Bill Rice Internet Marketing > sales force

Effectively Following Up On Sales Leads

June 18, 2009 By

The old adage that the sale is in the follow-up has never been more accurate in today’s marketplace. Businesses are suffering and finding new customers can be an expensive chore. However, by working on your pipeline management techniques and finding new ways to create leads, you can stay on top of this economy and start to see some definite results.

Sales Leads Process

Whenever you’re dealing with sales leads, you’ll need to have an effective sales process in order to manage them properly. If you do not have a sales manager, it is even more important to take the time to develop a process that is going to take you from start to finish in the easiest means possible.

You have enough to do without having to worry about what’s going on with your leads and your sales team and taking the time to handle pipeline management now will free you up in the future to handle the day to day needs of your business, while your sales are moving smoothly.

Utilizing a leads CRM system can help this process go even more smoothly, especially if you are dealing with numerous sales leads. By having a software application that can assign priority, send reminders for customer follow-ups and help you manage your sales team more effectively, you can guarantee that your sales department will function more smoothly.

Setting up a System That Works

Each company is different and you’re going to have different needs when it comes to organizing your team. The important thing to focus on is what works for your company, not necessarily what may work for another. There will be a time where you will need to test different strategies to see which ones work the best for your organization.

Pipeline management is most effective when you have a dedicated team that knows what they are doing. Do your best to make sure that the learning curve of how you handle leads is easy to understand and make your expectations clear. This will help your sales process immeasurably.

Customer Follow Up Schedules

Whether you decide to use a CRM system to schedule follow-ups or you are doing it the old fashioned way, figuring out which team members will be assigned to these tasks is an important step. You’ll want to put your best and most persuasive sales members on these calls. Don’t make the mistake of handing this off to an inexperienced sales person.

Scheduling the frequency of follow-ups is another important step to ensure your success. You don’t want them to forget about you, but you don’t want to be a nuisance either. Since some industries are more competitive than others, you’ll need to test what length of time works best for your specific organization.

Putting it Together

Your company can only be successful if you keep adding new clients and prospecting for sales. Having the right pipeline and the right lead management techniques is a vital part of this system and should never be overlooked.

Filed Under: Sales Management Tagged With: crm, Lead Management, pipeline management, sales force, sales leads

Motivating a Sales Team

June 15, 2009 By

At a time when sales are so important to companies, having an effective sales team has never been more vital. No one team is perfect, but it will only be as strong as its weakest member. If you would like to see an increase in your sales, there are specific steps that you can take to improve sales performance and motivate your team more effectively.

Sales Force Motivation: 5 Steps

Step 1 – Find the Strengths of Each Member. Your sales management staff should be able to assist you in determining the strengths and weaknesses of each individual team member. If you manage them on your own, you should already have a pretty good idea of what they can and cannot do. Take the time to study their past performance and put together a graph that shows how well they are doing. Having it in front of you in black and white makes a big difference.

Step 2 – Pick a Sales Goal. Before you start sales motivation, it is important to take a look at what you hope to accomplish. Your business is about more than just closing deals and if you are looking to create long term relationships with your clients, or if you need to see a specific amount of sales, this will need to be worked into your overall goal. Once you have an idea of what your team will be striving for, it will be easier to divide up the work.

Step 3 – Find Their Motivation. Unfortunately, motivating an entire team is not a one size fits all solution. Some may be motivated by monetary gains, while others would rather work towards another tangible goal. The key is having something tangible that has a high perceived value. No one wants to put in extra effort to win something that they could get elsewhere.

Step 4 – Set up a Timeline. In order to increase sales performance, you’re going to need to have a timeline and share this with your team. If the promotion will be ongoing and you don’t mind keeping up the incentives, then you can leave this open ended. However, most employees work best when they have a specific goal to meet and a specific time in which to do it.

Step 5 – Provide Individual Help. Some team members may need additional guidance and support in order to perform at their peak level. Have your sales management staff monitor team members to see if anyone is having difficulty meeting their goals. The sooner this issue is tackled, the less likely you will be to have to either fire a team member or have them quit. Since it’s easier to work with existing sales staff than train someone new, this is a great technique to utilize.

Sales motivation can be fun when your whole organization is working together towards a common goal. It helps increase employee morale and the benefits your organization can reap are numerous and more than just increased sales. If your company is struggling to make it in today’s tough economy, consider implementing these strategies.

Filed Under: Social Selling Tagged With: sales force, Sales Training, Social Selling

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