By Craig Klein, SalesNexus.com CEO
In Greek mythology, King Midas could turn everything he touched into gold. Today, people continue to look for a way to spin sales leads into golden opportunities. In the early 20th century, peddlers crossed the country with promises of the potion that could cure everything. Sales were synonymous with manipulation in those days.
The First World’s Salesmanship Congress was held on July 10, 1916. At that meeting, the keynote speaker was President Woodrow Wilson. Recognizing the important role of sales in the development of our country, he encouraged attendees to “carry liberty and justice and the principles of humanity wherever you go. Go out and sell goods that will make the world more comfortable and more happy, and convert them to the principles of America.”
CRM Alchemy Develops Gold
Today, the sales profession has been developed into a sophisticated, data-driven industry. Based on more than a century of learning and development, sales professionals have shed the image of an individual ‘hawking their wares’ and embraced a more scientific approach to meeting the needs of buyers.
Now an online CRM can manage every step of the buying process and literally turn raw sales leads into golden opportunities. The really great news about this new way of selling is the sales lead actually appreciates the information offered.
Pull Sales Leads – Not Push
A growing percentage of new sales leads are not ready for a buying conversation. Your company’s sales pros must focus on the ones who are ready for an appointment. The rest of the sales leads fall naturally into a lead nurturing campaign delivered by email.
When companies first consider using email marketing, they often come with a preconceived notion of being considered spam. They shudder at the thought of being one of the hundreds of emails that greet business people each and every day. They don’t want to be one of “those guys” and often put off using email as an effective marketing tool because it seems to be an unpleasant way to reach sales leads with their message.
Let’s Get Personal
The best way to understand why marketing automation turns sales leads into gold is to bring the idea down to the personal level. Step out of business for just a little while and stop being the decision maker for your company.
- Think about the last major purchase you made in your personal life.
- Try to recall a purchase you needed to make, but were not yet an expert on the product or the industry.
- Remember that you searched the internet, seeking more information about the product, service or industry.
- Maybe you were offered an eBook, Case Study or report that could help you further understand. You probably downloaded the information because you knew you needed all the information you could get to make a good decision on this personal purchase.
- After you exchanged your contact data for the information you needed, what did you expect from the company who offered you the educational item?
- Would you prefer to learn even more in an email marketing campaign? Would you appreciate the company teaching you all they could – whether you purchased from them or not?
Buyer-Controlled Purchasing
The world of making purchasing decisions is totally upside down from the way it was less than a decade ago. With the sales lead in control of the process, buying begins with information gathering.
A company that educates and informs is being very considerate of the sales lead. The prospective buyer does not see the information as pushy or even an interruption. Instead, they see you as a partner in the gathering stage of the process.
During this stage it also allows them to deepen their trust in your company and staff. They will often contact you when they have learned everything they feel they need to know. It becomes a very easy sale for your staff and sets up a friendly, helpful dynamic in the customer relationship.
Craig is the founder of SalesNexus.com, a leading provider of CRM, Email Marketing and Lead Generation solutions to business 2 business sales teams.
