B2B Sales Pipeline

I’ve had several conversations this week with Sales Managers who lament that, although their reps are utilizing the CRM, they aren’t mandating that the data be clean,, which really shortchanges themselves in the form of implementing automation.  2 places where cleanliness can show immediate dividends is in your CRM’s E-mail and Assigned Rep fields.

E-mail: Although you may not have the customer name spelling right, and multiple people can have the same name (yes Bill Smith…I’m talking to you), e-mail accounts are always unique.  Even if it is a free account provider, they enforce a 6 month waiting period before another person can get kewl_guy7@hotmail.com (Yes Bill - I’m still talking to you).  Ensuring that you have the e-mail address, and that it is unique allows you to nurture your prospects via e-mails, newsletters, press releases, etc….  Also, many third party marketing systems (Bulk E-mail Marketing, Marketing Automation) will attempt to put information into your CRM, and the most logical key to utilize to synchronize that data is the e-mail address field.

Assigned Rep:  When you are automatically nurturing prospects via e-mail correspondence, the best way to make it APPEAR as being individualized is to have it originate from the assigned sales rep, which is information contained in the CRM system.  Although getting an automated e-mail from your sales rep can appear sincere, getting an e-mail from the guy who hasn’t worked for the company in 6 months looks disengenuious.  And what if the message resonates with the person and they respond to the old rep’s account???  Does that address bounce?  You just lost a prospect.  (AUTHOR’S NOTE:  Most CRM systems allow for the bulk update of Account Rep, so if it isn’t right, it’s easy enough to fix)

De-duping the e-mail address field, and keeping the assigned sales representative field up to date can open a world of 1-to-1 “lights out” e-mail marketing, which is personalized, inexpensive, and can be highly effective as a sales and marketing tool.

Have a Great Weekend Everybody !

I had an eye opening experience yesterday that I wanted to lay out there and rant about. I had a customer do me “a courtesy”. Let me explain.

Following the lead of “Dragnet” the names in the following story have been changed to protect the innocent:

Courteous Person - I’ll call this guy “Clien Clodeberg“, so, in the off chance he does me “the courtesy” of reading my blog, he won’t be offended.

History - So I had called Clein several times over the past few weeks, because he was the logical point of entry at a business who fit my ideal customer profile (and yes…I’d done my research to ensure that we would be able to add value to a customer of this type). Clien didn’t return my calls, however he did shoot me an e-mail, asking for a meeting.

Sales 101 - Qualify the candidate - So I called several more times, trying to investigate his marketing pain, and try to identify ways in which a software solution could streamline his marketing to sales process. No return, however a few days before the meeting, I sent him a note with a brief list of Features and Benefits of our solution, and indicated that I would be equipped to perform a sales demonstration.

Yesterday - I drive across Atlanta in lunch hour traffic to meet with Clien. When I get there, he indicates that (a) his organization has no need for this type of solution, (b) he does not care to see any sort of demonstration, and that (c) he was simply doing me the “courtesy” of meeting with me, since they are a vendor to our parent company.

Here’s my confusion - How was he doing me a courtesy? In making me miss lunch to go to his meeting? In the burning of $3 of petrol? In the 2 hours lost of what would have been productive phone time calling west coast customers, in an attempt to schedule meetings that mattered?

You’ve heard the adage - “Everyone should have to wait tables once in their life”. I’d propose that everyone should have to be in sales for a month. The world would be a kinder and gentler place for the sales professional.

A couple of things that customers would do if they had ever been on the sales side of the equation:

1. Take 5 - Just take 5 minutes to discuss challenges ways that my solution may be of benefit or review information to determine if you see the value in what I’m proposing. As the sales professional, I’ve already done my part - determining if your organization is a fit, and crafting a value proposition that would be of value to you.

2. Thanks but No Thanks - If, in 5 minutes, you didn’t see the value, simply thank me for my time, and agree to a call 6 months down the road. AUTHOR’S NOTE - not responding (call screening, not responding to e-mails), makes me think that maybe…just maybe you’re still a candidate, so being honest with me will allow us both to get on with our lives.

3. Don’t do me any courtesies - This is where you have to practice”tough love”. If it’s not a fit, or now isn’t a great time, identify a mutually agreeable time to reconnect. Please don’t:

• Drag me away from ACTUAL customers to meet when it’s obviously not a fit.
• Since I don’t subscribe to “interruption sales / marketing”, my initial call always asks for 5 minutes at a time when we can both focus on the matter at hand - discussing a solution that will make your life easier. Agree to a meeting time, and then call screening makes me feel like you may have had car trouble, and that you want me to call you again…and again…and again…yada, yada, yada, ad nauseam (See #2 above).

So there it is - a couple of rules of thumb that will help you be a better customer, and understand as a sales professional that everyone deals with bad customers.

Now quit reading this blog and let’s get to selling on a Friday!