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The area 55% of salespeople struggle in

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Many salespeople have trouble distinguishing high-quality leads from the dead-enders, according to a recent study of high- and low-performing salespeople. That means solid leads are squandered as salespeople waste time chasing the dead-enders.

What the study shows

Average and below-average salespeople said that lead evaluation was a major problem. Overall, 55% of the salespeople taking part in the study said judging lead quality was difficult, while 47% said leads often fall through the cracks.

Top performers break away

Assessing the quality of leads is where the top performers broke away from average and below-average salespeople. Only 31% of the top performers said they had difficulty assessing the quality of leads, while half of average and poor performers had difficulty in that area

Quality over quantity

Top performers were more satisfied with lead quality than low-enders, which suggests they emphasize quality over quantity. The research points to a connection between top performers and success with processes such as data management and lead analysis. In other words, top performers collect more accurate data on buyers and do a better job of analyzing it.

Research and analysis skills

Qualifying and managing leads effectively starts with good research and analysis skills. One of the best ways to qualify leads is to dig deeper to uncover key factors such as buying trends, budget cycles and purchase history. Uncovering this information can help you build bigger, better-targeted prospect pipelines. It may also help you focus more intently on the cream of the crop and not on prospects who aren’t ready to buy or aren’t a good fit.

Zero in on attractive prospects

Most salespeople use sources like websites, annual reports, trade publications and their own industry contacts to develop prospect profiles. Top performers take that data a step further and create external profiles, which consist of information such as company size, revenues, industry and market position — key characteristics that separate the company from its competition.

Internal profiles

They also create internal profiles which show how prospects’ companies make buying decisions, including how their current situations affect decision-making processes, as well as the companies’ strategies and goals.

Profiles pave the way to the sale

With a complete, current profile of these ideal prospects, salespeople can pinpoint a prospect’s critical needs more quickly. They can also refine their approach so accurately that prospects are far more likely to show interest.

Linking system with performance

A prospecting system is only half the battle. Prospecting systems that never come to successful fruition usually fail because they’re poorly implemented or the salesperson lacks the required perseverance. Without question, perseverance is the most significant factor in successful prospecting.

Prospecting roadblocks

Every salesperson encounters difficulties and roadblocks when prospecting.

They may struggle with the choice of which direction to take when they’re not able to open doors and get appointments. The successful ones discover a strength within themselves that allows them to persist regardless of the roadblocks.

Top salespeople have proven that solid character is an integral part of not only finding the right prospects, but selling them.

Keys to engaging prospects

Effective prospecting comes down to one question: What can you provide that your competitors can’t (or won’t)? Salespeople who realize this are eager to learn everything they can about their prospects. The more avenues they go down, and the more time they devote to understanding their prospects’ needs, the stronger their selling points are.

Four questions

Here are four questions to ask that can help you learn more about prospects in advance:

  1. What is the prospect’s history with his or her company? Knowing how prospects rose to their position can help determine which benefits to focus on. It provides an idea of which aspect of the business the prospect knows the most about, and how that information can help you sell to them.
  2. What role does the prospect play in decision making? Knowing whether a prospect has buying authority is helpful, but knowing who the others involved in the decision-making process are is equally important. Presentations can be much more powerful when they’re focused on all the executives involved in the process.
  3. Why aren’t they already doing business with your company? Looking back at the prospect’s buying history may uncover problems they’ve had with your company in the past — or benefits your competitors offer than won the prospect’s business.
  4. Does your proposal look good from the prospect’s perspective? Sometimes it’s helpful to step back and ask: Why is my proposal more beneficial than the competitor’s? The more clearly a prospect can understand the answer, the better the chance you’ll win their business.

Adapted from the book Clients, Clients and More Clients by Larina Kase, a behavioral psychologist and marketing consultant.


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