8 steps to prioritizing your marketing and sales efforts
- Start with your current list. Ever hear the old phrase, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”? Well, in this...
- Focus on your existing online traffic. Just as in step one, this philosophy is simple and straightforward: Play to...
- Ramp up your customer experience. Once the money changes hands,...
- 1) Leverage your existing customer base. ...
- 2) Analyze the growth of your target companies. ...
- 3) Pinpoint which industries are best for your offering.
How to prioritize your sales prospects?
Prioritize your sales prospects with “lead scoring.” A Sirius Decisions blog defines lead scoring as “…a methodology used to rank prospects against a scale that represents the perceived value each lead represents to the organization.”
How do you prioritize your sales calls?
To be a top producer, prioritize your sales calls by following up with existing customers and reinforcing your relationships with top prospects. Meet their needs first. Then build your new business strategy around prospects’ qualifications, needs, and potential.
Do top salespeople prioritize clients and clients automatically?
It may seem as though top salespeople can prioritize automatically but a great deal of thought usually goes into assigning priorities to sales prospects and clients – even if those thoughts are occurring simultaneously with other tasks. Following are three reliable ways that top salespeople prioritize their clients and prospects.
What factors determine sales prospects for top salespeople?
The potential business is another important factor in prioritizing sales prospects for top salespeople.
How do salesperson prioritize prospects?
To be a top producer, prioritize your sales calls by following up with existing customers and reinforcing your relationships with top prospects. Meet their needs first. Then build your new business strategy around prospects' qualifications, needs, and potential.
How do you approach sales prospects?
10 trending tips for sales prospectingCreate an ideal prospect profile. ... Identify ways to meet your ideal prospects. ... Actively work on your call lists. ... Send personalized emails. ... Ask for referrals. ... Become a know-it-all. ... Build your social media presence. ... Send relevant content to prospects.More items...•
What are the methods of approaching prospects?
Top 5 Methods of ProspectingReferrals. Referral prospecting simply means prospecting through people that you know, your existing contacts, clients or business partners. ... Content Marketing. Content marketing is the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling. ... Networking. ... Email Marketing.
What are 3 prospecting techniques?
THE TOP 3 PROSPECTING METHODSAsking For Referrals.Reference Selling.Cold Calling.
What are the four prospecting methods?
Four Prospecting ApproachesInbound — Following up to a hand-raise received from a mobile app, website, send you an email etc.Outbound — Reaching out to people who are a fit/have a pain your business can impact.Target — Reaching out to those you have established, you can impact their business.More items...•
What is the best prospecting method?
14 of the Best Sales Prospecting TechniquesMake Cold Calls. ... Create an Effective Script. ... Never Stop Prospecting. ... Pursue Qualified Leads. ... Leverage Marketing Automation Tools. ... Benefit from Referrals. ... Be an Industry Thought Leader. ... Produce Monthly Webinars.More items...
What is prospecting pre approach and approach?
2. Pre-Approach: The next step to prospecting and qualifying is pre-approach. At this stage the salesperson needs to decide as to how to approach the prospective customer. The salesperson may make a personal visit, a phone call or send a letter, based on the convenience of the prospects.
How do I approach a prospect for the first time?
Let's have a look at five ways to reach out to a prospect for the first time.Email Outreach. Emailing your prospects first ensures an obligation-free start to the conversation. ... Giving them a Call. ... Social Media Outreach. ... Forget Cold Outreach. ... More Conversation, Less Selling.
How do you approach a sales client?
How To Approach Customers? 10 Ways to Approach Customers1) Identify your client.2) Advertisement.3) Display places.4) Mouth publicity.5) Offer free samples.6) Know your business inside out.7) Position yourself as the answer.8) Follow up.More items...•
What are the 9 techniques of prospecting?
Here are the 9 sales prospecting techniques for finding (and converting) your dream customers.Identify Your Dream Customer. ... Understand Your Value Ladder. ... Find (and Infiltrate) Your Dream 100. ... Stop Cold Calling. ... Start With a Sales Funnel. ... Use Follow-Up Funnels. ... Build an Affiliate Army. ... Use a CRM.More items...•
How do you approach cold prospects?
Talk with the person, compliment them, get their contact information, meet with them, and set up exposure after exposure – all of that is building a relationship with them. You are building trust. And when they trust you, they are more likely to sign with you. So, never prospect your cold market immediately.
How do I approach a prospect for the first time?
Let's have a look at five ways to reach out to a prospect for the first time.Email Outreach. Emailing your prospects first ensures an obligation-free start to the conversation. ... Giving them a Call. ... Social Media Outreach. ... Forget Cold Outreach. ... More Conversation, Less Selling.
How do you communicate with a prospect?
Best Practices for Improving Communication With a ProspectListen More, Talk Less. Similar to a first date, you can't do all of the talking. ... Subtle Clues are Just as Important. ... Avoid the 21 Questions Game. ... Follow Up, But Respect Their Time. ... If You Play Your Cards Right, You're Not Really “Asking for the Sale”
What are the basic steps in the prospecting process?
