Converting a fresh lead into a new client is one of the most rewarding parts of running a business. Hundreds of books have been written on how to convert leads into sales. Here are 6 tips that will not only help you close more often, but also help you be more efficient in your sales process.
Tip #1: Be a First Responder
Once your company received a lead, the clock is ticking! The more time your sales team takes to contact a lead, the less likely a lead will close to a final sale. That who reach out to a lead within an hour are 7x more likely to have a meaningful conversation with the lead. Do not let a lead sit uncontacted for more than a day or two. The lead will go cold. The longer you wait, the more likely the lead has either moved on to one of your competitors or has lost interest in exploring more. Be the first mover.
Tip #2: Invest in CRM or a Lead Management System
If you’re a larger business, consider investing in a CRM system like SalesForce or HubSpot. This provides you a system of developing potential customers from the first contact to recurring, loyal customers. If your company is on a shoestring budget, an inexpensive scheduling software may be better for you. Look for one that adds appointments to your calendar and automates email and text reminders. sends prospects automated email reminders and text. This will help you lower the number of “no shows” so that you can make better use of your time and move more qualified prospects down the pipeline.
Tip #3: Connect the Prospect’s Need with your Product/Service
When a prospect reaches out to you, remember that they’re dealing with a problem that they need fixed. Put on your detective hat. Listen closely and try to discover their core need and why they reached out to you specifically. Then connect your services and abilities with that particular need. It sounds simple, but the best salespeople are good listeners. They listen first and then match the right solutions to the right problem after understanding their pain points. It also establishes trust and rapport with the client.
Tip #4: Qualify Your Leads
Not every lead will be the right fit for the services and solutions that your company provides. You’ll want to qualify leads both on the marketing side AND on the sales side. Good marketing should target the right audience, but even the best marketing can sometimes attract the wrong leads. Marketing can further qualify leads by screening candidates by essential criteria before they’re shared with the sales team. And once the sales team received them, these leads should be further qualified so make sure they’re a good fit. This should be done early in the initial call to make sure you don’t waste the prospects time… or yours.
Tip #5: Track Everything
By keeping track of a lead throughout the sales process, you avoid letting them fall through the cracks. Leads are expensive and systematizing the process will help you protect your investments in them. It is critical to monitor their journey from when their information is first received until it either converts into a sale or filters off. We recommend breaking up your sales process into various categories so that the most focus can be put on those who are nearest to the close. This will also make reporting and analysis much faster and more productive.
Tip #5: Start and Close Strong
Very rarely will the first point of contact result in a sale. It’s important to establish rapport, qualify the prospect, understand the need, and then educate and build trust. Your time is valuable to you as it is with the prospect so focus on the essential and most things forward. In order to help reduce the time to the close, consider providing incentives to the client for moving sooner rather than later. Understand who the decision makers are and involve them early so that you can attain full company buy in.
Growing a business can be a challenge. Efficiently converting leads to loyal customers is an essential part of that strategy. By following these tips, you can improve the production of your sales funnel while minimizing waste within the sales process. For more tips on how to build a lead generation funnel or on how to convert leads to paying customers, send us an email.