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Casual Articles - Managing Your Prospects: Funnel Management as a Critical Component to Your Success
Training and helping others are absolute necessities in any network marketing business because network marketing is a people building business! Pay attention to and follow the steps below and your sales team will grow almost on it's own.Take a sincere interest in helping other people. Success comes as a direct result of helping other people become successful. Don't focus on building yourself a paycheck instead focus on building a paycheck for your sales team. Your paycheck will take care of itself. This is a very simple philosophy, but one that is too often overlooked by a surprising number of people.Find people's assets and build on them. Some people can build rapport, some are gatherers, some are closers, some are trainers and some are good at follow up. Find the strengths of the people on your sales team, help them build on their strengths and help them use them in co-operative marketing. For instance, have the best speakers in your group do company overviews and make sure your "gatherers" bring prospects. (Remember, 95% of the population is good at gathering and only 5% are closers.)
ADD VALUE ON EVERY CALL
Every time you meet with a prospect you should add value. Make sure you never find yourself in a position of calling on a prospect just to see where they are in their decision making process. Some examples of adding value are:
? Bringing
You know you need a brand. But do you know that one of the most effective ways to grow your business is to build on that brand?In a world of short attention spans and rapidly changing technology, building your brand is crucial to your survival. The most successful companies understand its importance. Here’s one brand building success story:Music to Our EarsDo you have an iPod? It seems everywhere you look today, someone is plugged into Apple’s portable digital music player. The company knows its audience and shrewdly builds its brand around it. As a result, Apple has sold more than 59 million iPods since their inception in late 2001, with 6,451,000 sold in the fiscal 2005 fourth quarter alone.In fact, iPod’s branding and subsequent popularity have resulted in 220 percent growth of the units over the previous year’s same quarter. How did Apple do it?Finding the Right iNameApple’s premier product was the Macintosh computer. As the internet grew, Apple shortened the computer’s name to iMac. The nickname represented the personal computer’s ability to deliver all the features needed to connect with the Internet. The
One day he flew into Panama City, Florida from Atlanta to ride in the field with me. His visit was unannounced so I just followed my regular schedule for that day. It was a Tuesday and our first stop was at one of my prospects that had a copier on trial. The prospect was the Pinnacle Port Condominiums twenty-six miles from our office. When we walked in the door I was greeted by the receptionist and told to go on back. I introduced Bob to the manager and the first words out of his mouth were, “I see more of Marvin than most of my employees.” After we left Pinnacle Port we went to the Panama City Beach Police Station. As soon as we walked in, the officer on duty told us to go on back. I then introduced Bob to the Police Chief, Lee Sullivan. His first comment to Bob was, “I see more of Marvin than most of my officers.”
On that one day in the field, we visited five companies and, completely unsolicited by me, they all said basically the same thing: I was there more than most of their employees. When I was driving Bob to the airport at the end of the day, he looked at me and jokingly said, “Marvin, people don’t buy from you because they like you. They buy from you to get rid of you.”
In every situation I had continued to add value by having a face-to-face meeting with every prospect at least once a week. At each meeting I made sure I had a legitimate reason to be there. I closed every one of the sales we visited that day.
Where prospecting ends, territory management begins. How you manage your territory, or your base of prospects, will determine how successful you are.
One of the greatest problems most salespeople have is losing track of prospects. This is especially true if the prospects are not going to buy in the near future. This is why salespeople have a tendency to experience peaks and valleys when it comes to sales performance. Salespeople work hard to close their hot prospects and then have to turn around and find more.
FACE-TO-FACE PROSPECT CONTACT
The only effective way to manage your relationships with your prospects is face to face. I understand this can be challenging for salespeople with large geographic territories. A great rule of thumb is that to maintain a greater than seventy-five percent closing ratio, you need to maintain face-to-face contact with your prospects. If you cannot maintain a face-to-face contact with your prospects, then your closing ratio will probably fall to less than thirty-five percent.
