Sales Best Practices

Use a Standardized Lead Nurturing Strategy to Improve Customer Conversions

Best Practice (Good)

Develop and enforce the use of a structured and standardized lead nurturing strategy. Monitor follow ups by sales representatives and place leads into a non-qualified list for nurturing, should any opportunity become inactive (i.e., situations where the sales representative is unable to contact the potential lead). Accelerate, or decelerate the cycle of contacts, or "touches," according to prospect-specific issues (company merging, closing, etc.).

Typical Practice (Bad)

Follow up with qualified leads and current customers both if they have shown interest in purchasing a product or service, or if they have just purchased a big ticket item. Leads (whether pre-qualified or not) who have not interacted with sales representatives should not be followed up with as they have shown little to no interest in purchasing a product or service.

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Benefits:

Leads often take a long time to convert from a qualified lead to a paying customer, whether because of a lack of knowledge, poor sales messages or simply because they are not ready (or are too busy) to purchase a product or service at the moment they are contacted. As such, long-term cultivation of leads not only keeps previously qualified leads in the organization’s queue, but it also allows potential customers to interact with the organization when they are ready. Accelerating or decelerating the cycle of contacts, or "touches," furthermore, increases the chance that the Lead Generation & Research function and sales representatives can reach qualified leads and actually produce a constructive interaction.

Prepare Adaptable Opening and Product Presentations to Improve Quality of Customer Interactions

Best Practice (Good)

Develop an effective and easily changeable opening and presentation speech. Use a standardized checklist to ensure all necessary personal (computer, notebook, etc.) and presentational-related preparations (products or services being demoed, brochures, etc.) are available to quick use. Ensure that all speeches and presentations are done in a way that allows the sales representative to adapt to the potential customer’s situation (financial or otherwise).

Typical Practice (Bad)

Use standardized cold call and presentation scripts to interact with prospective customers in an effective manner. Ensure that some time is set aside to review and practice the speech and product or service presentation(s), with a strong focus on the pace of the speech.

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Benefits:

Well-orchestrated speeches (introductory or otherwise) and product or service presentations not only allow outside sales representatives to depict their organization’s products and services in an easily understood and relevant manner, but they also focus on the potential customer and ensure multiple interactions that provide the representative with useful feedback. Such speeches and presentations, furthermore, should be considered as "living documents" and susceptible to changes or modifications so as to adapt to the situation potential customers find themselves in. For instance, before a representative makes a presentation, it is always a good idea to provide a brief recap of their understanding of the prospect’s situation to both ensure that situations haven’t changed and that the presentation can adequately address the key issues the prospective customer has. Such practices increase both the confidence of the prospective customer with the organization and the likelihood that a sale will take place.

Review Specific Examples and Data to Improve Sales Representative Performance

Best Practice (Good)

Use specific examples and data when reviewing sales representative performance. Use multiple call playbacks, or customer interaction documentation, and keyword spotting tools to analyze the processes of a sales interaction and identify the exact markers where representatives adhere to scripts, comply with business plans and communicate using the right business pitch.

Typical Practice (Bad)

Use clear and easily understandable language when describing to a sales representative where he or she succeeded or fell short in a customer interaction. Provide the representatives with a standardized checklist containing the steps to be taken in order to repeat or improve the representative’s performance. Ensure that the sales representative has easy access to call scripts to refer back to when necessary.

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Benefits:

Using actual data and examples to show sales representatives where he or she succeeded or fell short, allows management to not only paint a more holistic picture of the representative’s performance, but it also dismisses the potential for bias and ensures that the representative understands exactly what is involved in the good or bad performance. Multiple call playbacks, or customer interaction documentation, and the use of a keyword spotting tool, furthermore, allows managers to use customer comments and keyword use to identify where representatives adhere to scripts, comply with business plans and communicate using the right business pitch. Such demonstrations allow the representative and manager to develop concrete steps to be taken in order to repeat or improve the representative’s performance.