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21 Hot sales topics and tips

Finding the perfect formula for the year ahead

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Contents

Planning 3

Plan to make the next 12 months bring your best sales results ever 4

Using past results to get ahead in the coming months 5

Time to take a #SalesHealthCheck 6

Building a Stronger B2B Sales Pipeline 7

About Leads 8

How much are your leads actually worth? 9

How website analytics can help you convert leads into sales 10

Is there ever such a thing as a dead lead? 12

Sales Activities 14

Networking like a pro 15

Social Selling and how to use it as part of your sales 17

People 19

What does your perfect sales team look like? 20

Building the A-grade sales team 22

Scary sales teams – ghoulish traits you don’t want 23

Are you the best manager on the sales floor? 24

When sales managers go bad – how to avoid becoming 26

Show me the money (or not): rewards and incentives 27

Teaching new tricks – how to get your sales force to go with the times 28

Marketing and Sales working together 29

Creating a Love-Love relationship between marketing and sales 30

A Lead Forensics Guide: Creating a New Sales & Marketing Strategy 31

Tools 33

Top 5 tools every sales and marketing team needs 34

5 ways lead generation software can enhance B2B sales 36

Slideshare – How can Lead Forensics help your business 38

Free demo and trial 39

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Planning

Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalise on what comes.

Zig Ziglar

“ ”







Don’t just take a leap of faith, the easiest way to get straight on track and to channel your energy in all the right places is to have a clear vision before you start.

Exactly what do you want to achieve in the next 12 months? And what is going to help or hinder you in reaching your objective?

All great things start from small beginnings, so once you have defined your overall objective it is time to plan out the steps you need to take to get there. This is the time to focus in and look at each month across the year to plan your attack. Then take it even further still and consider the week by week picture. Be realistic

By getting some figures down and mapping out your targets in this way, you can also ensure that your objective is achievable. Setting unrealistic goals is simply setting yourself up for failure. You can be ambitious but crazy goals do not make you try harder, in fact they can be counter-productive. What motivates you more is achieving challenging goals and aims, not failing to reach impossible ones.

When you plan across the year, try and define any particular areas that may need extra attention and planning now to help you achieve your end objective. Things to ask yourself include:

• What resources are available? Do you have enough for what you want to achieve?

• What tools do you have and are they the right ones for the job?

• What investment is needed? Now is the time to plan where

you need to invest more, or to think where you should move your investments to.

• What new systems, technologies and innovations do you need to achieve your goals? Do you know what they are? What should you introduce?

Don’t make assumptions

A common pitfall to be aware of in all of your planning is to check whether you are making any assumptions. This is really important as it can undermine or even corrupt your forecasting if it is not recognised. You need to be basing your targets on verifiable information as much as you can. This will help ensure you are spending your time effectively, managing the task at hand not having to chase to respond to any changing variables.

In any areas where you have to make assumptions, try and make them as realistic as possible. Use your experiences from the past year, any definite changes you are aware of and collect any additional information you can that may help you. The reassurance test

Once you have your plan together, socialising it by getting someone else to pressure test it is always a great exercise, as a fresh pair of eyes may spot things you have not. Often the more you think about something and the more you read it, the less you start to see.

Finally, check and check again. Sleep on it, reread it, visualise yourself getting started and make sure you feel ready and raring to go when you finally submit it and press GO.

Plan to make the next 12 months your best sales ever







Whether you’re flying high or feeling it could have gone better in the past, now is the perfect time to reflect and get planning for what lies ahead.

In the high pressure world of sales and marketing, where targets and results are king, a solid and informed plan can be the making or breaking of you. And there’s no better place to start than by dissecting your past performance to pull out the key learnings and insights.

Begin by setting some time aside to take a detailed look at how it went – from what worked for you, to what didn’t, and why certain opportunities may have been secured and others missed. All these observations will help you ensure that you grab future prospects with both hands and can focus in on developing your skills in those areas you need to.

Get started by asking yourself these 5 key questions:

What were your key learnings?

Take a step back and consider the overall picture. How would you rate the past time period you are looking at? If you had to review it, what would you say? Try and define at least three key learnings you can take from it.

What are the key trends you can identify?

From business methods to communications and technology, the world we live in is constantly evolving. Developing an ability to spot buyer trends and changing behaviours can be a

very valuable skill. Alongside this, can you identify any trends in relation to your own actions, reactions and subsequent results – are there any patterns there?

What performed to plan and what didn’t? Most importantly – why?

Things went to plan? – great! But how did you ensure they would, what steps had you taken? Could you make them even more successful moving forward? And for the things that didn’t quite hit the mark, was it a case of over-forecasting or bad timing? Perhaps there were problems with the content, or you had the wrong resource? See if you can pinpoint what was at the heart of the problem.

What would you do differently?

If you could jump back to any point, is there anything you would do differently? This can actually be a major positive for you to think about. Many of the most successful people in business will say that they learnt the most from their mistakes or failures. What could you do differently that would aid your future success?

Where do you have clear opportunities to grow?

Finally, think where the key opportunities for growth are and plan how you will capitalise on them. Be ‘SMART’ with your goal setting and make sure they are grounded in numbers. Now is the time to shape your future success.

Using past results to get ahead in the coming months







Whether you’ve got the best sales team in the industry, or you’re an SME building your empire, it could be time to undergo a sales pipeline health check (to ensure it’s not leaking leads!). Here are 3 key steps to check your pipeline is in good shape.

Step #1: “Let’s talk about you”

A survey by Forrester Research found that 80% of executive buyers feel the sales agenda focuses not on their needs, but on the seller’s objectives instead. It’s time to say enough is enough – lose the sales pitch and really get to know your buyers. Like it or not they expect you to read their minds, fully understand their business challenges and engage on a level that’s meaningful to them – before you even talk about your product.