How to Create a Sales Prospecting Process That WorksStep 1: Do industry and market research. ... Step 2: Get to know your ideal customer. ... Step 3: Build a list. ... Step 4: Establish your communication channels. ... Step 5: Start the conversation. ... Step 6: Review your results and adjust accordingly.More items...•
What are the steps in prospecting?
Steps in Prospecting – Prospecting steps1) Formulating Prospect Definitions.2) Searching Out Potential Accounts.3) Qualifying prospects and Determining Probable Requirements.4) Relating Company Products to Each Prospect's Requirements.
Why is it important to prioritize sales prospecting calls?
A good calling strategy will help you keep existing customers happy and close as much new business as possible.
Why do salespeople prioritize their contacts?
Because time and resources are limited, top salespeople analyze their opportunities, target their markets, and segment their prospects. So, before picking up the phone, prioritize your contacts and call list.
Why is it important to have a good calling strategy?
A good calling strategy will help you keep existing customers happy and close as much new business as possible. Because time and resources are limited, top salespeople analyze their opportunities, target their markets, and segment their prospects. So, before picking up the phone, prioritize your contacts and call list.
Why do sales reps use lead qualification?
Top sales reps use lead qualification to help them set their calling strategy. Here are three questions to ask.
How to shorten the sales cycle?
Your company will have a strong track record to support your call and a message – including statistics and case studies –to help you make your case. Tackling these leads first may help you shorten your average sales cycle.
What is the probability of repeat business?
According to Marketing Metrics, you have a 60-70 percent chance of selling to your customer base, but only a 5-20 percent probability of selling to a new prospect.
How to be a top producer?
To be a top producer, prioritize your sales calls by following up with existing customers and reinforcing your relationships with top prospects. Meet their needs first. Then build your new business strategy around prospects’ qualifications, needs, and potential .
Why do salespeople spend their days responding to customers?
Other salespeople allow their days to be controlled by the problems, interests, and whims of their customers without regard to their potential . They spend all day responding and reacting to whoever is on the phone or asking for their time. Again, there is a place for this, but those salespeople who allow this reaction to customer inquiries to shape their days are not working smart.
How to leverage your relationship?
You can leverage your relationships more easily in larger, high-potential accounts. Get one person on your side, advocating for you, and he/she can spread the good word about you quickly to half a dozen people. It is like the pebble dropped into the lake causing ripples to move outward from the center. Your good contact is like the pebble, spreading every increasing ripple of good press about you. Get one good small account person on your side, and they don’t tell anyone, because there is no one to tell. A pebble dropped into a glass of water won’t make ripples for long because there isn’t enough water around it. You can’t leverage your relationship like you can in larger accounts.
What are the components of potential?
Potential, as we define it above, is comprised of two components; quantified purchasing capability (QPC), and partnerability.
What is high potential?
High potential is the ratio of the likelihood of dollars received compared to the amount of time invested in order to achieve those dollars. Let’s look at two accounts.
What is a plus and minus in sales?
Plusses are characteristics or behaviors of the account which increase the likelihood of the account developing into a partner. Minuses are the opposite – characteristics or behaviors of the account that decrease the likelihood that it will one day develop into a partner .
Written By
Mikal E. Belicove is a market positioning, social media, and management consultant specializing in website usability and business blogging. His latest book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Facebook, is now available at bookstores.
Mikal E. Belicove
Mikal E. Belicove is a market positioning, social media, and management consultant specializing in website usability and business blogging. His latest book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Facebook, is now available at bookstores.
How to prioritize prospects?
Although top salespeople qualify all prospects before dedicating the time to calling and following up, some prospects may be more qualified than others. By spending time pre-qualifying outbound leads, top salespeople save time and are able to determine which prospects should be called first by how well qualified they are to buy. Top salespeople will look at the following parameters to prioritize prospects by qualification: 1 The position in the organization that a prospect holds. A senior manager or vice president is well-qualified to make a buying decision and begin a meaningful sales conversation. 2 The industry that the prospect is in. Part of qualification is basing future activity on past sales. An industry segment that is a reliable sales source is usually more promising than industry segments that have not been as likely to buy in the past. 3 The likely need. Top salespeople are masters of pre-qualifying based on an organization’s likely needs, and can call prepared with questions and sales approaches that can be further tailored to the individual prospect as the sales dialogue unfolds.
What is the priority list for salespeople?
However, which client should be next on the priority list: The client who is asking about offerings that are still available but may not be in the near future, or the client who is asking about a new offering in a conversation that the sales person initiated? Most top salespeople would prioritize the recent client calling about the new offering, because that individual is a hot lead. The long term repeat client may not be able to purchase what he or she is asking about, and seems to be calling for informational purposes – meaning the interest level is also colder than that of the more recent client, and not as great a priority.
Why is it important to prioritize clients?
