Why Lead Scoring Will Make You Money

I hear this from clients all the time: "Why do I have to make sales even MORE complicated? I don't need to add lead scoring." Well, you don't need to make sales more complicated, and you DO need to add lead scoring. Here's why.

Lead scoring is a simple system to make your pipeline value visible to the rest of the sales team. I'm a fan of writing 3 or 4 simple scoring lines like When Is The Lead Planning to Make a Purchase (the sooner, the higher the number,) What Is The Budget For The Purchase (the higher the better,) What Is The Interest Level of the Lead (are they contacting you or are you reaching out,) and the like. Ideally, each of these lines will score 1-3 points. The higher the score, the better.

Now, how were those high-scoring leads sourced? Who on the team has the most high scores? Does that correlate to their closing ratio? Should more of the team start sourcing leads in the ways the high-scoring leads are sourced? The answers to these questions will streamline your lead generation, saving time and money, while increasing your closing ratio.

Channeling the Ginsu Knives commercials, I have to say, "And that's not all!" Are your best closers assigned to the high-scoring leads? Or are they your best closers because they close everybody, no matter the score? Why would you give your worst closer your best leads? You can learn a lot about your sales rep's strengths and weaknesses by ranking their leads and seeing if they close. Now you know where to direct your coaching with those individual reps.

"But wait! There's more!" If the scores and the pipeline are public, you have more choices in how to manage your time. Is a rep out sick, and they have a high-score appointment on the board? Does a poor closer have time for a ride along or two with a strong closer? Is Joe a weak closer because he only sources low-scoring leads? You can allocate the team's time in ways that will ensure the high-scoring leads are never left hanging, and can be used as teaching opportunities. And you can learn more about each rep's lead gen process.

And lastly, have your reps defend their scoring. If it isn't challenged, they may just tell you what you want to hear. And when the whole team can see how many high-scoring leads are generated by others, they will compete for that number, too. Nobody likes to see themselves at the bottom of any ranking more than occasionally, so that problem is now solving itself, without much management intervention.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and this won't be either. Add one scoring metric a week until you have the metrics in place that make sense for your business. Don't ask your reps to track too many factors, or it will become a burden. Aim for 3-5, and hold them accountable. And watch your bottom line change!

Elisabeth Marino is an sales process adviser working in Buffalo, NY, and a frequent contributor to LinkedIn. She has worked in sales development and evaluation for 17 years, and helped dozens of organizations improve their sales numbers. Connect with and follow her here, visit her website: www.marinoconsultants.com, on Facebook as Sales Dynamo Consulting, and follow her on Twitter @SalesDynamoNY.

The 4 Most Common Shopper Personalities, and How To Sell Them

There are millions of individual personalities out there, but most of us fall into one of 4 categories when we are shopping: The Expert, The Connector, The Prisoner, or The Evaluator. Each one of these shopping styles requires information and service to be presented in a particular way in order to make the shopper feel respected and interested in doing business with you. At first glance, it may seem like patronizing people, but really, you're just addressing your prospect in their own language. If their language was Serbian, you wouldn't speak French, would you?

Here are the 4 most common shopper types, and a few pointers on how to speak their language:

The Expert

This shopper believes they know it all already. Saving face is very important to them. You must respect the knowledge and experience they have, or think they have. Use reinforcement phrases like: I like what you just said. -and-  That’s a great question. Start sentences with: As I’m sure you already know… Question with: I’m curious about your thoughts on…

  

The Connector

This shopper is always looking for familiar context.  Everything will remind them of a story, person, or movie. They want to trust you, and want things to make sense. Use phrases that emphasize the familiar: Use their own words and phrases whenever possible. Analogies are usually helpful with these shoppers. Start sentences with: You may have thought it would be nice if… and then follow with a feature. Questions should be grounded in recent statements the shopper has made: “How soon are you looking to buy (whatever they just said)?”

The Prisoner

This shopper doesn’t want to be in the market. They want to get it over with. All they need is trust to move forward. Trust that you will take this issue off their hands, and they won’t have to cope with it anymore. Write things down! Never ask them to repeat themselves. De-escalating their emotions is very important, but it needs to be done in a way that is not minimizing the importance of their feelings. Start sentences with: Thanks for bringing that up. -and- This must be a frustrating position for you. Question with: Do you think we should talk about ________?

