day or that evening, he would map out a strategy for the next workday. Never, ever did he leave tomorrow to chance. I have never forgotten his words of advice, nor that single question he asked me that day.

Start Small

Ok, now what?  It really doesn’t matter if you have a territory or assigned accounts, start by mapping out 10-20 companies to target. There are commercial services that can dissect a state or geographical area by Standard Industrial Codes (SIC). (It is being replaced by the newer six digit North American Industrial Classification System (NAIC). You can then filter companies to a very granular level by revenue, size, state, etc. This helps to build a match between your solution and companies you wish to engage. Build on this concept and grow your customer base.

Don’t Pull the Trigger Just Yet

The last thing you want to do is have contact with a company without doing your homework. I believe in “prepare before approach.” With the economy still sputtering, you need to make the most of every contact. You cannot do this without knowing what the company does, what kind of pain they are experiencing and how your solution can help. You will only know this by planning. (Click here to see 5 daily tips) Get your plan together then get your sales manager’s approval. Why? It does two things. First, it shows you know how to plan and tackle a problem, and two, gets his buy-in in case things go awry. The last thing you want is to be on your own unsupported.

If nothing else I hope this gives you a foundation to build/rebuild a stronger sales strategy. If you find this of value or feel I missed the mark, please consider taking the time to comment. Many people can and will benefit from YOUR experience. Continuing to share your tips on what basics work for you will in the end, benefit us all.

Happy Selling!

Ed Warner

Categories
Sales Basics Sales Tips

5 Sales Tips to Practice Daily

Five different, but important tasks you can do Monday through Friday and watch how they begin to help.

  1. Stop the insanity– break the cycle and try something new everyday by Getting out of your comfort zone without losing control. Start small, and as your comfort level rises keep expanding outside of your comfort zone. Do something you have never done before or something not typical for you. It might take practice but that’s ok, just do it. Look for new ways of doing the same task like how you meet new customers…even take a different route to your car as you head home.
  2. Practice your value proposition– As you get ready for work, repeat the value proposition for your product line. Get it down to an mirrorart and make it as much your DNA as your skin. Try this… Look yourself in the mirror and convince “that person” your product is of value. If you cannot convince yourself, how are you going to convince a client?
  3. Stop being a salesperson– be the buyer for a change. What’s running through their head? What’s important to them? Do you know, or did you even ask? Your agenda does not translate into the customer’s agenda.  Recall when you were a buyer of a big ticket item. Did your priorities and agenda coincide with the salesperson? More likely they did not. Make your product a must have, not a nice to have.
  4. Become a psychic– Well maybe not really, but having the ability to read and understand a customer is invaluable. Study the art of psychicnon-verbal communications and use it to your advantage. It really does work. Practice using this in informal gatherings. It will also polish your observational skills. Most sales people regard this as  low priority to learn, yet it is high on their list of “wanna do’s.”
  5. Refocus your efforts– While this is may not be a daily activity, focus on the 20%-30% of customers that have the highest percentage of closing. This may mean taking a hard, honest look at your pipeline. This may also mean altering your strategy rather than waiting for the account review meetings to do it for you. At a minimum, refocus on your pipeline on a weekly basis.

As always, let me know if you find these of value.  Contact Me and let me know your thoughts.

Happy Selling!

Ed Warner