Articles
It’s a continuous flow of leads that produces sales
Constructing a prospect pipeline
by John GrahamShort-term thinking and long-term problems
Though faced with the reality of economic change, the constant reconfiguration
of the business landscape and most of all pressure to make the numbers, U.S.
companies continue on the short-term thinking path.
It’s so widely accepted today, short-term thinking is all that seems to
count. Long-range goals seem strangely out of place and irrelevant, reminiscent
of hunters of an earlier time. A popular business saying summarizes this concept: "Every
day, week, month and year, we have to do it all over again."
Getting up every morning is like going back to the starting line. Life insurance
agents and other salespeople look in the mirror and ask themselves the question,
"Who can I talk to today?" Even more to the point, “Where
can I find the ripe fruit?”
If a short-term strategy is so necessary and useful, then why do 46% of sales
managers report that their biggest challenge is dealing with under-performing
sales people?
A different view: a pipeline approach
Whether it’s investing, developing a transportation system or making sales,
the tendency to opt for the short-term and ignore longer-term issues is all but
universal. On a personal level, studies show that most Americans fail to plan
for their retirement. “Now” takes precedence over
“then.”
Our tendency toward “either-or” thinking drives us to conclude that
it must be either “short-term thinking” or “long-term thinking,” one
or the other.
What about “both-and” instead of “either-or”? Composer/guitarist
Dan McAvinchey points out that failures in the music business stem from short-term
thinking. He suggests a “both-and” strategy. For example:
Short-term: “I want to release my first CD this year.”
Long-term: “This year, I want to release the first of eight
CDs I plan to record over the next ten years.”
This model applies to marketing and sales as well. While everyone is faced with
meeting immediate objectives, does that mean we should ignore planning longer
term?
It has become crystal clear that buyers are not making snap decisions. An insurance
sales manager landed a very large account. When asked how long she had worked
on it, she replied, “Well over a year.”
Here’s the point: Without a pipeline of prospects, there can be little
long-term growth––or proper short-term results.
The process is one of constantly filling the pipeline with potential business
while taking care of the new business that flows from the pipe. More effort
going into customer creation pays off in increased business. Instead of
spending valuable time and resources to scavenger for new business, a more prudent
approach is to create a process that produces new business continuously.
Building the pipeline
Here are the elements of implementing a pipeline strategy:
1. View prospects as customers-in-the-making. Although salespeople
are quick to say that they are solution-oriented and want to help customers,
their behavior often betrays the most noble of intentions.
It isn't difficult to identify a salesperson who has a single objective in mind:
making the sale. Everything is aimed at achieving that goal. With such transparency,
prospects easily sense their true mission and go on the defensive, either rejecting
the salesperson or backing away from making a decision.
More often than not, the excuse that’s given for not making the sale is
price.
A different mindset views prospects as customers-in-the making, who
may buy today, tomorrow or a year from now. The goal is to bring them into an
orbit where they can gain an understanding of why they should do business with
you.
2. Make prospect identification a continuous process. It’s
easy to put making the sale ahead of creating the customer. The goal of
prospecting should be identifying those who fit a company's customer profile
and who, when properly cultivated, hold the potential for becoming buyers.
Yet, most companies find it difficult, if not impossible to make prospect identification
a continuing task. Even when prospect identification occurs, it is more often
than not a “temporary activity,” driven by a need to boost sales.
The life force of sales is a pipeline that's filled with prospective customers
who have learned the value of doing business with you––and who have
discovered all this before becoming customers.
3. Implement prospect cultivation tactics. The purpose
of cultivation is to build a relationship with prospects. Customers set
their own buying schedules and they're not about to have their priorities
changed to fit the needs of a salesperson who makes a flurry of calls or
sends a half-dozen emails and then quits because of a lack of response.
Today’s prospects are not moved by attempts to arrange a meeting or someone
saying, "I'd like to get together with you to gather information."
There's no time. But when it comes time to buy, those who have established
themselves in the prospect’s mind get the opportunity to write the
order.
4. Segment prospects to focus on individual needs. In
effect, there’s only one prospect––even though you may
be working with many. The goal is to have prospects conclude that your
solution meets their specific needs.
It’s an age of the individual customer where expectations are increasing
daily. The customer expects everything to be personalized. For example,
“boiler plate” communications and proposals do more to undermine
prospect confidence and interest than the actions of the most inept salespersons.
Today, we can manage our individual retirement accounts, order cars that are
customized to our specifications instead of having to take what’s on a
dealer’s lot and dine at restaurants that prepare meals to individual taste.
This is what customers also expect from salespeople.
5. Be a valuable resource. The most effective way to convince
a customer to buy from you is to make yourself invaluable. What you sell may
help a customer become more successful, but what you know solves customer problems.
There are those who are reluctant to share their knowledge, fearing that prospects
will take what they want and never bother to become buyers.
The president of a highly successful insurance operation reports receiving calls
from both customers and prospects about his newsletter articles. “They
want to discuss an idea they found in one of the articles,” he reports.
What you know is more important than what you sell. The best way
for prospects to become aligned with your company is to allow them to discover
what’s helpful to them from your experience and knowledge.
6. Find ways to help customers be more successful. If
partnering has any value as a concept, it's to be found in helping prospects
and customers meet business challenges. Just selling them the right product
or service isn't nearly sufficient to build a lasting bond. Almost any "vendor"
can do that.
Going beyond the expected is today's challenge. A wholesaler of bakery mixes
found its customers asking for help in marketing their products. It almost came
as a shock to management that quality, innovative products were not enough to
secure accounts. Customers were looking for ways to sell more baked goods. Meeting
this need was the first step in selling more mixes and fillings.
7. Demonstrate leadership. While playing it cautious can
be prudent, it's leadership that captures the attention of prospects. Mass
merchandiser Best Buy is leaving the competition behind with its assertive
marketplace strategy. Through advertising, store design, cutting edge product
emphasis, Best Buy sends the message that it’s number one.
On a smaller scale, a Chinese restaurant opens in a location seemingly saturated
with similar establishments. But the cuisine and atmosphere are noticeably unique.
Sensing something new, different and comfortable, customers stand in line at
the door.
It's establishing a leadership image that appeals to today's prospects and customers.
A results-based approach
Because results are what count, wasting time chasing possible sales, following
up on less than serious prospects and preparing dead-end proposals doesn't make
sense today. Time is too valuable. Short-term sales tactics fail to deliver long-term
results.
What's required is a pipeline of prospects that, because they know and understand
your products and services, create a steady flow of new business.
In the end, it’s a carefully crafted combination of longer-term planning
that creates short-term results.
John R. Graham is president of Graham Communications, a marketing services and sales consulting firm. He is the author of The New Magnet Marketing and Break the Rules Selling, writes for a variety of business publications, and speaks on business, marketing and sales issues. Contact him at 40 Oval Road, Quincy, MA 02170; 617-328-0069; jgraham@grahamcomm.com.