News, views, tips and training from around The Sales Masters Guild network
How to fill your sales pipeline
by John Kettley
CONSTANTLY LOOKING FOR NEW CLIENTS?
Would you like more prospects to contact you when they are ready to buy?
Would you like prospects to contact you before they call your competition?
Wouldn’t it be great if these prospects were almost pre-sold as well?
The good news is that all of this ‘is’ more than possible.
I’m sure that you are asking yourself how, and how soon?
While it’s not really that hard to achieve, most people won’t take the time out to learn how to do it or put the effort into making it happen, which means that ‘if’ you do take the time out to learn how and put the effort in you will be in a whole different league to ‘most ‘ of your competitors…
Over the last week, how many people have you spoken too, who do not need your products and services immediately?
They may need them at some stage in the future, but you feel there is no point in talking to them right now.
What have you done with these ‘prospects in waiting’?
Have you made a note in your diary to call them back in 6 months or whenever they have told you to?
You probably concluded that at that future time, the prospect might finally have a need for what you are offering which is what most sales people do on a regular basis.
The thing is, when you do get around to contacting them 6 months or so down the line, you’ll be calling them back at the exact same time as everyone else they’ve talked to about your offering, worse still someone else may even pick up the telephone before you…
If you don’t have a regular contact strategy chances are you’ll also be smack bang back at the beginning of the sales process and will have to start from scratch building trust and a relationship while competing with everyone else for face time.
Alternatively, suppose that you have already pre-qualified the ‘prospect in waiting’ – and that they definitely have a ‘need’ for your offering at some stage in the future.
Now you don’t wait 6 months to call them back – you start immediately to build a TRAC record with them.
A personalised contact record of Trust, Relationship, Awareness, and Credibility.
If you build a TRAC record with them starting right now, chances are very high that they’ll remember and contact you as soon as they do need your products and services. Even if they don’t, you’ll be in contact enough that you’ll pick up when the time is right.
When they do need your products and services, they’ll immediately think of you because you already have Trust, a Relationship, Awareness of how you operate before being a customer and solid Credibility with them, the sales cycle will move much faster since you have already gone past these steps in the usual process.
So how can you build this miraculous TRAC record with a minimum amount of effort?
You obviously can’t spend too much time on it as you need to focus your selling time mainly on those prospects who are ready to buy now.
To build a TRAC record with ‘prospects in waiting’, you must put in place your own contact system which will build the relationship over time using a variety of communication methods – some technology based and some that are more personal.
Your system can include things like a newsletter, emails, Google alert tracking, phone calls, events, and appreciation cards.
Automate your system as much as possible and in the most personalized way you can.
If you don’t automate it, you simply won’t pop up on their radar on a frequent and consistent enough basis to be at the forefront of a prospective customers mind when they are ready to buy..
Personalise it or you won’t connect as you should with the target person. Our primary mission as professional business people is to develop a strong relationship with people on a personal level, as well as with them in their business role. It’s amazing how many tools and systems are now available that will enable you to automate your hi-tech and hi-touch client communications.
The time that you invest in setting up your contact system to build a TRAC record will pay off in a flow of prospects into your pipeline who are already predisposed to buying from you.
The continued use of your fully automated and personalised connection system will expand your TRAC record with all of your connections and pay you a double dividend in repeat business and larger opportunities with every passing year.
John F Kettley is the founder of the Sales Masters Guild
A serial entrepreneur from his teenage years, John and his companies have sold a vast range of products and services across just about every market sector and medium there is, both here in Europe and the USA.
Find out more about John on his Sales Masters Guild profile page