And when you do get to know your prospect, make sure your approach is personalised and tailored for them. How did your product help similar clients with the same challenges? How will your product help them achieve their personal goals? Get to know your prospect on a personal level and you’ll create a loyalty and trust that will help you beat your competitor every time.

TIP: With Lead Forensics you’ll discover when your prospect visits your website and exactly what they looked at whilst there, so you’ll know what they’re really interested in. These clues will help you get to know your prospect and nurture them to the next stage of the sales pipeline.

Step #2: Prioritising Opportunities

On average, companies that nurture leads experience a 45% increase in lead generation ROI. Great, but how can you possibly spend all that time building relationships with your entire pipeline?

We know your time is precious and investing time in the wrong prospect is not just damaging, but really, really frustrating too. It’s time to prioritise, and pick out those opportunities that deserve your extra attention.

Scoring leads will help you make fast and effective decisions about lead strength. Is the prospect really the key decision making contact? What is the potential sales and lifetime value of the prospect?

Make note of their behaviour. Do you notice anything that changes, increases or decreases in each phase of the buying cycle? Spend some time turning your learnings into hard metrics and you’ll have the power to manage your pipeline according to behaviour rather than hoping for a win. In turn, you’ll be able to evolve your sales pipeline, shorten the sales cycle and increase win rates.

Step #3: Getting pipeline proactive

If you’re reading this blog, it’s likely you’re already being smart about your pipeline management and you’ll know what your common objections are. Whether it’s “no budget”, “no current need” or a lack of authority, you’ll know exactly what to do to win those prospects back.

But what about the dreaded “no decision”?

According to a CSO Insights report, sales don’t close 53% of their forecast deals and a staggering 26% are attributed to “no decision”. But “not right now” doesn’t always mean “no”.

Getting to a conclusive “no” fast is crucial to your pipeline management, but remember that feedback is gold dust. It’s crucial to ask yourself “why did a no decision happen?” so you can avoid investing your time on non-movers in the future.

Time to take a #SalesHealthCheck







The ‘pipeline’ is a buzzword for both B2B sales and marketing people. It represents the passageway to success for an organisation. However a blockage in the sales pipeline can quickly have a huge impact on productivity, so it’s important to create one that is free flowing.

So what constitutes a healthy pipeline? And what do you need to consider when building one?

Size matters

As far as a B2B pipeline is concerned, the biggest is not necessarily going to be the best. According to salesmanagement.org sales people with a smaller pipeline are more productive than those with a larger one. Productive sellers have smaller pipelines because the best sales people are experts at disqualifying bad deals early on in the cycle. This leaves them free to focus on a more select group of piping hot leads. By eliminating the deals least likely to buy, more resources can be thrown at pursuing the deals that are most likely to convert.

Have the right content

The ‘content’ of a pipeline refers to the types of customers being pursued and the products being sold to them. A business that has a range of offerings for multiple prospects increases the likelihood of those prospects going on to buy because there are more options available. However, for a healthy sales funnel the ‘contents’ should be appropriate products or services based on their needs, which will improve conversion rates.

A healthy pipeline is vital for a sales team to prosper. Fill a pipeline with unwanted clutter and the entire sales function could be in jeopardy. Instead the pipeline should carry

prospective customers from stage to stage in their buying decision process, ideally pushing them through from qualified lead to converted sale.

Keep qualified sales leads only

Removing the clutter from a pipeline by getting rid of low quality leads also helps a business build a stronger B2B sales pipeline. Once only pre-qualified leads make it through to the nurturing stage, it limits time wasting for sales people and increases conversion rates. Profiles of the ideal customer should be clearly agreed by sales and marketing so the sales team can be equipped with qualified sales opportunities going forward. Failing to pre-qualify leads will only lead to one outcome – a pipeline that is full of opportunities that can’t be closed.

Benefit from thought leadership

Becoming the go-to person in an industry, and positioning a business or its leadership team as thought leaders, can also help build a strong B2B pipeline. Whilst this is no easy task and requires extensive knowledge and insight, thought leadership is a powerful tactic. Not least of which because it can drive inbound leads by educating and nurturing prospects.

Implemented through content marketing, a business can gain credibility by publishing a regular flow of problem solving articles and sharing content about industry trends and other relevant issues.

This activity will encourage prospects to engage with a business and ultimately become lead ready, enabling the business to nurture them through the pipeline. Digital Relevance offer IBM, Netflix and TED as examples of brands that have mastered thought leadership.

Building a Stronger B2B Sales Pipeline







About Leads

“Selling to people who actually want to hear from you is more effective than interrupting strangers who don’t.

Seth Godin

”







The success of any business, no matter what its size or the sector it may be operating in, is going to depend on one thing – sales. Without a company’s products or services being bought, there simply is no business. So retaining customers, driving repeat business and converting leads into sales is vital for success.

But we’re going to let you in on a little secret – some businesses may be missing a trick when it comes to their sales figures and recording vital information that could help them chase the money and streamline their operations.So what is this info that’s just there for the picking? It’s knowing where each of your sales is coming from and what each lead is actually worth to you.

This may sound a simple concept, but you’d be amazed how many companies forget to track conversions, or let it slip when their workload is high (only to be most in need of it when they then hit a dip).

Knowing the number of leads you’re generating is just the first step, you need to know how many you’re converting and what journey these leads have been on. When you’re armed with this information you will have a fantastic insight into how your sales process is working, from which marketing routes are giving you the best returns to where there may be missed opportunities.