ADD VALUE ON EVERY CALL
Every time you meet with a prospect you should add value. Make sure you never find yourself in a position of calling on a prospect just to see where they are in their decision making process. Some examples of adding value are:
? Bringing
The new vision of IT.Today, business competition is no longer company vs. company but supply chain vs. supply chain. A supply chain is a network of suppliers, factories, warehouses, distribution centers and retailers, through which raw materials are acquired, transformed, produced and delivered to the customer. A supply chain is a dynamic process and involves the constant flow of information, materials, and funds across multiple functional areas both within and between chain members. Member enterprises in the chain need to cooperate with their business partners in order to meet customers’ needs and to maximize their profit. Managing multiparty collaboration in a supply chain, however, is a very difficult task because there are so many parties involved in the supply chain operation, each with its own resources and objectives. There is no single authority over all the chain members. Cooperation is through negotiation rather than central management and control. The interdependence of multistage processes also requires real-time cooperation in operation and decision-making across different tasks, functional areas, and organizational boundaries in order to deal wit
On that one day in the field, we visited five companies and, completely unsolicited by me, they all said basically the same thing: I was there more than most of their employees. When I was driving Bob to the airport at the end of the day, he looked at me and jokingly said, “Marvin, people don’t buy from you because they like you. They buy from you to get rid of you.”
In every situation I had continued to add value by having a face-to-face meeting with every prospect at least once a week. At each meeting I made sure I had a legitimate reason to be there. I closed every one of the sales we visited that day.
Where prospecting ends, territory management begins. How you manage your territory, or your base of prospects, will determine how successful you are.
One of the greatest problems most salespeople have is losing track of prospects. This is especially true if the prospects are not going to buy in the near future. This is why salespeople have a tendency to experience peaks and valleys when it comes to sales performance. Salespeople work hard to close their hot prospects and then have to turn around and find more.
FACE-TO-FACE PROSPECT CONTACT
The only effective way to manage your relationships with your prospects is face to face. I understand this can be challenging for salespeople with large geographic territories. A great rule of thumb is that to maintain a greater than seventy-five percent closing ratio, you need to maintain face-to-face contact with your prospects. If you cannot maintain a face-to-face contact with your prospects, then your closing ratio will probably fall to less than thirty-five percent.
ADD VALUE ON EVERY CALL
Every time you meet with a prospect you should add value. Make sure you never find yourself in a position of calling on a prospect just to see where they are in their decision making process. Some examples of adding value are:
? Bringing
Selecting a name for your new business is not easy. A name does more than identify your company. It tells customers who you are, what you do, and more than a little about how you do it. Your name differentiates you from your peers, peaks customer interest, and invites further investigation -- if you do it right.I didn’t do it right. At least, not at first.All entrepreneurs make mistakes, and I made one of my first ones right off the bat. Thrilled with the fledgling business I was starting, this precious enterprise so near and dear to my heart, I christened my company Diadem Communications. Diadem means crown-- a fitting name for what I felt was a crowning achievement.What does Diadem say to you? Does it evoke thoughts of me coming into your company, training your sales team to be the best booth staff ever, ensuring that every single trade show you attend turns out to be amazingly successful? Does it make me sound so good that you just can’t wait to hire me?No. It doesn’t say that to me either. And even worse, it didn’t say that to any of my potential customers. Going by name alone, no one would be able to determine the least bit of infor
In every situation I had continued to add value by having a face-to-face meeting with every prospect at least once a week. At each meeting I made sure I had a legitimate reason to be there. I closed every one of the sales we visited that day.
Where prospecting ends, territory management begins. How you manage your territory, or your base of prospects, will determine how successful you are.
One of the greatest problems most salespeople have is losing track of prospects. This is especially true if the prospects are not going to buy in the near future. This is why salespeople have a tendency to experience peaks and valleys when it comes to sales performance. Salespeople work hard to close their hot prospects and then have to turn around and find more.
FACE-TO-FACE PROSPECT CONTACT
The only effective way to manage your relationships with your prospects is face to face. I understand this can be challenging for salespeople with large geographic territories. A great rule of thumb is that to maintain a greater than seventy-five percent closing ratio, you need to maintain face-to-face contact with your prospects. If you cannot maintain a face-to-face contact with your prospects, then your closing ratio will probably fall to less than thirty-five percent.
