| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Maximize Your Lead Generation Efforts by Recycling Your Leads
The basic lead generation process is pretty much the same from company to company. Inquiries come in?they're qualified?and then sent to the sales team. Some turn into customers. Some don't. Which means that, over time, every organization ends up with a pile of prospects that either disengaged during the sales cycle (for whatever reason)?or decided to go with a competitor. So here's the big question: is anyone in your company following up with these potential future opportunities? I can tell you that very few companies I've worked with have systems in place to nurture these longer-term prospects. Yet, the potential for increased sales is significant, and can be very cost-effective. Here's one reason these prospects don't get much attention: good salespeople tend to spend most of their time on higher-probability opportunities with the best chance of closing the quickest. And who can blame them? Reps are under constant pressure to close business and meet quotas. That means there's little time for lower-probability prospects. But that doesn't mean you should throw these leads away. There can be tremendous long-term value in these opportunities?if you can set up a system that allows you to follow up on them consistently-and without breaking the bank. I call this strategy "lead recycling" because, in essence, that's exactly what you're doing-you're "recycling" these longer-term prospects back through a targeted lead generation process. The payoff? I've seen this strategy boost sales by 5% (even 10% or more) over the course of a year-all from qualified prospects that would have normally been ignored! In fact, one of my software clients recently tested a new "lead recycling program" as part of an effort to grow sales to record levels. As a result of this new initiative, they were able to increase sales of one of their solutions by 13% over the course of a year! This company was generating an average of 600 inquiries per year for one of their products. From that point: * Some 450 of those 600 inquiries turned into appointments * Nearly 90 of those 450 appointments eventually turned into sales (over the course of a year) This was good enough to meet budgets. But it also meant that over 500 "inquirers" were NOT buying from them every year! They knew it wasn't practical to expect sales to follow up on every one of these "lost" opportunities. So they implemented a system that funneled these longer-term prospects back to marketing, using a combination of email and direct mail. The results were outstanding. Over the course of a year they were able to close an additional 12 new opportunities just from this list-a lift in sales of over 13%! So here's why this strategy works so well: When it comes to prospects you've engaged with in the past, you've probably done most of the heavy lifting already. You've done the hard work of getting them to respond to a campaign. You may even have established a certain degree or rapport and trust with many of them. And you've educated them on your offerings and how they can solve their business problems. Therefore, when a prospect disengages because of "bad timing" or "budget constraints" or other reasons, if you don't stay in touch with this growing list, you risk losing them to a competitor-someone who will greatly benefit from the time and effort you spent educating these folks. Thinking about implementing a lead-recycling program? Here are some key items to keep in mind: 1. Get "buy-in" from sales. That may not be easy at first, but explain that you're trying to make their jobs easier. By setting up this program, you're taking away the burden of following up with lower-ranked leads. This gives them more time to focus on higher-probability opportunities. And best of all, you'll be able to deliver them a handful of well-nurtured leads every year. 2. Consider qualifying more thoroughly up front. This places a bigger burden on marketing. But in the long run, everyone wins. Leads that are simply inquiring at this point and are months away from seriously evaluating options should all go straight into this nurturing program. They're just not ready to be turned over. 3. Set up systems that allow sales to easily forward prospects that need to be recycled. They should include "lost" opportunities, delayed decisions, and warm leads that have turned cold. 4. Lastly, "seed" this prospect list with a steady stream of value-added communications. Consider launching an e-newsletter in order to gather more opt-in email addresses. Also, try direct mail targeted at specific groups within this list. And as long as each of these communications has an appealing call to action (demo/presentation CD, white paper, an invitation to a Webinar, and so on), you continually increase your chances of creating top-of-mind awareness with these prospects. Bottom line: These days, it takes tremendous effort to generate qualified leads. Don't let any of them fall through the cracks. By setting up a "lead recycling program" you optimize your efforts and help generate sales that would have never closed otherwise. © Copyright 2004, Ed Gandia. All Rights Reserved. Ed Gandia is a freelance copywriter specializing in the software industry. A 10-year sales veteran, Ed has consistently turned around struggling sales territories through his hard-hitting copy and focused lead generation methodology. To learn more-or to subscribe to his monthly lead generation e-newsletter-go to http://www.edgandia.