An epidemic of missed revenue...

I have written a lot recently about cold-calling and new customer acquisition. One area of potential revenue that continually gets sold short or overlooked, however, is that of lapsed customers. These come from a few different places:

1. They bought from you once, for one thing they needed at the time, and aren't aware that you have other things they could benefit from too. A good example of this is a small local publication we work with who primarily sell ad-space in their paper. The company, however, is a full-service marketing firm with the ability to help their customers grow their business using digital marketing alongside their print ads. They've recently seen a spike in new business by turning these customers on to the other things they have to offer. 

2. Customers get lost due to sales force turnover. If you use a CRM, you likely have certain customers assigned to specific sales reps, whether in a round-robin fashion, or on a first-come, first served basis.  I just talked to a gentleman yesterday who, after being on the sales floor at a Lexus dealership for two weeks, pulled a similar report from the CRM, and as a result, achieved his sales quota in his first month and every month thereafter. Had he not done that, there likely would have been thousands of dollars in missed revenue for the dealership.

3. They just forgot, and need invited back. You would be surprised about how many times we're talking to our clients' customers and we hear, "Oh yeah, I completely forgot about you guys. Of course I'd like to place another order." With such a distraction-heavy world, you can't afford to be out of sight, and out of mind, because it's leading to more missed revenue.

All of these potential customers are relationships you already have, or had at one point. You don't have to go find them. They don't need marketed to, or gimmicked.  They're already in your CRM, or database, and just need re-engaged. Do your customers know all the services and solutions you provide When was the last time you pulled a report of leads, prospects, and customers who are assigned to sales reps that are no longer with your company? Are you continually engaging one-off customers and staying top of mind?

Do you need to tighten up your hand-off?

I ran the 4 x 400m on my track team in high school, and I was reminded today of how critical the hand-off is. The valuable seconds that can be gained or lost in the passing of the baton can be the difference between winning by a few strides and losing... by any distance. 

This seemingly simple concept is something that carries with it implications from business management to sales and marketing. As you continue reading, I challenge you to think through areas where you could save valuable time and money by tightening up your hand-off.

In my line of work, the most critical hand-off happens between sales and operations. It doesn't matter how hard sales representatives work to bring in new business; if the hand-off to operations isn't seamless for the client, you risk losing potential business. So here's some quick things to consider:

1. When does it make sense to pass the baton? If after a contract gets signed, the client is immediately shunted over to an account executive or program manager, make sure that you're providing a smooth transition for the client. If I throw the baton to the next runner in the race, and he drops it, we're disqualified. Make sure operations is ready for new business to come on, and if they're not, make sure you're setting proper expectations with your clients regarding the timeline of next steps.
2. How does the hand-off take place? Is it a face-to-face introduction with the next guy in line? Oftentimes, the clarity around such a hand-off can be lacking. Clients go back to the sales rep to ask certain questions or make requests that should likely be handled by their operational contact. Keep your sales reps focused on selling by developing a strong internal protocol surrounding the hand-off, and train your sales reps on how to delegate back to their ops counterparts so they can stay focused on new business.
3. Does the baton ever move backwards? In certain industries, it makes sense to bring the sales rep back into the conversation. For example, I was recently tapped to help talk through setting up a new program for an existing client. Since I have the expertise of negotiating contracts and onboarding new programs, I was happy to support. Make sure that everyone is on the same page throughout this entire process in order to ensure an excellent customer experience for your client.

Another implication of this metaphor is executive leadership handing off responsibilities to their employees. Have you been intentional about surrounding yourself with people who can carry various batons of your business for the next leg of the race? And have you communicated clearly enough this hand-off process and expectations moving forward? 

What about outsourcing? Have you considered passing certain batons to a competent partner? I was always the third leg of the race. I knew exactly where I needed to be in line at the point of exchange in order to set up the anchor for a win. That was my job. That was my expertise. The first leg needed to get us into the lead. The second leg needed to hold the lead and gain a few precious strides. There are others who do certain aspects of your business as their core business. Passing these batons effectively could significantly decrease internal cost and drive new revenue, improving your bottom line.

