Getting sales people to follow-up sales leads has been one of management’s long time challenges. There are a number of reasons why. Here is a list of 10 devine things that can be done to address the ”sins” that impede lead follow-up success.
1. Generate the most qualified leads possible.
Marketers too often look for quantity not quality. Inquiries by definition are 
not sales leads. Special promotional offers to ”receive a free widget” may generate more raw inquiries, but, typically, these offers produce the the most unqualified leads. Instead, skip the drawings and ask booth visitors at your trade shows about their specific needs, application and problems. Promote specific user benefits in advertising and direct mail. Include qualifying survey questions in your email campaigns and in your website forms. When you can provide your sales people with better qualified leads, you will get more and better follow-up results.
2. Don’t give your sales people more leads than they can effectively manage.
Websites can generate large numbers of leads and trade shows can generate surges of lead volumes that can overwhelm most sales people. Management should do it’s best to moderate the flow of leads to their sales people to ensure they have enough time to properly follow-up. A lead rating system can help sales people prioritize leads and follow-up on the most urgent and promising ones.
3. Provide an easy-to-use lead management program.
Sales people are busy and their time is valuable. They don’t like spending their time trying to remember how to use complex or confusing lead management or CRM software programs. Most want to spend their time selling. So look to implement a program that provides simple and easy-to-use functionality for addressing your needs. The easier your CRM/LMS system is to use the more likely it will be used.
4. Educate your sales force.
Sales people often ignore leads out of ignorance of their value and from their displeasure over the number of unqualified leads they receive. Selling is a qualified numbers game. Research it shows that it takes an average of 5 calls to close 1 sale. Sales people need to be educated about sales lead value, follow-up technigues, marketing strategy, tactics and costs in order to optimally follow-up and convert leads to sales.
Marketing’s is to generate interest and support the sales effort. This sales support and “prospecting” activity is expensive. Marketing helps the sales person sell more efficiently and effectively. Show them how and chances are you will win them over.
Footnote: A report by the CMO Council and Business Performance Management Forum found that out of 800 senior marketing and mid-level executives, only 7% said their sales and marketing departments work together effectively. 30% -45% of leads that were not considered viable opportunities by the sales team actually became sales ready opportunities within 12-months.
5. Set realistic expectations & goals.
When expectations are unattainable failure is certain. Is it realistic to require a sales person to meet face-to-face with every prospect? No! Is it realistic to require a salesperson to phone every prospect who requests a sales call? Absolutely!
Examine your lead volume per sales person, lead quality, location, cost per call, and average customer lifetime value in order to establish realistic follow-up expectations. Involve your sales force in developing a lead follow-up formula and standards that that makes sense for your company. When expectations are attainable they can be met and results improved!
6. Provide follow-up technique training.
Sales people often receive little formal sales training. Does your company provide training in “consultative selling”, time & territory management, competitive analysis, lead qualification, a effective sales lead follow-up?If your follow-up calls consist of , “Did youreceive the information we sent?” and “Is there anything else you need?” it is simply not enough!
Effective follow-up calls should at minimum include the following questions:
- What prompted your inquiry?
- What application did you have in mind?
- What problem are you trying to solve?
- What are you currently using for this application?
- What are your purchase plans?”
Drawing out answers to these questions enables sales people to plan their calls an to sell more effectively. “Literature collectors” are rarely that. Sales people who develop effective follow-up techniques learn more about their prospects needs, how to best meet them and who they are competing with. That information can lead to more effective sales calls and better results.
7. Implement reporting tools to monitor follow-up performance.
A recent major study on Marketing ROI found that 68% of marketers were unable to determine the ROI of their initiatives.
Another study by the CMO Council found that less than 20% of top technology marketers surveyed had developed “meaningful, comprehensive measures and metrics for their marketing organizations.” Management needs to know how sales people are performing and tied to the marketing initiatives. That information needs to be easy to capture and to track.
Are the sales people converting leads? How many leads are unresponded to? How many remain open after 30, 60, and 90 days? Which sales people are converting the most leads to sales? What are their conversion rates? What sources produce the best leads? Management needs the answers to these questions and more to measure performance. Sales people need this information to improve their performance.
Determine what information you need to effectively evaluate your follow-up performance and goal attainment. Then seek out the system that delivers the feature and functionality you need – no more, no less. Remember, you can’t manage what you can’t measure!
8. Use positive reinforcement to get your sales force to follow-up.
People respond better to respectful suggestions and positive reinforcement than criticism and threats. Some managers attempt to scare their sales people into performing. Fear tactics create an environment of distrust and resentment and are ultimately self-defeating. (Sales people can always figure out a way to “game” a system.) Sales people generally understand that if they don’t perform their jobs are on the line.
Most people want to be successful and be recognized for doing a job well. If sales people are not doing a good job following up leads chances are it is because: 1) the expectation has not been clearly communicated; 2) they haven’t received enough training in proper follow-up technique; and/or 3)the value to them of following up effectively.
Studies in work psychology have shown that positive reinforcement gets people to perform better when they are rewarded with something they want more of be it extra time off, more money, or just extra praise. The key is to find out what motivates your sales people and provide more of it as a reward for a job well done.
9. Be totally committed to 100% follow-up!
Management sends a loud and clear message to its sales force when follow-up is not emphasized and required. That message is that neither the leads generated from promotion are seen as being of value, nor is the marketing to expediture to produce them. In short, if management doesn’t believe in the value of its marketing efforts and lead follow-up why should the sales force?
When goals are well defined and people are held accountable for their performance people pay attention. Management must communicate loudly and clearly that follow-up is required. The overriding message then becomes that the company will not let sales opportunities slip through the cracks nor waste marketing dollars. Otherwise, if follow-up isn’t required it simply won’t happen.
10. Management must be committed to continuous performance improvement.
Research has identified management commitment as the #1 prerequisite for any successful program. The same study also showed that management’s commitment must be practiced through honest assessment of situations and visible actions, not just talk and memos.
Organizations that have 100% commitment to doing whatever it takes to elevate their sales are the ones most likely to succeed. Motivating a sales force without total commitment to doing the right things is like trying to drive a car without fuel. Be commited to identifying what works well for your company and doing more of it. Be equally commited to stop doing what isn’t working. Focusing in incremental but continuous performance improvement will lead you to greater sales success and business in general.
Tags: crm, Marketing, sales lead management, sales success, sfa
After over 25 years in the sales and marketing arena working with a variety of clients and hundreds of slaes and marketing management types, I’ve seen a lot of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to managing a sales force. Research on CRM over the past ten years has shown rather consistantly that roughly 50% of the initiatives fail. There are a number of reasons, of course. But my good friend and HR Performance Training consultant, Cheryl Jankowski, shared with me her 5 Basic Reasons People Don’t Perform. They apply to sales people with specific responsibilities and just about everyone in any discipline.
