No matter what size your company is, you need an effective system for managing sales leads. After you’ve managed to get new leads from your marketing efforts, you must manage them appropriately in order for them to translate into new sales. Many companies, especially small business owners fail to follow up on leads for one reason or another. Whether you don’t have adequate staffing or systematic approach to handle your leads, if you fail to follow up with people who may be interested in working with you, you’re simply leaving money on the table. Follow the 5 tips below for a few introductory measures to effectively manage leads in your business.
1. Determine Who Your Ideal Client Is –
Clearly defining who your target customers are is critical. Your sales and marketing efforts must coincide so that you are marketing and selling to the same target audience. To track your marketing efforts you also need to find out where every lead originated. Determining the lead source will help you to manage your marketing efforts better.
2. Collect Pertinent Prospect Information –
Determine the best way to gather initial information from your prospects. If you have an opt-in form on your website, typically name and email address are acceptable. However, if your sales team meets with prospects directly, you will want to ask more detailed questions to determine how they heard about your business and what product or service is of interest to them and why.
3. Master the Sale Process –
You must create a flow chart of the sales process from beginning to end. You must determine if the lead is cold, warm or hot. Determine if the prospect is simply a contact collecting data or the decision maker who is willing and ready to buy. Decide what happens initially when you get a lead. Who contacts the prospect first and when? Define your sales pitch to clearly describe the benefits of your product or service up front. Develop the process of how you go from marketing campaigns, to initial contact throughout the sales cycle and finally to the follow up. Allocate and designate certain people on your team for each step of the process. And if you don’t have a team, determine when you will complete each step of the process and give yourself time lines and deadlines.
4. Follow Up –
This is the easiest part of management sales leads and usually the reason why it is overlooked. You must have a follow-up system and a method for documenting your contact with every lead you get. In addition, it is critical to be quick on the draw. Studies show that response time when it comes to managing leads is critical. A popular study by Insidesales.com reveals that responding to a lead within 5 minutes gets exponential results versus delayed response. So quicker you respond to a lead the more likely you are to have a favorable outcome. The key is to get to the lead while it is hot.
5. Use a Lead Managing System-
Utilizing a lead management system has its benefits; not only will you be able to have all of your information in one place, you will be more organized. There are many options to choose from when it comes to managing leads. SalesForce and InfusionSoft are two of the more popular lead management and CRM systems. For a system to monitor your social media leads, you may want to consider Sprout Social. Compiling all of your leads in a central place will help you to follow up and keep you more accountable to measure and track your sales efforts as well as revenue generated from various marketing efforts.
Now over to you…
What are some of the ways you manage and track your leads? What has worked well for you in the past?
Your assignment:
Review your lead management system and write down 3 ways you will improve the process. The more you manage and nurture your leads, the better you will become at closing more new business and generating revenue for your company.
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This article is written by Lori A. Manns. Want to use this article for your website, blog or newsletter? No problem. Here’s what you must include: Lori A. Manns, CEO of Quality Media Consultant Group your marketing and sales success mentor, and founder of Marketing For Trailblazers™ & Sponsorship Sales Secrets System;™ that shows you how to get more sponsors and sales for your business, guaranteed. To purchase consulting services on marketing, advertising or sales and, learn how to increase your revenue and grow your business; please visit www.qualitymediaconsultants.com.