Attracting and keeping customers in a competitive business environment is an ongoing challenge. Competition gets tougher and innovative technologies become better, which can make the lead attraction and retention landscape particularly daunting. 

Personal aspects such as rejections, objections and proven leads are difficult to come by, especially if you’re new to this field. The work is time-consuming and can discourage even the most optimistic if they aren’t well trained.

Define the best prospects if you want their business 

On a positive note, less than 3% of people actually want to hear from a salesperson according to studies. This means that having an excellent 800 service provider like Kall8 can only improve the chances of identifying and following through on potential leads. 

Once the prospect or lead advances beyond the beginning stages of the system, they are advancing toward becoming prospects. When they show enough interest to engage with a sales rep, they are positive for becoming customers. 

Panning for positive sale leads

When a business has smart technology to capture leads, prospecting is that much easier. The current world of automation and digital marketing makes it essential to have some kind of tracking and recording system to keep a tab on leads. It is only when these leads are tracked that they can be transformed into customers. 

Making use of social media, phone calls, networking, email and other marketing efforts is the best way to pan for prospects. Using an existing website and targeting content to attract visitors is another proven method to attract prospects to persuade them to become customers.

Redefine your sales funnel and pipeline

The sales funnel and pipeline are simply inverse systems that require improved integration. Where the sales funnel refers to the customer journey, the sales pipeline relates to the sales rep’s journey. These two need to be well integrated to identify when sales leads are beginning to convert or why they aren’t. 

Studies indicate that companies make the most conversions when they contact callers back within an hour of first contact. The longer an employee waits to return the call, the less chance there is of that customer wanting to develop a relationship. Get back to them in an hour and they know you’re serious about providing customer service. 

Analytics show that leads move down the funnel to become prospects

It is crucial to have an effective analytics system in place. When a business is able to perform internal analytics, they are more easily able to identify prospects and close sales. When a business is able to define processes and systems linked with the sales funnel and pipeline, they are able to adjust their strategies. 

Analytics tell the business if their sales team needs to be more proactive closer to the top of the sales funnel, for example. If this is identified as an area for improvement, further training can be provided to capture and close more sales by approaching leads at an earlier stage.

Innovation meets technology for improved customer experience

When people think about innovation, they think about technology. Innovation is present all over, but it needs to be captured through creativity. This means that sales teams and management need to use technology to their advantage, to capture more leads. Then they need to improve their training and systems to ensure that they include an approachable human element in their sales techniques. 

Customers are people. They want to be treated as if they’re important. Building relationships with them is the quickest way to find out who they are, what they want, and how to give it to them in a way that also benefits the business.