Where else have you seen folks nail the hand-off?

"Sales isn't my thing..."

I was at an event the other night, and I met a CPA. We got through names, and 'What do you do?'s", and when he learned that I oversee a team of on-demand sales experts and help small businesses grow their sales funnel activity, his response was, "Sales isn't my thing."

Sales isn't your thing? 

I gave a quick shrug and laughed it off to keep the Sarcastic Monkey in my head from blurting out, "You know that sales literally pays everyone's bills, right?"

Obviously, I knew what he meant - that he isn't the type who can walk up to a stranger and try to convince them they need what he has, and handle rejection after rejection, day after day. But let's talk about that; I mean, is that really anybody's thing? 

I'm sure those people exist, but I'm in sales, and the way I just described it (the way most people think about 'sales') sounds absolutely awful to me too!

What's the alternative?

Early in my sales career, I was given advice that I employ at every sales call, networking event, and social gathering I can: Ask, "What's your story?"

The things I've learned since utilizing this approach have been remarkable.

Stories open up opportunities for sales.

Stories have characters - your prospect, their stakeholders, yourself. And every good story has a conflict - a problem that needs solved.

If you are listening well to your prospects' stories, you won't need to convincethem they need what you have. They'll tell you themselves in the story of their business.

Your story is the happy ending.

You then have the opportunity to tell a different kind of story. Telling your own story is a non-invasive way to write the resolution to your prospects' stories. 

Whether it's telling the story of how you solved others problems like theirs in the past, or how your company is the sort of partner that your clients enjoy working with, tell the happy ending story that comes when your prospect chooses to work with you.

Maybe sales "isn't your thing." But we all tell stories. Make telling great stories your thing.

Hubspot's take on why cold calling is dead

I recently published a post called Cold calling sucks.

As I was surfing LinkedIn and other sites today, I stumbled upon Hubspot's take on the same topic, titled, "6 Data-Driven Reasons Why Cold Calling Flat Out Sucks." 

Their research is sound, and their data doesn't lie. In fact, it takes my emotional rant about how much the actual action of cold calling sucks, and adds a lot of data behind why the practice of cold calling doesn't actually accomplish what you want it to accomplish.

I, however, disagree with the fact that cold calling is dead. I'm more prone to line up under another post written by Mike Schultz at Rain Sales Training, where he explores, as I did in my previous post, the various reasons why.

Without regurgitating his entire blog post, I'll wrap up here by saying, just because it hasn't worked for you yet, doesn't mean cold calling doesn't work.

If it's not your forte, accept that, and find a partner who's an expert in inside sales.

If it's too expensive, find a way to hire someone cheaper, or look into developing a well-structured co-sourced sales strategy.

If you're focusing on networking events, writing a book, speaking engagements or other high-octane methods of driving funnel activity, awesome! Fill up the spaces between these events with time-tested, well-executed prospecting.

Where do you fall on the scale of "cold calling's dead" to "cold calling works"?

Cold calling sucks.

There it is – I said it.

Cold calling flat out sucks. It always has. It always will.

It’s probably the best way to generate consistent, quality leads.

But it sucks.

It’s a time-tested way to clean up your old database and find new business from old customers.

But it sucks.

It’s the quickest way to test the waters in new markets.

But it sucks.

It’s an absolutely necessity to keep the top of the sales funnel filled so your closers can focus on closing.

But it sucks.

It’s a way to supplement the slower drip marketing campaigns that generate inbound leads.

But it sucks.

It’s a safe way to gain initial traction when launching a new product.

But it sucks.

It’s an efficient way to qualify prospects and deliver higher-quality leads.

But it sucks.

It doesn’t matter how many positives there might be, cold calling will always be a necessary yet terrible aspect of your marketing and sales process. It sucks because it’s hard to find someone who will make dozens of calls a day while representing your company well. And it’s hard to staff for seasonal demands, not to mention if I do get someone good, they’re valuable enough that they want to move up in the company or find a better opportunity elsewhere. Or the other problem – they’re just not good, but you can’t afford to pay someone more to attract higher talent.

And it just sucks.