It should be no secret that higher quality leads help increase the average value of your sales, the velocity of your sales cycle, and increase your prospect close rate. So why do we ignore all of the quality sales lead sources out there that could make you more effective as a sales professional?
Here are six sources of quality sales leads that you may want to pay attention to.
Current Customers
There is a lot of sales potential locked up in the middle 60% of your customer base but most of us do not go back to our clients once we made the initial purchase. They already like you and have their wallet open so what else can you sell them? Think of “want fries with that” or the Amazon model of “99% of other customers also bought_____________” when you only considered purchasing a single product.
Make a top 10 list of current customers that you could sell an additional item or service to and get them on your calendar.
Referrals
When you do go back to your current clients and ask about additional business, why not ask who else they know that could benefit from your product and services? Most customers know at least one peer that could benefit but you will never find that out unless you ask.
Make a top 10 list of current customers that you could ask for a referral and get them on the calendar.
Ideal Clients
Quit trying to be something to everyone! if you have certain client that are more profitable, easier to close, higher value, longer life time, or clustered around a certain geography or segment you should spend your energy selling to prospects that match those qualities.
Make a top 10 list of ideal prospects that look ideal and start reaching out to them.
Strategic Partners
Especially in the B2B space, sales people like to network with each other but so many us do not use those relationships to their fullest potential. What other sales people are complimentary to what you do and have access to the ideal prospects you are trying to sell to? Could you meet with them together? Who can you introduce to your clients that would bring additional value and potentially lead to introductions for you?
Make a top 10 list of current and potential strategic partners and get them on the calendar for a meeting.
Past Prospects
Sometimes the “no” answer to your proposals means “not yet” but not all of us consider these past opportunities as future opportunities.
Make a list of your top 10 lost sales to revisit and reach out to learn if there situation has changed. Might be a good touch point for asking for referrals or introducing a strategic partner as well.
Web and Social (SMERF)
Most sales professionals ignore both digital and analog sources that are right in front of them.
LinkedIn profiles, Twitter # followers or even competitor followers, Facebook groups, Google Alerts, Industry News Feeds, Prospects social media and newsletters, website calls to action, association listings, membership directories, customers in the news, and even Google key word searches. When what the last time you tuned in to these channels as lead sources?
In the analog world and hospitality world, this market segment is called SMERF, and acronym that stands for Social, Military, Education, Religious, and Fraternal. We are all connected to people in our community from our participation in normal life so what is stopping you from leveraging those relationship as referrals and even strategic partnerships?
Be sure to finish this exercise by making a top 10 list of the contacts from your digital and social worlds to have start a conversation with.
What would you sales funnel look like if you spent the next 30-60-90 days just focused on these lead sources?
Request a copy of the “Fuel” sales tool from the MKE Sales Accelerator here.
