Sales teams are the engines that keep businesses running, and sales leads are the engine’s fuel. 

What has changed is the way sales team connects with leads. Gone are the days of door-to-door salespeople, cold calling.  Not to say it can not be done, but success rates have plummeted and its extremely difficult to connect with larger business customers on this basis.

 A Paradigm Shift That Keeps the Leads Coming

In the past, sales teams worked hard to generate leads. They went door to door, made cold calls, and used face-to-face relationship-building techniques to connect with prospective customers. 

This is the way leads were generated because sales leads would be limited without these techniques. It wasn’t every day that a prospective customer stumbled upon a company.

 That’s mostly changed in today’s world, where information about products and services is only the click of the mouse away.

A paradigm shift in how sales teams approach the generation of leads has taken place. Sales teams no longer have to turn over every rock or shake every branch to generate leads. In many ways, control of the lead-generating process rests very much in the hands of the consumers in today’s business world.

 In many instances, prospective customers don’t want sales professionals calling them. They now actively seek the information, research products and services, engage with brands online, and then reach out to sales representatives for more information.

Today, leads come from websites, digital platforms, insight sales people and other platforms such as these.

For some more on what has changed click here: http://blue-oceans-consulting.co.za/dont-ignore-these-stats-in-your-sales-approach/

Maximising Messages to Fuel the Funnel

Because consumers are now doing much of the legwork for sales teams and essentially pre-qualifying themselves as leads, it’s important for a company to put the most compelling information in front of as many people as possible.

 This means maximising marketing messages online to be:

• Optimised
• Properly segmented, so it is relevant to consumers based on geography, language, and culture
• Up-to-date with the latest information about products and services
• Easily accessible
• Ready to facilitate the next step in the sales process, which occurs when today’s prospective customers self-identify themselves as “leads” and proactively reach out to the sales professionals

 These are the steps organisations need to take in order to maximise messages and fuel the “sales-lead funnel.” But the work will be futile if not combined with a program to quickly and appropriately fulfil value propositions once customers reach out — and that means working with an experienced, trusted Telecom Sales Partner. 

The Secret Weapon

Today’s consumers have high expectations. Not only are companies expected to make high-quality sales and marketing content available online, but also to be readily available via telephone, email, instant messaging, and video conferencing — in an instant, regardless of geography.

If organizations are not able to immediately respond to prospective customers, it is possible that there will never be a sale. Prospective customers quickly move on to the next organization.

A high-quality, experienced Sales Partner can create a system that allows sales teams to instantly connect with prospects, make successful conversions, and help companies grow.

 Your own sales generating force

When combining all of the digital platforms with “Insight Selling”, you start delivering messages to your customers even before they want to buy.

Some interesting statistics:  

In a recent study:

Only 39% of executives said that they find sellers valuable, as most buyers simply don't find sellers valuable.

47% Of buyers said they wanted to engage with sellers when they were searching for insight or valuable info on what to do and what options are possible for achieving their goals. We need to be in he buyers minds, on their radar and give advise even before we call them the first time!

When a buyer sees a seller as valuable, they're more likely to involve them earlier in the process.

What is Insight Selling?

“Insight sellers share new ideas and perspectives with their buyers, and they collaborate with buyers to develop the best solutions. They don’t just sell the value of their products and services, they become the value.”

 Key attributes of an insight seller:

1. Educate clients with new ideas and perspectives
2. Collaborate with clients
3. Persuade clients that they will achieve results

The common thread; they’re all about ideas.

When you start becoming an insight seller, things will change. Buyers will see you as different and more professional than your competitors. This is an art and there are many ways in which you can become an insight seller. Certain platforms such as LinkedIn, allows for your “insights” to reach future customers and by the time you meet these prospects, business will become easier.

It will no longer be a conversation where you have to answer 1 million questions about who you are or what you do, but the conversation might start with the prospect saying; "I like what you said about XYZ in your post, tell me more."

Another weapon

Asking Power Questions when meeting with clients.

We should stop the boring sales conversations and start interacting on a professional level. Power questions are designed to extract the right information and get prospects thinking about things they never did before. This allows for presentations to be inline with the prospects needs and drives sales that have both depth and understanding for the prospects life and business.

For some advise on using power questions click here: http://blue-oceans-consulting.co.za/stop-asking-potential-buyers-these-irritating-questions-rather-do-this/ 

Times have changed for sales people and they need to adapt and become the value.

 About BOC

For a free consultation on how to Sky-Rocket your sales in 2016, click here: http://blue-oceans-consulting.co.za/get-the-sales-breakthrough-you-need-in-2016/ 

I help sales people find order in this chaotic life of sales. 

With a sales career spanning over 25 years, focused on high-end customers and corporate sales, I coach,  and drive performance that helps organisations improve sales.  I’ve studied the top sales "Rainmakers" and organisations from around the globe for the past 20 years, and helped sales executives in many countries increase their overall abilities significantly.

Riaan Pietersen - Mobile: +27 (0) 73-686-3480

riaan@blue-oceans-consulting.co.za

www.blue-oceans-consulting.co.za