Conversion rates

The overall aim should be to work out how many leads, and what type of leads, you need to be generating to achieve your company’s financial targets. Start with how many leads you are converting. Knowing if you have a good conversion rate will depend on your individual business model but as an example:

If you have 5,000 website visitors you may convert around 2% (100 visitors) into leads. From these 100 leads, you may then manage to convert 5% into sales, making the overall result = 5 new clients.

The value of each of these new clients will again depend on your type of business and how it works when it comes to

sales, for example if it’s a subscription model, monthly fee, or one off payment. Usually it’s best to work with the average life-time value of a client, as a guide for your workings. Understanding your own leads is going to be key here.

To work out the value of each lead, you’ll need to know the total number of leads spoken to and those that were turned into clients: Lead value = value of sale / number of leads

Return on your investment

If you’re not already doing so, then start recording your website visitor numbers and track the leads that are coming from them. What you want to know for your website conversions is how many visitors you need to achieve your sales target and what you’re spending to get them. If you’re spending more than you’re getting back then it doesn’t take a maths genius to spot that something’s not right – and that goes for any marketing activity you’re shelling out for.

Here’s an example of how it may break down, if you’re converting around 2% of web visitors to leads:

You need to make £10,000 revenue through your website > so you need 10 clients worth £1,000 each > to get the 10 clients you need 200 leads > to get 200 leads you need 10,000 web visitors.

Now the important part – how much are you spending to generate the 10,000 web visitors you need? The more you spend the less revenue you make from your conversions

What you need to know is – what is proving the most cost-effective way to generate them? And what activity is generating the most leads that go on to be converted to sales? Is there a source that results in a higher conversion rate?

You can use this information to help you critically evaluate which lead generation activities to invest in moving forward. All these insights will ensure you’re spending in the right places.

How much are your leads actually worth?







From start-ups to global corporations, if you’re a business operating in today’s digital world then you’re likely to have invested in a website. Get it right – with a well-structured, well-written and attractive site that’s been shaped around your target customers – and it could work wonders for your results.

Key to success with converting website leads into sales is understanding the entire process and for marketing and sales to work together. Both departments have insights to help inform the decisions around what to track and what to report.

More than just looking the part, your website should be working just as hard as you are to generate leads, while giving you insights that can be used to help nurture them towards the end goal and a sale.

If you don’t already use some form of web analytics, then you are missing out on a potential goldmine of information that’s just there for the taking. And it’s not just about how many people are coming to your site, it’s about digging deeper to reveal behaviours that can help you shape your marketing activity and content.

There’s loads of data that analytics tools can uncover, which could prove very useful. For example:

How visitors use the site and opportunities you may have missed

• Which are the most popular and the least popular pages

• How are visitors moving through the site from page to page

• Which pages are ‘exit’ pages where visitors are most likely to then leave the site

• How many visitors ‘bounce’ – i.e. visit the site then leave straightaway

• How many unique and return visitors are you getting

• How long are visitors spending on each page

• What search terms are they using – to not only find your site but also once they are on it

• What country and region visitors are coming from

• Which type of platform are people using to access your site (which can present a real opportunity if you don’t currently have a mobile site but visitors are finding you on such devices)

Which marketing activity is working the best and giving you a strong ROI

Advanced tools can give you a detailed overview of where your web traffic is coming from and allow you to link it through to your sales conversions.

• You can look at the return on investment you are getting for different marketing activity you are doing

• You can see which is your top content - getting the most click-throughs or holding visitor attention the longest

• Equally you can see the content which isn’t doing so well, hardly being looked at or visitors are quickly leaving the page

Google Analytics and other similar tools can help you look out for patterns and see what’s working and what’s not. Taking it even further, building IP tracking into your website can enable you to find out even more. This form of analytics allows you to track and discover more about anyone who is visiting your site, particularly B2B visitors accessing your site from a company IP address.

If these visitors go on to download content from your site, or

How website analytics can help you convert leads into sales







to share their details through any other form of data capture, then you can piece together a very detailed picture about them and the journey they have followed - from the pages they look at, to whether they are converting.

Overall from a marketing perspective, having clever analytics tools built in to your website will help you greatly in your efforts to nurture leads, qualify them and warm them up to pass on to the sales team. With detailed web insights you have real time information about what’s working right now and will be better able to tailor your campaigns to the needs of visitors – helping you maximise your efforts for

quality leads, instead of marketing to a huge audience of unknown web visitors. If you can pinpoint your own recipe for content success, then you’re in a great position and can start producing more of it.

The key is to use the information available through website analytics to uncover conversion potential. If you analyse the website over time using these tools, then you can be reactive to what the information is telling you and strengthen your buyer journey. Keep a log of all your activity and any changes you make, as that way you can monitor which action caused which result.

The difference between

try and triumph is

just a little umph.

Marvin Phillip

“”







There’s a saying in the world of sales – ‘no doesn’t mean no, it just means not right now’. But is this always true? Or are there times you should just bite the bullet and press delete? And is there ever a way to turn an apparently dead lead around? The right leadsA huge amount of work goes into generating leads. And even more effort and commitment is then needed to filter out the genuine prospects and effectively nurture each one of them along the sales process, towards a purchase.

If you’re finding your leads are proving difficult to warm up and the nurturing isn’t getting much, if any, response, then the first point to check is that you’re getting the right type of leads through the door in the first place. If they’re missing the mark and a majority of the sales leads you’re getting have no likelihood of ever buying from you, then you’re instantly starting off at a disadvantage.

It could also be time to evaluate your nurturing campaigns in more detail, if you find you have loads of dead leads. See if there are any patterns - do the dead leads increase or decrease? Are there specific campaigns that produce more or less?

Once you’re happy that you’re generating quality leads, they’re perfectly on target, and your nurturing campaigns are bang on, then you know your foundations are solid.

