This month our
newsletter topic is Lead Generation and Sales Pipeline Management
There are some
customers that simply are not a good fit for you, for whatever
reason. Identifying this early and generating leads that more
closely conform to the kind of prospects who are a good fit
simply makes good business sense.
Having good leads
directly impacts sales productivity. In the increasingly tough
market, it's true that there are fewer opportunities, and prospects
seem more reluctant than ever to part with money.
Which makes it
more important to separate the good leads from the bad leads, and
spend all your effort chasing the quality prospects.
Defining a hot lead can
be a struggle. In fact, nearly half of all BtoB marketers (48
percent) tell Forrester Research that lead quality is a top concern.
Qualifying leads through a comprehensive lead-scoring model can
alleviate that issue. A formalized process alleviates confusion over
what constitutes a qualified lead. When scoring criteria is
developed jointly by marketing and sales, the hand-off is smoother
and the
outcome far more likely to be met with success. And with the right
approach and the right technology to implement the program, lead
scoring can deliver high ROI with limited effort.
Managing the sales
pipeline is one of the greatest challenges facing any company -
companies that address these challenges by implementing proper
procedures for inputting, measuring and taking action have a better
chance of surviving today's economy.
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How does your sales
force
measure up?
Are they ready to compete in the current economy?
Do you have a sales methodology?
Through clearer
processes and management controls, you can ensure that
resources are deployed where they will have the maximum
effect.
That means retaining
the right customers for longer, achieving the full range of
potential sales and depth of profitability from customer
relationships, as well as increasing the productivity of
your sales, marketing and customer service staff. To
achieve this, management will have to do the following:
- Understand your sales force
- Track their activities
- Improve your sales force
- Forecast your revenue
- Manage their expectations
- Increase your revenue
and profits
Sales are the lifeblood of your company. But forecasting and
managing sales can be difficult. Typically, there is a lack
of information about the sales pipeline, it is hard to
predict the potential of customers, and tracking leads
through to sales is often difficult.
Customer relationship management introduces processes
and technologies that dramatically increase the productivity
of your sales force, making their work easier and more
rewarding and giving you more control. It gives your sales
force the benefit of having more knowledge about their
customers at their fingertips, and that knowledge, combined
with knowledge from other customer touch points around your
company, is leveraged to improve customer relationships and
their loyalty.
Lead Generation is the lifeblood of any company.
Marketing plays a substantial role in the generation of
leads. This process can vary from company to company,
but follows in general the same routine:
-
Identify your target market - Are you targeting your
existing customers on a certain product usage, or are
you searching your database for non-product users, based
on certain criteria
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Decide on the form of marketing - email
flyers/advertisements, event, e.g. launches or golf
days, fax communication, or tele-researchers phoning
from your office
-
Use Custrack's marketing module to create your target
audience from your market - printing leads, sending
'bulk' email via email or fax, or use the extensive
event management module to run the golf day of launch.
-
Use the contact management module to follow up on any
communication sent out by fax or email.
-
Log any responses, and then send marketing and sales
documentation to any respondees.
-
Log a sales opportunity for any identified and qualified
leads, in order to generate quotations and proposals.
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Pipeline
Management
In today's highly competitive
marketplace, the ability to effectively manage the company's sales
pipeline can have a profound effect on a company's financial health.
Selling through a direct sales force, resellers, telesales or
through the web, most companies find it extremely difficult to
channel the combination of all these sales into an effective
pipeline and revenue forecast.
How do we then prevent the occurrence of valuable sales data turning
into haphazard 'thumb suck' forecasts? By implementing a properly
defined sales methodology, the inconsistent way of inputting and
representing of sales data can be avoided, and a consolidated view
of the pipeline and forecast can be obtained. Ensure that the sales people obtain and understand the following:
- Sales people must be provided with qualified opportunities.
- Capture quantitative and qualitative information about every
opportunity.
- Early stages of an opportunity must be recorded - it is often in
this stage that an opportunity gets lost.
- The sales cycle of each opportunity must be recorded properly -
the closure rate of a sales representative can be invaluable for the
sales manager to determine where possible problems can arise.
- Develop forecast from multiple perspectives - by allocating
properly defined 'percent chance of success' to an opportunity in a
specific sales stage, and allocating realistic sales targets for
each sales representative, the sales manager can obtain realistic
pipeline and forecasts for each sales representative, over certain
financial periods.
- Translate forecasts into action - by determining where potential
shortfalls may occur, preventative actions can be taken - was the
underlying cause weak demand, poor closure rates, poor sales
execution or poor product line, or better competitor activity.
- Ensure that part of
this sales process includes recording of all contacts made with
the prospect - all phone calls, e-mails, letters, quotations
etc. This ensures a smooth and continuous communication with the
prospect throughout the process
CLM and Citrix Online conducted a survey in early 2008, using a
completed online survey of 144 individuals who are responsible for
marketing in their organisations.
The following marketing
hurdles were highlighted as being major challenges for business
marketers:
- Positioning the
organisation ahead of the competition
- Marketing with a
limited budget
- Increasing the
effectiveness of online marketing.
Interestingly, 38% of
business marketers stated that positioning their business ahead of
the competition is a major area of concern.
The following marketing
tactics were highlighted as being used more often or as a key part
of the marketing strategy moving forward:
- Email Marketing
- Web Site Marketing
- In-Person Seminars
- Partner Marketing
- Webinars
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The following marketing
tactics were highlighted as being used less often or not being part
of the marketing mix:
- Direct Mail
- Trade Shows
- Telemarketing
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Companies traditionally
operate sales and marketing independently. But today’s savvy
executives know that uniting sales and marketing is critical for a
fast time to market. Entwine sales and marketing with Custrack and
be a winner! |
