Lead Qualification

12/30/2014

What's the best way to reduce the cost of customer retention?

 

“If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it was, and always will be yours. If it never returns, it was never yours to begin with."  -  Sherrilyn Kenyon 

 

Too many companies spend too many resources trying to keep customers that they should never have sold to in the first place.    Many of those companies would be better-off shifting resources from trying to retain customers that are a poor fit, and use those resources to more carefully target and acquire customers that are a better fit for their offering.  These ideal customers value the offering more, and are therefore less likely to leave in the first place.

Square pegInvestors and strategists say  that one of the first things a start-up should do before going to market is define its value proposition and its ideal customer. And most ventures will do that.

But sales reps can be quick to ignore the ideal customer profile and sell to any prospect with an ability and willingness to pay.  An why shouldn't they?  A sale is a sale, a dollar is a dollar, and a commission is a commission, even if a sales rep sells a round hole to a square peg.

But here's the problem:  It takes time, money and effort to adjust a round hole to accomodate a square peg.  But if you only sell to round pegs, there's  no need to adjust the hole, and those resources are freed-up for more productive and profitable purposes - like sales and marketing intiatives to attract more round pegs). 

So how to solve the problem?

Re-focus your sales qualification from "Can we sell our product to this customer?" to "Should we sell our product to this customer?"  The traditional qualification process answers these four questions:

  1. Budget:  Does the prospect have funding avaialble?
  2. Authority:  Do we have access to the person with decision-making authority?
  3. Need:  Does the prospect have a need for our solution?
  4. Timing:  Does the prospect plan to buy now?

Adding a fifth criterion - Fit - will change the focus enough to assure that you're selling to the right customer:

     5.  Fit: Does the prospect match the criteria we've defined for our ideal customer?

By properly selecting each customer, you'll have happier customers and more advocates.  You'll also spend less on implementation, customer support and customer retention.  And that means more resources for attracting more of the right customers.

Why should you waste the effort driving square pegs into round holes, when a round peg is a better fit for your offering, and for your bottom line? 

Round pegs

Posted at 08:52 AM in Best Practices, Lead Qualification, Marketing Best Practices, Selling Skills | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

|

11/17/2014

2 Timeless Selling Skills from a Global Strategist & Political Analyst

This past weekend, I had the good fortune to attend t featuring Global Strategist and former Secretary of State Madelein Albright, and PBS News Hour commentator Mark Sheilds.

The stories, humor and wisdom that they shared was remarkable, and as I looked back on it, I realized that the best part of the wisdom is is that it can be applied to many areas of our personal and professional lives.

There are two pieces that stood out, because I've heard them frequently throughout my professional selling career, and yet, like many others, don't heed them as often as we hear them.  So let's look at them individually:

Madeline albright"If you want to be heard, you  must learn to listen."  

Madelein Albright was referring to the diplomatic exchanges she's had over the years, with foreign dignitaries, and adversaries.  The point was that your message is not likely to be heard by your audience, until you've invested time in listening to them.

Don't try to sell your product until you have a solid understanding of your prospect's situation.  And you won't have that understanding unless you listen; ask, then listen.  Then ask again, ask more questions, and listen to the answers until it's clear to both of you, that you understand the prospect.

This will give you two advantages:

  1. You'll know if and how your product will fit your prospect's situation.
  2. You'll have established credibility with your prospect by listening to her, and therefore,  she's more likely to hear what  you have to say.   

Your prospects will never hear you, until after you've listened to them.

Mark shieldsMark Shields was describing an interview he once had with a rather abrasive politician who'll go unnamed.  The politician asked Shields, "Why is it that some many people immediately dislike me, when they meet  me?"

Shields was quick to reply, "Because it saves them a lot of time."

The sales lesson here is to learn how to quickly qualify your prospects.   When your  time is your primary stock in trade, there's nothing worse than wasting it trying to sell to someone that's not qualified to buy from you.  

Ask the right questions of the right people early in the process, to determine if you  should spend more  time with them.  If you determine that the prospect isn't qualified, cut your losses, and move on.  But unlike an abrasive politician, you don't have to dislike the prospect. Keep the relationship positive,  because (unlike the personality of an abrasive politician!), a prospect's  situation may change!

How well do you  ask questions, and listen to your prospect, before telling them about your offering?

How well do you qualify your prospect early in the process, to determine if you should spend more time selling to them?

  Time is money

 

 

Posted at 05:42 PM in Communication, Lead Qualification, Selling Skills | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

|

12/14/2010

How to Warm Up Cold Calling - any time of the year.

A sales rep from ADT knocked on my front door this afternoon. 

He politely introduced himself.

Then he asked me if I'd heard of his company.

Then he told  me that he wasn't trying to sell me anything .

Then he told me about a special offer ADT was making this week - free installation of a security system.  

Then finally, he told me the thing that I was really cared about:  There was a burglary in the neighborhood recenlty.

By the time he metioned the burglary, he'd already lost me.   He could have captured my attention and kept it, but he lost me early on.

So, what are three things that you can do, to earn your cold calls a warmer reception?

1. Lead with the Lead. 
 Begin the conversation with the one thing that your prospect will most likely care about.  That's not you, it's not your company, and it's usually not your product either. For the ADP sales rep,  it was the news of a neighborhood burglary.    He should have lead off with that, but he didn't.  Journalists have an expression:  "Don't bury the lead!"  In other words, don't bury the most salient fact in the third of fourth paragraph.  Start your story with your best attention-grabber, and you'll have your prospect's attention immediatley, before they mentally move on.

2. Build a Bridge.
Carefully connect that Lead story with the reason for your offering.  The ADT rep might have said, "Because there was a burglary in the area, we're installing the sytsems at no cost in your neighborhood, so that you can be protected immediatly.  You'll only be responsible for the monthly service fee." Build a bridge from the Lead Story to your solution, then lead your prospect accross to safety.

3. Confirm the Concern.
Many sales reps will speak at length about their offerings, because they fear that if they stop  talking, they'll be rejected.  After you've presented the problem, confirm that the prospect is indeed concerned about it.  "May I ask what you think about this, Mr. Prospect?"  Qualify the prospect early on, and you won't waste anyone's time, if they're not qualified.  Besides, if they don't care, chances are you won't change their mind, so you may as well move on.

On the other hand, if you lead with your top story, then connect it to your solution, and confirm that the prospect is interested, the conversation can warm up quickly.   If it doesn't, move on.  Cold calling is as much about qualifying prospects, as it is about introducing solutions.

Frozen face 

Posted at 05:45 PM in Added Value, Lead Qualification, Selling Skills | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

|