get the trash out of your funnel
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TRANSCRIPT
Get the Trash Out of Your Funnel
October 9, 2012
Welcome!
I’m Joanne Black
I’m Here
In San Francisco
The Book On Referral Selling
How Are Your Customers Doing?
Business Challenges
1. Reaching the decision maker
2. Converting prospects to clients
3. Budgets cut
4. Getting qualified leads
5. Making time to follow-up
Discuss Today
• Why the shape of your funnel matters
• The damage when your funnel is clogged
• Get the “right” people in your funnel• How to create real velocity in your
sales funnel• Identify your Ideal Clients and fire
the others
You Will…• Increase your conversion rate• Have the best people in your pipeline• Shorten time moving prospects to
clients• Work with only qualified leads• Calendar 3 meetings in 7 days
Joanne’s Points of View
Contrary to popular belief
The Traditional Sales Funnel
Too many unqualified leads
…clog up the funnel£
Consider…
If leads are “unqualified”, are they really leads?
Typical Demand Generation
• Companies that promise to deliver “qualified leads” to your inbox
• Companies that sell you lists• Website visitors• Social media• Downloads• Blogs
Qualified?
Research makes it ok?
They May Just Be
• Curious• Expanding their knowledge• Researching a competitor• Sending a link
“Lead” Sorters
A, B, C• Prioritize• What work on• What put aside
More Sorters
• Suspects• Prospects• Clients• Dead
Looks Like…
Joanne’s Point of View
Generating Qualified leads is the most important step in your sales process
Why Qualify?
Ensure Prospects • Match your capabilities• Are willing to talk to you• Value your services• Don’t waste your time
Who Qualifies?
• You?• Marketing?
The Role of Marketing
– Advertising– Conferences– Email campaigns– Website presence– Direct mail– Marketing automation
The Role of Sales
Getting in front of the “right” people
But You Might Say…
– Prepare for the meeting– Craft questions to ask– Overcome objections– Uncover the real issue– Decide team roles– Propose– Present– Close– Follow-Up
If You Don’t Get to The Right People
Nothing else matters…
Joanne’s Point of View
Generating Qualified leads is the most important step in your sales process
Typical Qualifying Criteria
• Industry• Geography• Business Unit/Function• Company Size
Other Typical Qualifying Criteria
• Budget• Authority• Need• Timeframe
Begin the Qualification Process
Two More Criteria
• Kind of person• Business situation or need
Who is Your Ideal Client?
Who Is Your Ideal Client?
• Collaborative• Listens• Values our work• Respects deadlines & deliverables• Keeps promises• Sense of humor• Open to new ideas• Budget authority
Is This Ideal?
Ideal Client
Who is the opposite of our Ideal Client?
What You Don’t Want
A PITA client!
Fire the PITA
Wears us out
Fire the PITA
Frustrates us
Fire the PITA
Makes us angry
A PITA Client
• Drains our energy• Wastes our time• Uses too many resources• Is never satisfied• Never refers us• We don’t make money
Your Criteria
Select your specific criteria
Criteria
#1
100%
50
0
sam
ple
YOUR CHECKLIST
Your Criteria
• If they don’t match your criteria, you have a PITA on your hands
• Fire the PITA now
You Know Who They Are
PITA clients are an opportunity
COST
You Know Who They Are
PITA clients are an opportunity
LOST
to work with our Ideal Clients
Fire the PITA
Say NO! Don’t create an opportunity cost for your business.
Statistics From a Sales VP
10 percent improvement in conversion rates in the beginning of the qualification process can result in…
This Result
A 40 percent increase in sales productivity
The Big Question
How do we increase our conversion rate?
The Answer?
Turn the funnel upside down?
…this won’t work.
The Answer
Get only qualified leads in your sales funnel
The New Funnel
Get more qualified leads…
…and increase velocity through the funnel.
How Do You Get Qualified Leads?
Through referrals
Referred Prospects
You receive an introduction!
Why Referrals Work
• Pre-sold • Credibility and trust• Sales time shortens• Competition goes away• Time with clients increases• No “hard” costs
Why Referrals Work
What percent of the time do you get a new client?30%
50%
70%
90%
100%
0102030405060708090
100
You Need a Targeted Strategy
• Written referral sales plan• Weekly written referral goals• Methods to track and measure
referrals• Accountability for results
Do You Have a Targeted Strategy?
What is Your Answer?
Targeted Referral Strategy
It’s
COMMON SENSE
But it’s not
COMMON PRACTICE
It’s About Velocity
Qualified referrals will move quickly through the funnel
It’s Not
The number of leads in your funnel
It Is
The number you get through that counts
It Gets Better
Your new, faster-moving sales energy
…will generate more qualified leads through referrals.
No More Smoke and Mirrors
• Is the trash out of your funnel?• Are you ready to schedule your 3
meetings in the next 7 days?
