Dial ‘S' for sales success
Leading Australian
author and marketer, Hugh Macfarlane explains how to ‘nurture' lost sales leads.
A closure rate of 25 per cent on new prospects might be good. But what of the 75 per
cent that leaked from the funnel?
A business that earns 250 new customers from a possible market of 1,000 deserves
congratulations. But it has also failed to capture the remaining 750.
There are hidden profits to be made from handling sales and marketing failure
better.
That means getting these leaked prospects back into the sales funnel, quickly
with the least possible effort.
Today, there are so many new tools available for us to engage customers and
prospects, but the humble telephone still plays a vital role in keeping your
business visible, relevant and in demand.
This is where ‘tele-nurturing' comes into its own.
Your sales people need to focus on prospects that are ready to buy, not on those that
have stalled.
This is the job of the tele-nurturer – to remain in touch with leaked prospects
and look for signs they're ready to engage again.
A first call might be something like:
“Hi Mr Biggs, my name is John from the Sand Company.”
“Sally tells me you're not going to consider changes to your sand contracts
until August. My job is to ensure we keep out of your hair until then and confirm you
have all you need from us in the mean time.
“Would it be okay if I called back to make sure your timing and priorities
haven't changed?”
This may sound basic, but your prospect is likely to be so glad the sales dogs have
been called off that they'll agree to another quick call.
The second call is to make sure their timing hasn't changed.
The third call is to introduce a new idea, or invite your prospect to a seminar
on a topic of interest to them.
You get the idea.
As soon as the prospect shows any sign of changing their priorities, it's time for the
sales team to get back in touch.
So what's changed?
Your sales people spend their time on the prospects that are most ready to buy, your
prospects remain engaged and you don't run the risk of losing touch.
And what do you need for good tele-nurturing?
A diary, a quality telephone line, and an acknowledgement of the way your customers
think.
About Hugh Macfarlane
Hugh Macfarlane is author of “The Leaky Funnel: earn more customers by aligning Sales and
Marketing to the way businesses buy”. He is also founder of MathMarketing, a Sales and
Marketing effectiveness company with clients drawn mostly from the Telco, IT and Financial
Services industries. | 