The good news is you can then also put some steps in place for those leads that may have gone quiet on you – your apparently ‘dead’ leads. I’m out

If you have a list of leads that haven’t opened an email from

you, haven’t visited your website, or otherwise engaged with you in the last 12 months then these leads could reasonably be classed as dead. On the cold scale, they’re skiing towards the arctic end.

Now if you have leads who have specifically asked not to be contacted by you anymore, then you must respect their decision. It’s likely they’ve already sorted this themselves and clicked to unsubscribe. For some B2Bs, this is seen as their final opportunity to have a go at warming them up. They will link them through to a fun or humorous ‘sorry you’re leaving us’ style page. But if the lead still goes at that point, then wave goodbye and move on. They’re just not that in to you. Dead – or just in need of an adrenalin shot?

The other dead leads, the ones who have been unresponsive to your nurturing messages for a considerable period of time, will need handling and monitoring in a different way. Depending on how much you know about each of the leads, put them in a special ‘workflow‘ of their own – basically meaning they receive a planned sequence of communications, with the emails going out at set intervals and being specifically tailored to them. The overall purpose of this will be to spark their interest. This is no place for generic (yawn) emails. It is about providing good quality content.

The list may, for example, be set up to receive one email once a quarter. Or if they’ve been unresponsive for a very long time, then even one email every 2 months. You are trying to encourage them to opt in and respond, so you can then move them up a level and into a different nurturing workflow.

The chances of success here are slim, but importantly you are giving yourself the strongest chance of getting something out of these leads.

Is there ever such a thing as a dead lead?







The golden eggs

If any of your dead leads are accounts you really, really want to land, and they are a good fit for your product or service, then again this group will need special care. Before creating communications for them, think about the following:

• Why didn’t they bite before? (this is one reason it’s great to keep really detailed records throughout the sales process, every nugget can prove golden). The more open and frank an answer you can get to this question, the more you have to work with.

• Did they ever let slip any other nuggets or insights that may be helpful – like who they may be using currently for a service you’re offering? When they set/allocate their budgets?

• What’s their current situation – and how can you help with it? Why should they talk to you, what’s the major benefit? To answer this pull together all the background info you can, so you really understand their world – like what are the challenges currently facing their industry? Are there any governmental, or economic issues at play?

Tailor your communications as much as possible based on your insights, but be careful you’re not coming on too strong. Remember your aim is to nudge them delicately into more nurturing territory. Flatliners

Overall, when a lead is dead it’s dead and your time could be far better spent. Pruning dead weight off once a year is not a bad plan. Start by looking for all those leads which aren’t a good fit for you – they might not be your exact target audience and haven’t done anything at all on your website or with any of your other content.

Having a regularly trimmed list will also help increase your open rate for emails, which in turn will increase your score as an email sender. This is vital as a bad score can mean your emails go automatically into the “spam” bin.

So be brave. Delete them. It can prove a very liberating experience.

Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make me feel important. Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.

Marvin Phillips

“

”






This isn’t about you.

It isn’t about us. It’s about caring enough to create value for customers.

If you get that part right, selling is easy.

Unknown

“

”

Sales Activities








Networking remains one of the most effective ways to make new contacts and drum up potential leads – if you do it well. For some, forging new relationships in this way is something they relish and thrive on. They are in their element within a networking setting.

But if you cringe at the thought then fear not. There are now more opportunities than ever before to network from the comfort of your own desk or arm chair, as well as a range of different styles of face-to-face events.

Networking like a pro takes time - from prepping beforehand, to participating and the all-important follow up. Whether it has worked for you in the past or not, heading into a new year is a great time to step back, review, research and plan in what else you could try. Or to think what you could be doing better.

Are you making the best use of your time? And how are you making sure that every second you’re committing to building your network is time well spent? If you haven’t tried it before, or haven’t done anything recently, then is it time to take the plunge again? Here are our top tips for getting the most out of networking: Find what works and ditch what doesn’t

If you’ve given a networking group a fair go but the rewards you’re reaping simply aren’t matching up to your efforts, then move on and try something new. Don’t get disheartened. You may need to try out a few different options before you hit on the best one for your target customer. When was the last time you researched what’s going on near you? Have you asked for recommendations from your existing contacts? (That can be a great line of conversation to use on LinkedIn

in a regional business discussion group, or using a regional hashtag on Twitter for example). Online credibility check

Before you go networking, check your online profile is the strongest it can be. Sites like LinkedIn continue to be an amazing tool for businesses and making connections. When did you last check your profile was up-to-date and fully filled out? Remember every element on your page says something about you, from the people you put as your influencers to the organisations and industry bodies you follow. It’s a living CV that should aid your credibility if someone visits your page.

The huge benefit of connecting with people on LinkedIn is that even if they move on to pastures new you will remain connected. How many contacts have you lost in the past when they’ve changed companies? It can also show you who you may have in common with those you want to connect with, and who may be willing to give you an introduction. Excel at face-to-face

Now you’ve found a networking event to attend and you’re raring to go, it’s time to get preparing. Along with the obvious (making sure you know where you’re going, you’re dressed smartly and have enough business cards) there’s a lot more you can be doing. 1. Prep

Do you have a list of who will be attending? And if so, have you done your research? Looked into their companies, read their recent news page, browsed their services etc. No reason to wait in some cases, you can even approach people before the event itself saying you’re looking forward to it and

Networking like a pro







to meeting them. Tag in the organisers and use the event hashtag, if there is one, as this will help you connect that way too.

If there is someone you specifically want to target on the day then you can also see if their photo is online, so you can spot them far more easily than simply scanning name badges. 2. At the event itself

Nothing will turn someone off more than being hit by a self-focused or sales-heavy introduction. Yes these events are about getting across what you do, but this should be done in a very quick and easy to understand way. Your core aim for these events should be to get other people talking – ask about their business, how they got into it, what the future holds. Enter their world. Listen and be interested and you’ll leave a positive impression.