The Evaluator

This shopper loves the shopping, and always wants more time and material to consider. Helping them to the decision phase may be seen as pushy. They will walk away if they don’t feel educated. They want a lifeline, so they will ask about guarantees and warranties. Comparison shopping is the norm for them, and they may lead you on in hopes of getting a deal to take to your competitors. Start sentences with: “As you may know from your research…”  Question with: “To answer you better, I’d like to ask you a question.”

Why Closing Is Different In 2015

In 2005, everyone had computer access and a cell phone.  None of us had streaming TV, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Facebook, or Skype.  Faxing was still big. Important information still regularly came in your physical mailbox. 2015 is a year where the 2005 plan just won't cut it.

The biggest difference in the sales world is that prospect and buyers expect to be part of the sales process. Interactive sales are the norm. Clients will want custom products, and they will tell you how they are willing to let you sell it.  Anyone can open their phone and Google your "facts," and comparison shopping is almost instantly available to every customer.  What's a sales pro to do?

Interacting with your client doesn't just mean showing up for a meeting anymore. Now we text, tweet, video chat, email, and LinkedIn message our customers and our prospects.  Following a prospect on social media keeps us in the loop as their attitudes and goals change and evolve. And they follow us, and our competition, too. The sheer volume of available information has made consumers a much more educated group.

How does this affect closing? Focus on helping your prospect meet their goals and relieve their pain points. Listen as much as possible to how your solution will be implemented and how it will benefit the customer's plans. People commit to relationships they believe are honest and beneficial, so it's important that your client doesn't feel sandbagged in the closing process. (After the commitment has been made is not the time to throw in, "Oh, by the way, I need you to sign this.")

Written agreements give you the authorization to handle sensitive information, and give the customer a record of the commitments you and your company have made. Emphasize that your agreement protects your client's privacy; it limits who has access to their information, and for what purpose. When a prospect asks you for a commitment, that's a great time to agree, hold up your agreement and say, "and we put it in writing." 

Don't be surprised if your client pulls out an agreement of their own for you to sign on behalf of your company.  More and more purchasing departments in companies small and large have "contractor agreements," which usually supersede any other oral or written agreements.  They often include non-disclosure clauses, and penalties to the vendor if the solution is late, ineffective, or improperly maintained. Make sure you have permission to sign before you go ahead and do it.  If you're not sure, bring it back to the office with you and hand it off to your boss.  

Your competition isn't local anymore.  Your competition is anything a customer can find on the internet.  If someone else out there offers a nuance or policy that your customers like or want, they will pressure you to offer it, too.  Welcome to the interactive sale.

The 5 "E"s Will Close More Business

Quite often I mention how important it is to have an agenda for every client interaction.  The five "E"s are a great example.  They are the groundwork for every client interaction, and after each meeting, I write down the notes relating to them. There is no script, but there is always a plan.

Energize yourself, your presentation, your materials, and because of that, your meeting.  You don't need cheerleader-level spunk, but it needs to be clear that you're happy to meet with your client, and that you're paying close attention to the conversation.  Don't ask your client to repeat themselves if you can possibly avoid it!

Encourage the client to share long and short term goals for themselves or their company (depending on which is the customer.)  Goals are why people buy. They want a hole, not a drill. Make sure you know what their goals are, because it tells you what to sell them, and how.

Educate the client about how your product will meet their goals.  If your product makes beautiful holes quickly, talk about holes.  Talk about product reliability in terms of "security in hole-making for years to come." Answer questions about the product, but don't drone on
like an infomercial!  The client cares about reaching their goal, and moving on to the next one.

Engage the customer on a human level by dropping the jargon as much as possible.  Say "hassle" instead of "impediment," or any other opportunity to humanize the conversation.  Talk to people like they're people. Jargon is necessary in most businesses some of the time. Humanity is necessary all of the time.

Empower your customer to reach their goals by supplying only the right products, always at the right price.  If you over-sell, you will probably not earn repeat business.  Your client will have an unrealistic impression of the cost and complexity of your solution.  If you under-sell, your customer won't reach their goal.  And if you overcharge, they will find out at some point.  Not only will repeat business be in jeopardy, your reputation may be as well.