The first part of the sales process consists of attaining leads – the prospects to close a deal. These prospects are not only difficult to attain (whether it be through a specific channel or just a general referral), a good salesperson must cultivate these leads to transition them from a “prospect” status to a “stewardship” status, or more plainly, a “transaction completed” status. In order to make this transition, a good salesperson must:
Target Content
Generalized, bland content will not work in just about any market. Sales leads want to know that they are valued and thought of, so by creating content, or even tailoring and aggregating specific content to their own needs will increase the buyer’s confidence and help you make the sale.
Stay In Touch
Sales is all about relationship. How annoying would it be if someone came to you only when they wanted something? That’s how it comes across if that is a sales strategy. Get to know their life and professional situation in order to get a full view of their needs and how you can help them achieve that.
Follow Up
For those with inbound sales channel, this one’s for you: the leads are already qualifying themselves through your business’s inbound channel. Reach out quickly! They are saying that they are looking for something you/your company provides. Once this is done, incorporate the above two steps.
BoweryJE22
Great job outlining the process in a quick and easy to understand way! This would be something that I would refer back to if I was wondering how to close a sale or how to engage a new lead.
“Cultivating” is a great way to describe the sales process. It really is more than just a pitch and a sale. One needs to do their background research on a customer, keep a good relationship with their customer, and make sure all details are accounted for. Great article summarizing the cultivating process of sales.