Practical Ways Sales Can Improve Lead Conversion

By Mari Anne Vanella, CEO/ Founder, The Vanella Group, Inc.

What's the Problem?

Sales enablement platforms, Marketing automation, and access to enormous amounts of data on the internet have generated greater depth of sales intelligence. This has led to an increase in both the quality and number of leads identified for sales reps. In addition, online events, email campaigns, tradeshows, white papers, and many other methods bring in large volumes of prospects. It is therefore critical that success criteria and metrics be maintained so as to determine areas of focus.

One of the primary reporting metrics used to measure the success of a campaign, is its conversion rates, which may not truly reflect the overall success of a given campaign effort. Much of the conversion at late stages depends on the sales team and their interaction with prospects. This"last mile" of the sales effort requires a very effective approach. In my book,"42 Rules of Cold Calling Executives", I discuss many methods which can improve the initial contacts with executives.  However, most of those principles also apply to the entire sales cycle. There are some key points to keep in mind as you work to keep your prospect involved and engaged throughout the discussion process. Below are some methods that can be applied right now, to achieve higher conversion rates and have more meaningful discussions from the beginning of the sales cycle.

Ask questions

Even with the sophistication of sales enablement tools, live conversations are still the best way to build the relationships with prospects that are critical to success. The CSO Insights 2010 Telemarketing Study highlights that large deals are often closed on the phone. The dynamics of today's calls have advanced to higher levels than yesterday's"telemarketing" methods. The need for talking directly with prospects will never go away.

It is extremely important to understand what a prospective client is looking for and what their requirements are, in order to address them effectively. Ask a lot of questions, and work to understand their needs first, rather than having agreement for a demo or meeting be the objective. Pulling information from the prospect, versus pushing it will get the best results. The natural next step is a meeting at the customer's request instead of one made begrudgingly from a feeling of being pressured. 

No pitching allowed

In the early stages of discussions, prospects don't care about titles, history, long slide presentations, or anything that is more self-serving than informative.  The things that will build trust and confidence in a solution or service provider are:

• Knowledge of the prospect's problem and industry
• Understanding the solution
• No sales pressure

Harvard Business Review published a study several years back, on what customers want in a sales rep, versus how companies actually hired. The breakdown was clear. Customers rated having a knowledgeable rep that understands their challenges as top priority; however, companies put presentation skills at the top of the list desired qualities. Maintaining focus on the prospect's requirements from the beginning is more important than a flashy presentation and demo.

Less is better for initial follow ups

Let the deal unfold from what the prospect provides instead of giving them info that may be irrelevant. Being too eager to talk about everything you offer may drive a prospect away, rather than draw them in. You run the risk of causing the prospect to think"we don't need any of that" with respect to your solutions, and it is a hard ditch to dig out of when that happens. Listen to what your prospect is telling you and stick to their requirements, so that you build confidence with them that your solution is a fit.

As an example, clients of The Vanella Group, Inc. can be from sales or marketing depending on the program initiative. Marketing executives are much more interested in reporting, analytics, and data related deliverables, in addition to generating quality leads. Sales executives, however, are more interested in the late-stage opportunities we find for them, instead of the reporting features. It's the same program either way, but it's important that we highlight the value based on how our client is going to consume the deliverables, rather than talking about how to present it. I am very proud of the reporting we have created, but if I focus on our reporting and metrics offerings too much when talking to sales executives, they will get the wrong conclusion about immediate opportunities, from what I am telling them. Listen to your prospect and let then tell you what they need--don't tell them what they want.

These are just a few of many steps sales can take to achieve more productive and richer conversations that cement the first discussions with prospects into relationships you can build on.  The conversion of a lead into pipeline takes involvement and situational fluency of your prospects, their environment, and their unique challenges.  Taking more of a partnering approach at the early stages of the sales cycle will achieve increased revenue growth as the end result.