Even if you think someone isn’t going to be a potential prospect, people know people, and you never know when that connection could lead to something in the future. That said, if you feel you are being monopolised too long then you can always use the tried and tested excuse of popping to the loo!

Another tip here is to jot down key words on the back of the business cards you pick up so you remember who was who, and don’t forget any nuggets of info that you may hear. For more detailed notes you can of course use your phone or even a pen and paper if you prefer to keep it old school. 3. Follow up

The next day is the ideal time to start capitalising on the connections you have made, while you’re fresh in their minds. Add the contact info and any notes you took to your contacts list. By doing it straight away you’re more likely to remember important details and won’t risk losing the

business cards or your notes.

Link with them where you can on social sites and individually email all the contacts you met. The important thing here is not to send them a sales email. You’re not selling here you’re cementing a contact by saying hello.

If you didn’t get to speak with someone then see if you can spot them on any social media sites, or find their email off their company website, and send them a message. Say it was a shame you didn’t get to speak and that you’d love the opportunity to learn more about their business. Online networking

Remember to make the most of online networking opportunities too, such as groups and discussion streams on LinkedIn. There are also regional business and industry forums online that can work in the same way.

Check you’re part of any groups you should be and take part regularly in the chats that are going on. That way you will be making yourself visible in all the right places.

By commenting you may also be able to position yourself as an expert in your field and to give yourself even more credibility. Just one huge rule here – NO SALES PATTER.

You can also initiate conversations by asking questions that aim to gather advice or opinions – but again, always avoid being salesy. One example could be that you have seen a good industry-related article that prompts debate. You could use that link within a post and ask if people agree or disagree. An extra tip here is to diarise time to do this type of activity, so you don’t forget or let other stuff get in the way so your good intentions keep slipping.

And keep at it! The rewards of networking really are worth the effort.







Social media has grown to become one of the most influential marketing channels available to businesses today. And unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last decade, then you’re likely to be one of the millions of people across the globe that use it.

We Are Social, in its new ‘Digital, Social and Mobile 2015 Report’, puts the total number of active internet users at well over 3 billion, with 2 billion of those on social media.

In the UK alone a whopping 59% of the population has an active social media account, with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn among the most popular sites.

With audience figures like that, and the way social media can be used to directly target, engage and build relationships with potential customers, it’s likely to form a core part of your marketing mix. What is social selling?

Building a large following may at first appear to be the Holy Grail when it comes to all things social, but there’s no point having a million followers if no-one is buying. To get the most out of your social media activity, it’s not just about being seen. What you really want is to encourage action.

On the other hand, shoving sales messages down follower’s throats will not encourage them to stick around, so how can you use the different platforms to turn connections into sales?

While you may already be using social media to get your

company name, products and services out there, the buzz word of the moment is ‘social selling’, which is far more tactical. It is about generating revenue and putting strategies in place that are designed to make a sale. From a content point of view it needs to lead to the product, not come from the product.

To get started, begin by thinking through your sales process from start to finish and breaking down how social media could be used to best support each stage. Here are some ideas how: Finding prospects

There are thousands of potential customers out there just waiting for you to find them. A huge benefit of social sites is that they have opened up a multitude of ways for you to not only find them, but scope them out and connect with them. Plus, as social media operates in real-time you’re not playing catch up, you’re right there at the right time and can make good use of any information you uncover. Swotting up

Social media has made it far easier to research and pull together information that can help strengthen a sales pitch and that you can use to tailor an approach. Think about who your target customer is and make sure you are listening to them - what are they discussing online? Where are they going? What can you learn from their posts and updates that may help you with your sales process? There are likely to be

Social Selling and how to use it as part of your sales







keywords and events that may signal someone as a potential prospect with a ‘need’ right now. Knowing your product, think what these might be and put steps in place to make sure you’re alerted to them. Tools like TweetDeck can help you monitor keywords for example. Introductions

Recommendation remains one of, if not the strongest way, to generate new business. Thanks to social media, recommendations are now a very public affair and introductions between companies are easily done. If you can encourage existing customers to back you online then you’ll benefit from the very strong and positive message that sends out. Credibility

Generating and sharing interesting, insightful content is a key part of social selling. As well as posting quality information

from the company that customers will want to read, do a review of all personal pages too. Do the sales teams’ profiles match up – in their messaging, their style, the quality of content and their imagery? Are they all presenting a strong, unified image of the company and what it stands for? All these issues can affect your credibility. As can joining groups and taking part in industry discussions on sites such as LinkedIn. You’re showing your expertise, positioning yourself as an expert and giving a good impression. Your competition

Plus don’t forget, social media can also help you keep an eye on the competition, enabling you to react quickly when you need to. Follow competitors and their employees to keep tabs on what they’re talking about. You’ll be surprised what you can pick up on.






About Leads

Stop selling. Start helping.

Zig Ziglar

“ ”








One of the first things you learn when you hit the sales floor is that customers can respond very differently when it comes to different selling techniques. If you can recognise and react to the clues they give you, and find the best fit for them, then the deal is as good as done.

In the same way, when you’re managing a sales team you’ll quickly find that each rep has their own way of doing things and a preferred style when it comes to landing a deal. Your role is to help get the best out of them by guiding and training them to use their instincts and adapt their style if they need to.

The most successful sales people are those who can pull out what they need in any given situation. They are super attuned to the people they’re selling to and match their own style to what they encounter. (You can find out more about the traits of A grade sales reps here). But few reps are born with this ability fully nailed, so it takes training and experience to get there.

