From Lead to Close 4 Strategies to Win Deals Faster
A guide for using todays collaborative technology to increase your customer value Sponsored by:
WHITE PAPER: From Lead to Close 4 Strategies to Win Deals Faster
From Lead to Close 4 Strategies to Win Deals Faster
A guide for using todays collaborative technology to increase your customer value Executive Summary Instead of logging miles behind the wheel of a car or in the seat of an airplane, todays road warriors log their hours on the Internet highway in Web conferences, on email, entering data in customer-management systems, and collaborating with team members using online meeting software. The salespersons technology tool chest is overflowing, and with a plethora of options, the question for salespeople now becomes, Which technologies will help me do my job better, quicker, and easier? After all, not all collaboration and communication tools are created equal, and evaluating choices can be a daunting task. Using the sales cycle as a guide, this white paper discusses four main strategies that sales reps can use to leverage todays technology to solve the eternal goal of serving the customer when and how he or she chooses. By examining how the latest collaboration tools can assist in these four areas, the need for flexible, easy-to-use, interactive tools becomes clear. Overview: State of the Sophisticated Sales Marketplace Never before have there been so many ways to communicate with our companies, our sales teams, our prospects, our clients. While its true that the way were communicating is changing, what were communicating is not. The goal is still the same: to serve customers and prospects and move them through the sales cycle as smoothly as possible. To keep the focus on the customer, weve taken a look at the standard sales cycle and identified four stages along the way where salespeople can use todays social and collaborative technology to make their jobs easier and serve their customers and prospects more effectively and efficiently. The four strategies to win deals faster are as follows: Strategy #1: Synchronizing Sales & Marketing Strategy #2: Growing Your Customer Comprehension Strategy #3: Making It Easy for the Prospect Strategy #4: Deepening the Business Relationship Additionally, technology can assist in attracting prospects, engaging them in conversation and helping to create value.
WHITE PAPER: From Lead to Close 4 Strategies to Win Deals Faster
Strategy #1: Synchronizing Sales & Marketing One of the biggest changes in sales as a result of technology is the vast number of entry points. No longer do reps plan on receiving a couple of large infusions of leads a few times a year as a result of trade shows or large-scale, direct sales mailings. Now the doors are open 24/7, and while many prospects will enter through the front door via a marketing mailing, a trade show, or other events from which leads are easily tracked many will come through the back. New leads could first learn of you through Twitter, attend a Webinar, or download a PDF of a slideshow or white paper from your company blog. They might stumble upon a free trial offer and sign up, or hear a podcast on iTunes. While qualified prospects from any source are golden, these stealth prospects that fly under the radar can lead to confusion. Its difficult to even know whos following you, what they know and dont know, and whose responsibility it is to track them. Its also tough to keep the messaging consistent across your company, ensuring that sales and marketing are working from the same page. The solution: Coordinate efforts. Regular meetings between sales and marketing can eliminate duplication of effort, ensure that leads dont fall through the cracks, and guarantee that sales and marketing are on the same page regarding promotions, messaging, and follow-up. Online meetings are ideal for this purpose because location is irrelevant. To make the most of your meetings, choose a provider that offers an easy-to-use solution with excellent screen resolution and functionality, so your meetings are effective, not a waste of time.
Weve come to find [Web conferencing] is really important for teamwork. It enhances everyday conversations. Web conferencing puts us on the same page, literally and figuratively. Citrix Online customer, healthcare
Strategy #2: Growing Your Customer Comprehension The bottom line is that prospects are looking for product and service providers who get them and understand their business, their market, and their challenges. It doesnt matter if they move quicker from one stage of the sales cycle to the next if they dont feel understood along the way. The goal for salespeople, then, should be to use the latest online technologies and tools to increase their understanding of their customers needs and interests, not just to move them quicker along the conveyor belt toward SOLD! The solution: Drill down for new levels of communication. The ability to establish two-way communication, get feedback and information, and deepen the meaningful dialogue with prospects is one of the most effective uses of social and collaborative technologies. Salespeople can hold impromptu demo sessions via an online meeting, ask customers to collaborate on presentations or contracts by sending them an overview and asking them to indicate their areas of highest interest, and add a new level of personal attention
WHITE PAPER: From Lead to Close 4 Strategies to Win Deals Faster
to traditional sales calls by application and desktop sharing in real time. Much communication isnt planned; it occurs on the fly. Salespeople should look for solutions that enable them to set up meetings in a matter of seconds, not ones that require planning weeks ahead of time. The ability to share files and documents on the same screen is also a must when providing training or asking for feedback or input. Cost, of course, is always an issue, as is ease of use; customers shouldnt need to invest hours of training to understand the interface for a 15-minute conference.
