With the average lead needing up to 8 touches before converting to a sale how well is your business performing on your prospecting and conversion metrics? Do you know what your average conversion time is – 6 months, 18 months, 2 years and are you executing accordingly?
Are you really putting the valuable deep and connecting work into your leads or just looking for more and more leads in the hope that something will land?
With a great conversion plan offering a value based proposition 8 touches/actions can be reduced to 5. How do your actions execute? are they thought out, planned, polished, customer focused, empathetic, relevant, complimentary to each other and are you building rapport and education with each execution?
Are you inclined to detail features and specifications (flog products) or do you take the time to convert those to benefits and value for the client-in-waiting (give value). The exercise of taking the “we have XX feature” to their side of the fence and making it a “becomes xxxx for you…”(insert the benefit of the feature here) is time well spent in a “feature/benefit workshop” with a flipchart and your team present for a brainstorming session.
Do you start a 2-way communication by asking questions and getting into conversations? Do you know how your contact feels, what their issues are at this moment, what they are immediately needing to solve – or is it just an enquiry to buy that you are initiating. Great sales performers are really curious and really want to make their contacts life better.
Without asking questions – how can you know where they are so you can position your service or product as the solution (if indeed it is their solution at this point in time). It maybe is just not thee right time now but if you prevent the conversation from being simply transactional (yes/no) and get it to a deeper level you will be the brand they turn to when they are ready to buy what your “thing” solves for your client.
Do you have a list of common “sticking points” that you dread coming up in conversation. Well why not take time to discuss them and come up with solutions and ways to tackle them positively. Another brainstorm with the team and a flipchart. Could they be part of your FAQs part of your website. We all have “unmentionable” stuff that we would rather not have to talk about but get planned for it so it just becomes something to cover and not to labour on or dread. What’s more your gold might be in this murky area, I am a big fan of exploring where the resistance is, usually its just a fear or story in your head when if you go in deeper has no legs but other times going in deeper gives great insight, inspiration and opportunity.
Good luck with balancing lead generation and honing your conversion work. I love all elements of this area of business so please contact me if I can be of assistance. I am Laura Greenwood of Your Lead Generation, guiding business owners to convert connections to leads and create strategies to convert leads to sales. Am I for your business? we could have a 15 minute call to find out or alternatively email me laura@yourleadgeneration.co.uk, phone 07703 520490