ADD VALUE ON EVERY CALL
Every time you meet with a prospect you should add value. Make sure you never find yourself in a position of calling on a prospect just to see where they are in their decision making process. Some examples of adding value are:
? Bringing
Finding and keeping good employees today can be an on-going challenge for many managers and organizations. There are a number of reasons for this. A few of them are:1. Different age groups have different mindsets when it comes to work. Some people are only looking for a temporary source of income while others need a clearly defined upward mobility career path. Many people feel that their current position offers them the ability to improve their skills and therefore their future marketability while other people always have their resume on the street looking for something better.2. There are a great number of jobs today that require either highly skilled talent or entry level skill sets. Both of these groups have unique requirements and attitudes about the role work plays in their life.3. A significant percentage of the workforce population is becoming more concerned about overall lifestyle issues and that work is just one element of their life and often not the most important one.4. People in increasing numbers are starting their own businesses and buying franchises.5. Many people today are not willing to sacrifice their persona
One of the greatest problems most salespeople have is losing track of prospects. This is especially true if the prospects are not going to buy in the near future. This is why salespeople have a tendency to experience peaks and valleys when it comes to sales performance. Salespeople work hard to close their hot prospects and then have to turn around and find more.
FACE-TO-FACE PROSPECT CONTACT
The only effective way to manage your relationships with your prospects is face to face. I understand this can be challenging for salespeople with large geographic territories. A great rule of thumb is that to maintain a greater than seventy-five percent closing ratio, you need to maintain face-to-face contact with your prospects. If you cannot maintain a face-to-face contact with your prospects, then your closing ratio will probably fall to less than thirty-five percent.
ADD VALUE ON EVERY CALL
Every time you meet with a prospect you should add value. Make sure you never find yourself in a position of calling on a prospect just to see where they are in their decision making process. Some examples of adding value are:
? Bringing
6 Secrets to Stellar Sales PresentationsEvery sale is won or lost in the presentation. Regardless of product, industry, or market every sale has the same basic components: A prospect who wants a product, a product, and a sales person who will or will not help that customer buy. These 6 secrets will help you make presentations that build your customers understanding and excitement to a point where they will buy from you right now. The operative word in right now selling is VALUE if a customer sees the value of your product they are sold if they do not they won’t buy. This 6-step process will give you the secrets to building value in a way that your customers react to over and over again.1. Make a “Big Fat Claim”Every Presentation needs a “Big Fat Claim” (B.F.C.) when you start your presentation you should have an obvious value for your clients that makes them say “well how do you do that”. Your B.F.C. should hint at a solution to a real problem your customers have. Then the rest of the presentation backs up the claim.When Glasstree.com sells, websites in the retail space the Big Fat Claim is “Never Pay for Website Updates Again!” It focuses
ADD VALUE ON EVERY CALL
Every time you meet with a prospect you should add value. Make sure you never find yourself in a position of calling on a prospect just to see where they are in their decision making process. Some examples of adding value are:
? Bringing a solution to a problem they may be having.
? Providing the prospect with additional relevant information such as an article.
? Introducing an additional resource such as an engineer.
? Giving a prospect an appropriate gift.
? Involving an outside vendor or strategic partner.
THE BEST DIFFERENTIATOR
A large number of face-to-face meetings with a prospect are the best way to differentiate yourself from your competition.
An interesting phenomenon occurs when you increase the number of face-to-face meetings that you have with qualified prospects. Our research has shown that the closing ratio increases an average of eight percent per additional face-to-face meeting. Below are the typical increases in closing ratio for each additional visit.
*Important note – The closing ratios listed below are for qualified prospects.
Number of face to face meetings Closing Ratio
Three to Four 25% Five 33% Six 40% Seven 45% Eight 50% Nine 60% Ten 65% Eleven 70%
After eleven visits the closing ratio will typically remain at about seventy-five percent. WHO IS A QUALIFIED PROPECT?
When I first got into sales, I was introduced to an acronym that has always helped me to determine whether a prospect was qualified or not. You are dealing with a qualified prospect if you can answer positively to the three criteria listed below.
Money – does the prospect have a budget to buy your product and can the prospect afford the product?
Authority – Are you in contact with someone who will be making the decision to purchase?
Need – Does the prospect have a need for your product that will force the prospect to buy within a reasonable time frame?
If you can yes to these questions then you are dealing with The MAN and you are dealing with a qualified prospect.
HOW DO YOU KEEP TRACK OF YOUR PROSPECTS?
To manage your prospects and your territory, you need a system. The system needs to be simple and effective. One of the best territory management systems is the funnel. A funnel allows a salesperson to track prospects and move them forward in the sales process.
THE PROBLEM WITH MOST SALE FUNNELS
The problem with most sales funnels is that they do not force the salesperson to take action. Prospects end up sitting in a salesperson’s funnel until they close or
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