The perfect person to sell your goods and services is always going to be the one who is the right fit for the company, your customers and the market place you operate in. For example, a lot may depend on how slow or fast your sales cycle is. If it’s slow then the sales types who thrive on quick-turnarounds

are likely to be get frustrated and in a very dry, information-driven market the networker types will never perform well.

Understanding common sales team ‘types’ can be a great place to start when it comes to building a sales force to be reckoned with. Not only so you can support your individual team members better but to enable you to see if you have any gaps and to help you choose new additions that would be the best fit. As like a premiership club, a team full of strikers isn’t going to get far (let alone get on with all that ego in the way!).

To help you get started we’ve pulled together some of the most common sales rep types. Are any of these in your wolf pack? The Hunter – ‘I could sell anything to anyone’

Everything is an opportunity to sell and everyone is a potential customer. They will not give up easily and are the classic, thick-skinned sales person. They often need training to help put their endless stamina to best use and for help in managing frustration. The Servant – ‘Let me help you with that’

They are always super helpful and at everyone’s service. “Can

What does your perfect sales team look like?






http://blog.leadforensics.com/building-the-a-grade-sales-team/



I bring you more coffee?”. They love getting attention by doing something good. They’ll continue doing it again and again as long as they get love and attention back. They don’t see themselves as sales people, they are first and foremost service oriented people. The Star-networker – ‘Nice to meet you’

This is the one who has the biggest network of contacts, knows everyone and everyone knows them. They have the latest gadgets and never miss an opportunity to connect with people. They present themselves very well, are highly intelligent and master communicators. They also make excellent marketers as they always look for new ways to reach the most people. The Informant – ‘It’s all about the facts and figures’

They will have all the information and be technical wizards, knowing how to drive home a point with facts, figures and detail. Always come across as extremely passionate for the topics they are knowledgeable about.

The Companion – ‘Everyone’s mate’

You can’t help but like this person. They are instant rapport builders. They don’t get stressed often and are very consistent in their work. Their sales style is unaggressive, calm and unpressured. The Top Dog – ‘Chasing the big deals’

This is the one who prefers to go after the big money with those big deals. Often a larger than life personality, they love to take the younger ones under their wings and show them how it’s done. The veterans of the sales world. The Reader – ‘Master at adapting their technique’

This sales representative can read people perfectly and switch to any of the above qualities when they need to. They are highly perceptive to visual and verbal clues and will adapt to match the person they are speaking with. They may have one more dominant approach to sales but the most successful ones are masters of all techniques and know when to use them.







As your business grows, you might need to find new #B2BRockstars to expand your sales team. And when it takes just seven seconds to make that all-important first impression, it’s crucial your new sales gurus are clued up and ready to impress.

So we’ve put together some key traits and top tips to make sure you’re building the A-grade sales team - and converting those hard earned leads into solid results. 1. Inquisitive - preparation, preparation, preparation

Preparation prevents… well you know how it ends. And when 70% of B2B buyers rate how vendors engage with them as having more impact than what they are actually selling, being prepared is essential if you want success.

A-grade sales gurus will go one-step further by understanding their prospect as an individual, their company, and their wider industry issues before even picking up the phone. What pain points of their role can your product overcome? How can you relate to your prospect? 2. Keen listener - great at asking the right questions

With the rise of the Human to Human (#H2H) trend, it’s obvious that it’s no longer about selling to businesses but identifying the needs of different people and treating them as individuals.

A-grade sales gurus know that the most effective way

to present their product or service is to uncover their prospects goals, objectives, concerns and hesitations.

By asking key open questions and most importantly listening, they’ll know if a need exists and what issues or problems their product can solve. 3. Organised – they know that timing is everything

Odds of qualifying a lead are a whopping 21 times better

if you follow up within 5 minutes of that lead’s creation instead of 30 minutes after creation.

Your A-grade sales guru’s need to be quick off the mark when understanding how your prospect thinks and when they’re ready to buy, especially as you don’t want them being influenced by your competition. 4. Adaptable - good sales people don’t just follow-up

80% of sales are made between the 5th and 12th contact with a prospect, so it’s key to schedule regular follow ups if you know they’re not quite ready to buy just yet. Nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads, so it’s essential your sales gurus provide on-going value when prospects aren’t yet ready to buy.

A-grade sales gurus won’t just reach out by phone, they’ll connect through social, email and live channels too. They’ll consider key times like business anniversaries or events and provide a personal touch with timely and useful content.

Building the A-grade Sales Team






http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolkinseygoman/2011/02/13/seven-seconds-to-make-a-first-impression/

http://www.slideshare.net/Leadforensics/lead-forensics-whitepaper-building-a-healthy-sales-pipeline-b2-b-marketing

http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/successful-salesperson.htm

http://www.leadresponsemanagement.org/lrm_study

http://sales.linkedin.com/blog/sales-strategy-23-facts-about-buyers-and-purchasing/


Working in sales it’s all about maximising growth and hitting those target. Taking your eyes off the prize for even a second is a huge no-no. As such it’s important to know what may be having a negative influence on your team.

To help you keep you sales team on track, we’ve taken a look at some of the bad habits that can affect a team’s performance. If you see any of these behaviours starting to creep in then stamp them out asap, so your team can get back to what they do best - concentrating on making the most of every sales opportunity.

So what traits do you definitely not want in your sales team? Bad trait: bad attitude

If you want to lose your prospects fast, a bad attitude is the way to do it. And it will be transmitted with ease across to prospects through your team’s calls and communications.

70% of B2B buyers say the way vendors (that’s your sales team) engage with them is more impactful than what they’re actually selling. Work attitude translates easily through a person’s tone of voice and even more so in face-to-face meetings.