[With Web conferencing,] participant attitudes become more collaborative; there is no longer one person driving the meeting. Web conferencing fosters better input and participation. Citrix Online customer, software development
Strategy #3: Making It Easy for the Prospect Internet marketing pundits, like popular podcaster Paul Colligan, have said that Web 2.0 is all about delivering the information your customers want, when and how they want it. And good selling has always been about making the process as easy as possible for your prospects. Sales via Web 2.0 involves using the latest technology to meet customers where they are online, on the phone, on the iPad, or visually via Web conferencing. The solution: Meet customers where and when they want. Provide downloadable presentations, recordings from online meetings, PDF case studies, slide shows, and more. Answer their questions on social-media sites. Be a first-to-market in your industry with a presence on the latest and greatest social-media site. Nimble and responsive is the key to customer satisfaction. Its easy to spread yourself too thin, of course, so evaluate your choices by asking your customers for input. What would they like to see from you? Where are they surfing for information? What questions and needs do they have? Do most of your prospects have the same questions, or is each one entirely different? Do they prefer text, audio, video, or some combination thereof? Invest your time accordingly. And look for solutions that allow you to get up and running quickly without investing extensive time or money.
People can participate from home, their work desk, or someone elses desk, so its very flexible for the participant. Its really interactive to share an Excel file or PowerPoint or an application. We can show where we need more information, make decisions immediately, and get agreement faster, and its done. Citrix Online customer, pharmaceutical manufacturer
Strategy #4: Deepening the Business Relationship Its an unquestioned law that your most valuable customer is the one you already have, not the one on your lead list. But many salespeople dont fully exploit the relationships with current customers, meaning that
WHITE PAPER: From Lead to Close 4 Strategies to Win Deals Faster
millions of dollars and tons of value may be left on the table. The latest communication technologies provide great opportunities to serve your customers better by educating them on all your offerings. The solution: Keep communicating, learning, and teaching. Your relationship with your customers must be an ongoing process, one that includes the time in between sales cycles. Checking in with customers on a regular basis to ask about changing needs, discuss the opportunity for a case study or reference, and ask for referrals should be a regular part of your call plan, as should updating them on your companys latest wins, advances, and releases. Hosting Web-based events where current customers can ask questions, share new ideas and insights, and brainstorm with other customers is an excellent way to build community and mine your client base for opportunities. These get-togethers can be informal or formal, involve sharing of knowledge, feature speakers from other departments inside your company, and be recorded for download and later viewing by other customers or prospects. Again, finding a sweet spot of ease of use, quality, and cost containment is key when choosing your provider.
Recording features are great; they helpbecause if [someones] not there live, [customers] can see a recording. Citrix Online customer, building supplies manufacturer
Closing Thoughts Its easy to use a lot of words without saying anything of real value. Just because youre using the latest tools and technologies to connect with your customers and prospects doesnt mean youre increasing your value. Despite the change in tools, the basic function of the sales professional hasnt changed; your goal is to add value to your clients business through your knowledge and expertise. Updating your Facebook status 10 times a day or hosting a weekly chatfest is a waste of time if youre not providing useful, relevant content to your clients. The tools are there. The customers are there. Your job is to find a way to bridge the gap, using the tools to take your knowledge to your market how, when, and where your customers want it.
About Selling Power
Founded by Gerhard Gschwandtner in 1981, Selling Power magazine is the leading sales-management magazine in the United States. Selling Power Inc. maintains a book-publishing division; an audio-publishing division; a daily five-minute executive video at sellingpower.com/video; and the leading Website in the sales industry, sellingpower.com, with more than 100,000 visitors a month.
About Citrix Online Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems Inc., is a leading provider of easy-to-use, on-demand applications for Web conferencing and collaboration. Its award-winning services include GoToMeeting Corporate, a complete collaboration solution that satisfies all Web-conferencing needs ranging from large Webinars to small online meetings. With GoToMeeting Corporate, organizations of any size can use GoToWebinar for do-it yourself Web events and GoToMeeting for smaller, more interactive online meetings. GoToMeeting Corporate allows users to easily present, demonstrate, and provide training online to anyone, anywhere in the world. GoToMeeting Corporate can make businesses of any size more productive by reducing travel time and costs and enhancing communication, ultimately leading to faster decision making and more efficient workers. For a free evaluation of GoToMeeting Corporate, please visit www.gotomeeting.com/s/WReval.