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Marketing the Government for Profit Steps and tips on marketing your business to the government.Fact: Federal, state and local governments buy over $450 billion combined in goods and services each year. Marketing Copy - Brand Identity Guru Tips on writing great copy for your marketing efforts.It's just four steps that I call the Writing Path1. Pricing Strategies in Marketing Price is an often overlooked marketing strategy, as many tend to focus on promotions or advertising. Pricing strategies, however, can have a large impact on sales and (more importantly) profit. Get Personal: Letters vs. Direct Mail One of the reasons direct mail works is the personal aspect. It's ostensibly a letter from you to your prospect. Promotional Products As a promotions director for a lot of super markets, one of my key responsibilities was finding promotional products for the events we make. I worked with distributors to order, design and customize these items to promote the super markets image to the general public. Starting Small Business Promotional Campaigns So you're starting a small business. You figured out what you wanted to sell or do and went out and got it all set up, had your DBA framed and on the wall and now all you need is for someone to buy your product or use your service. Top 10 Dos and Donts for an Effective Business Referral Network! Every business - particularly small, entrepreneurial or professional businesses - must have a powerful referral network. It is very unlikely (and terribly expensive) to "advertise your way to success". How Prince Connects With His Target Market! While Internet legend (and young pup) Frank Kern would have you believe that I'm so old I should be confined to a wheelchair, I'm still on the good side of 100! And I can stil enjoy a good concert from time to time. My daughter - Rachel, my wife and I had the good fortune to score some last-minute tickets to the recent Prince concert here in Atlanta. Creating Your Unique Selling Proposition or USP Creating Your Unique Selling Proposition"Don't tell them what you do. Tell them what you do for them. The Power of Thank You Sometimes we loose site of the small things in life that are incredibly important. As a child growing up in America, most people are taught from a very young age to say Thank You in appreciation of a courtesy extended by someone. The Seven Deadly Sins of Ineffective Nametags Your nametag can be your best friend. It can be a lifesaver in meetings, trade shows and events to start conversations when you meet groups of new people. Help! What Happened? Let's be honest, when you're writing sales material for a product, there are a frightening number of things that can go wrong, aren't there?Remember Murphy's Law: what can go wrong will, and at the worst possible moment. Well, we're going to try to gain some control over events and the best way to gain control is to know what makes things tick . Youre Halfway There!...Or Not Part 2 Now that you have had a chance to create a game plan for accomplishing your business goals during the third quarter of this year, let's focus on the fourth quarter of this year.These last three months of the year are not only crucial for meeting business goals for this year, they are also crucial for making sure you head into the next year on track towards meeting and exceeding future business goals. Overview on Qualitative Data Collection Techniques in International Marketing Research This article is meant to be a brief review and reminder of some valuable yet often bypassed techniques to collect data on international markets and consumers.When thinking of market research, surveys are most likely the first technique that comes to ones mind. Your Elevator Speech - Have You Updated Yours Recently? Do you have an elevator speech? Does it get people's attention? Do they ask you lots of questions when you tell them what you do?Every great elevator speech needs to answer these key questions:1. Who am I? (introduce yourself)2. Maslows Marketing Filter One of the basics of all marketing and advertising training is a teaching of "Maslow's needs pyramid". This pyramid shows the different motivators and needs in a person's life and how they are built one upon the other. Trade Show Events - Do's and Don'ts You can love it or you can hate it but there is no escaping trade shows in a business environment. If you happen to be in the Sales and Marketing division in an industry where trade shows are a part of the marketing plan, it is more than likely than not that you will be involved in them sooner or later. Dont Let Your Business Cards End Up in the Trash Business cards are such wonderfully creative little marketing products. Most of them, unfortunately, end up in the nearest trash basket. Fundraising Letters Are Easier To Write With AIDA Learn a lesson from professional direct mail copywriters. They follow a time-tested format in their sales letters, a format that you can also follow when writing direct mail fundraising letters for your non-for-profit organization. Target Marketing - What Are You Aiming For? Is Advertising Viable?At the turn of the 20th century, department store magnate J.C.
|
| Good Credit Loans | home | site map | School Bus Clothing | Florida Pool Heating |
| © 2006 |