Get Happy

A positive attitude is infectious. It’s impossible to help your team maintain a positive attitude if you yourself are not happy at work. Get your team happy and laughing and you’ll soon see it reflected in their work. Bad trait: disorganised

If you want to make sure you’re losing those hot leads,

then forget about the importance of timing. Don’t bother reminding your team to be timely and relevant with calls to prospects, or to to pre-schedule call-backs. Oh, and definitely do not bother spending time researching prospects before making contact with them either.

Get ahead of the game

Your odds of qualifying a lead are 21x better if you follow

up within 5 minutes of that lead’s creation (rather than 30 minutes after). Make sure your team are quick off the mark and well prepared to understand how your prospects’ think and when they are ready to buy. Bad trait: disorganised

If you want to be incredibly unsuccessful then don’t bother trying to nurture leads through the sales funnel. And don’t bother checking in with your marketing team to see what lead-nurturing activities they’re doing either.

Pro-active lead nurturing

Companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads, with a 33% reduction in costs. And when it takes an average of 80 calls to develop a new opportunity, it’s no use calling just once and leaving those leads to go cold. Be pro-active in nurturing your leads, send them relevant content and contact them regularly to keep them engaged Bad trait: not being goal-focused

Definitely do not focus your sales team on targets and driving revenue. Increasing your average order values and maintaining consistent call times are pointless if you want to lose out. If you want a super unfocused team, make sure they aren’t reporting back to you on their daily, weekly and monthly figures – so you can be sure you have no idea where you are.

Focus, Focus, Focus

Some sales teams won’t close up to 53% of their forecasted deals, so it’s absolutely essential to continually monitor your sales pipeline with daily reports and feedback from your team – you’ll be able to evolve your pipeline, shorten sales cycles and focus your team on leaky funnels to maximise performance.

Oh, and remember:

“Without a customer, you don’t have a business – all you have is a hobby.” Don Peppers

Scary Sales Teams – ghoulish traits you don’t want






http://www.slideshare.net/Leadforensics/lead-forensics-guide-3-steps-to-connecting-with-the-b2-b-buyer



To be a successful manager on a competitive sales floor, you need more than just technical sales skills to build a successful team of go-getters. If you can’t motivate your team to hit the phones, you’ll soon lose out on that No. 1 sales spot.

So how do you measure up against some of the best performing management styles around? And how can they drive you to win this year? ‘Cool teacher’ management

‘Cool teacher’ styles are all about three key things - teamwork, learning and leading by example. Group huddles and regular feedback are what makes your team a success, all with a learning culture at the centre of your team dynamic What are the pros and cons for your sales team?

The pros and cons with this style revolve around being a teacher and leading by example. The great thing is that you regularly encourage your team to review their performance and continually learn new tactical sales skills.

Whilst you may be superefficient at listening, communicating and leading, don’t forget the importance of clear goal-setting to drive results and measuring performance on

a daily basis. Tips for maximising potential and driving success

If you have a loose management style and want to take the lead on the sales floor, take a practical approach to your

training and motivation by:

1. Setting stretched goals and performance plans

2. Leading by example and getting your team analysing best and worst sales calls

3. Giving practical advice and constructive feedback on a regular basis

‘Team player’ management

‘Team player’ management does what it says on the tin, with a big focus on regularly bringing the team together to agree a course of action. You motivate your sales team by giving accountability to each member, but the final decision-making always comes down to you. What are the pros and cons for your sales team?

The pro’s and con’s with this style are all around your visibility of team actions. You give your team accountability for their actions, which helps you to develop an expert sales team, but you tend to forget to share success and provide regular updates to your team. Tips for maximising potential and driving success

1. Be transparent with your feedback on decisions when it comes to sales performance

2. Bring your team along on the journey of ‘why’ a process, strategy or decision is implemented

3. Continuously and vocally celebrate successes, big or small.

Are you the Best Manager on the Sales Floor?







You’ll keep churn down within your team and create a well-balanced group of number-focused sales experts that want to be part of the journey ‘Military’ management

Military styles like to get business done… And fast! Delegating is done with force and a tight hold is kept on your team’s sales performance.

You know what goals need to be hit and constantly have one eye on the detailed numbers, from AOV to close rates, you know it all. What are the pros and cons for your sales team?

By being so numbers focused, you easily see the ‘problem’ areas within the team, and identify how these problems can cause potential bottlenecks within the sales pipeline.

But, while focusing on those numbers and targets is essential, you can forget the importance of listening to your team (and your prospects too!). Tips for maximising potential and driving success

1. Don’t forget the importance of having strong listening and communication skills

2. Remember to be yourself and let your hair down every now and then

3. Take a moment to engage, encourage and listen to your team

You may lean towards one management style over another, but don’t forget the clear importance of understanding your leadership strengths and weaknesses so you can drive your team to success (oh…and be the top dog on the sales floor).







There’s a saying in business that ‘people don’t leave a job they leave a manager’, and we’ve all been there - while there are plenty of amazing managers who have a positive and lasting influence on those they work with, there are equally bad managers who become the stuff of legend and the subject of many a work horror story.

As a sales manager, helping your team to stay positive, motivated and focused is one of the greatest challenges you face. You are leading them, directing and influencing them in every way. The role you play is vital to their success.

But life isn’t always rosy and we’re all only human after all. Even the most professional manager may find it harder going sometimes. There’ll be times when the going gets tough and you may be feeling stressed; feeling like you’re aiming for impossible targets; feeling frustrated and like you’re needing to overcome obstacle after obstacle.

But despite this, you’ll never want to slip into being ‘that guy’. So here is a quick checklist we’ve pulled together of the top 3 traits commonly found in poor sales managers that can quickly demotivate a team. Watch out, it’s about to blow!