Prioritizing clients and prospects is key to generating reliable sales numbers. It may seem as though top salespeople can prioritize automatically but a great deal of thought usually goes into assigning priorities to sales prospects and clients – even if those thoughts are occurring simultaneously with other tasks.
What is a top salesperson?
Top salespeople are masters of pre-qualifying based on an organization’s likely needs, and can call prepared with questions and sales approaches that can be further tailored to the individual prospect as the sales dialogue unfolds .
Can you call less qualified prospects during the week?
However, if a sales person who has a well-managed schedule finds time during the week to call the less qualified sales prospects, you can be sure to find him or her doing so in order to not lose any prospective sale.
Do top salespeople prioritize prospects?
Although top salespeople qualify all prospects before dedicating the time to calling and following up , some prospects may be more qualified than others. By spending time pre-qualifying outbound leads, top salespeople save time and are able to determine which prospects should be called first by how well qualified they are to buy. Top salespeople will look at the following parameters to prioritize prospects by qualification:
1. Define MQLs
A marketing qualified lead (or MQL) is a lead who is very likely to become a customer based on some key data points. For example, if that lead’s demographic information matches current customers, or if the lead has been reviewing various pages of your website for several days.
2. Establish a System
Establish other criteria you care to record and create a system for assigning points. For example, every time you talk to a prospect on the phone, that prospect gets assigned X number of points. At this stage, you’re just deciding what activity and characteristics earn what number of points.
3. Assign Actions to point Values
When a lead reaches a certain point threshold, it may be time for your sales staff to set a meeting or touch base more frequently. The final stage is to delineate which sales actions should be taken at various point levels to advance a sale through your funnel.
How to offer upsells?
For instance, if they purchase a pair of sunglasses, sell them a microfiber cleaning cloth. If they purchase software, offer premium support. By continuing to give great value to your customers, you will ensure an ongoing relationship and an increase in revenue.
What is the best way to achieve your goals?
Breaking apart your marketing funnel into digestible “bites” is the best way to achieve your goals and see success. CRM and marketing automation software such as Keap are essential tools to have at your disposal when seeking to grow your sales and marketing success.
What are the biggest obstacles for entrepreneurs looking to grow their small business?
One of the biggest obstacles for entrepreneurs looking to grow their small business is automating their sales and marketing processes. A lot of small business owners and marketers will go through the motions and do sales and marketing “things.” However, these are often fragmented, inconsistent, and fail to mesh together to create an intentional customer journey and conversion machine. It can be an extremely overwhelming endeavor for even the most seasoned of entrepreneurs.
How to make your customers happy?
Happy customers make for multiplying sales. Once you’ve delighted the socks off of your current customers, it only makes sense to see if they have any friends or family members who might be interested. Offer an incentive for qualified referrals. Use satisfaction surveys to easily identify your most satisfied purchasers, then ask them to contribute. You’ll be surprised how many new customers may turn up if you’ll only ask.
What is the trap of salespeople?
In the race to make a big sale, salespeople fall into the trap of focusing on prospect size, not quality. On the surface, it may seem more profitable to pursue only the largest deals, but you need to remember to maintain a diverse mix of large and small prospects to keep the sales funnel full.
Is it intimidating to approach a prospect?
Just like approaching someone interesting for the first time, approaching a prospect may be a little intimidating. But with a thought-out plan and some confidence, you will come across as knowledgeable and confident, and that may be all you need to get your foot in the door.
How Do You Prioritize Sales Activities?
A simple way to optimize sales activities is to take a review of the tasks performed by your sales teams on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Assess what tasks they do that directly relate to sales focus and look to delegate other non-sales focussed tasks out to other areas of the business.
How to source new sales opportunities?
Source new sales opportunities through inbound lead follow-up and outbound cold calls and emails
What is the best way to increase sales in a company?
So as a company, one of the main areas you need to prioritize is respecting your inside sales staff, remunerating them sufficiently and training managers to manage them effectively. An inside sales team that is happy, working hard and intending to stick around will be a major asset for the company , this alone will increase sales.
What is the most important function in sales?
It’s your inside sales team that establishes that first rapport with the customer. If done correctly, and then followed through by other staff means sales reps have an easier time. That is the most important function and it takes skill to do it.
How to do inside sales?
Inside Sales Team Activities 1 Source new sales opportunities through inbound lead follow-up and outbound cold calls and emails 2 Understand customer needs and requirements 3 Route qualified opportunities to the appropriate sales executives for further development and closure 4 Close sales and achieve quarterly quotas 5 Research accounts, identify key players and generate interest 6 Maintain and expand your database of prospects within your assigned territory 7 Team with channel partners to build pipeline and close deals 8 Perform effective online demos to prospects
What are some examples of inside sales teams?
An example of this is the software technology arena, Software as a service (SaaS) and Software development companies in general, who re ly not only on repeat business but new business in order to continue growth. So we’re going to use that as our example.
Why is inside sales important?
The top three reasons cited were “dissatisfaction with the competitiveness of compensation package, manager quality and the degree of respect the organization shows employees.”