Bad managers are not able to control their temper, especially when working under pressure. No-one can work effectively and excel in their role in an environment where they feel they are walking on eggshells all the time, as the boss could blow at any minute. It’s not an environment that will breed strong teamwork, honesty and positivity. This situation also

does not encourage team members to come forward with any problems or worries they may have, which ultimately prevents any issues from being addressed early. How do I look?

A bad manager bases their decisions on covering their

own backside. They are controlled by fear and feelings of self-doubt. They may also take the credit for themselves from the good work of others. This breeds a culture where there is no accountability and no transparency. A good manager will feel pride in the success of their whole team. They will develop a feeling among the team that every member is valued and you’re all ‘in it together’, working towards a common goal. They will support team members as individuals and work with them on any areas they need extra support then celebrate the wins together. You’re my BFF

Bad managers may have favourites and these favourites will be obvious to other team members. Good managers will breed a culture of high performance through strong training, supporting team members and regularly checking in with each team member individually.

So even if you are feeling more pressured than usual right now, remember your strengths and the management skills that have got you this far. You need to focus on getting the best from your team and the results will follow.

When Sales Managers go bad – how to avoid becoming that guy







Money makes the world go round and cash is always king when it comes to incentivising your sales team… or is it?

There’s been loads of research into what drives people on in their work and to reach performance targets. While money is often thought of as the key motivator, it is not in fact the ‘be-all-and-end-all’ that you might expect it to be. The promise of a wodge of cash may get some people through the door, but it doesn’t always work so well at motivating or keeping them - and may not work at all in certain cases!

As manager, you are responsible for the day-to-day and getting results from your team, so two key issues will be top of your agenda – ensuring every single team member is engaged and motivated. And secondly, making sure you retain the talent and don’t let any of your superstar sales reps slip through the net. As one thing’s for sure, with a motivated team you are more likely to increase performance and productivity.

You want to keep them digging deep and hungry for the win - so what else can you try alongside straight cash rewards to keep your team fired up? Surprise, surprise

Be spontaneous and take everyone by surprise one day. It could be ordering breakfast from a local café, an early Friday finish, even chocolates or beers - you can make it as small or as big as you like. Congratulate your team on their efforts that week, whatever the results may have been (good or bad, don’t dwell on the figures just acknowledge the hard work). This can be a great boost and aid positive team building, as who doesn’t love a surprise? Career building

Supporting staff in their career progression, such as by paying for them to attend external training courses or conferences, or to join professional bodies, can be a great incentive in itself. It shows they are valued while enhancing their skills, so everyone is a winner.

Big up small wins

The unexpected reward can work wonders for morale and boosting mood. Whether you do a spot reward ‘next person to do x gets y’ or set a goal for the next hour with a reward for the winner, you’ll shake things up and get your team knuckling down. The reward could be a later start one morning for a lie-in, or lunch bought for them, even an action figurine. It keeps the team interested and bigs up the small wins they are making along the way. Challenge time

Working within a sales environment it is likely that you will have team members with a strongly competitive streak. Make the most of this and mix it up by holding regular challenges. It could be as simple as a spot quiz, or even a break-out half hour to battle it out over a board game. If you sense a lull in activity or a slight drop in mood, then an impromptu challenge will quickly stir things right back up again. If you do them regularly you could even set up a leader board alongside your sales charts. The prizes can be small but the activity itself could have a long lasting effect. Have a laugh

Don’t underestimate the power of a humorous or fun reward. Have a laugh with it - how about setting a challenge and the winner getting to park in the top boss’ spot for a week, or to swap desks with them? If you have the budget then why not plan in a team experience, like blowing off some steam at a driving range, or go-kart racing.

Ultimately a happy, positive sales room will breed happy, positive people who are more likely to get results. People will feel incentivised to work hard if they are doing a job they love and that gives them a buzz. If they love their team and the feeling of camaraderie they get. If they feel part of something and that they are working towards a common goal. And if they feel their efforts are recognised and fairly rewarded. In a nutshell, if it makes them feel good about themselves. No amount of £££s will ever match that.

Show me the money (or not): rewards and incentives







It’s a common challenge faced by managers within businesses of all shapes and sizes: You want to implement a new way of working, a new system, or a new strategy. You are confident on the benefits and improvements it will bring, and may even have seen it revolutionise a company before. So you’re buzzing at the thought of what could be.

Now you just need to get it launched and your team on board and fully bought in to the idea. But BAM! That’s when you hit that wall, with the team members who are just a bit reluctant when it comes to change or trying anything new. Sound familiar?

So what can you do to break through that wall, or to stop it from appearing all together? It’s good to talk

There is no stronger way to combat resistance than by talking it through. Make sure a dialogue is open and encourage conversation. You need to be approachable and to leave any judgement or assumptions at the door. Team members need to feel they can voice their concerns and worries, and that they will be listened to (even if you think they might just want a good old moan). If you tackle the resistance straight on, you’ll be able to answer any specific concerns and better adapt things if you need to. Benefits

Before you even approach your team you need to be very clear on exactly how the new system will work, but most importantly, how it will benefit them. Team members will be more inclined to at least have a go if they know what’s in it for them, and how their efforts may be rewarded. You also need to be fully bought in to the idea, even if it is something that has come from the MD and that you’re not 100% sure about.

If you’re not onside and going to try your hardest to make it work then your team never will and it’s going to fail. Avoid thirty second warnings

Start your conversations about a potential change early on – don’t land it on your team and expect them to get it, to fully engage and start doing something differently all in the same breath. Help build up their confidence and understanding over time before then taking the plunge. If it’s very different to the current set-up then consider introducing it in stages An important lesson

Resistance often comes from a lack of understanding and it can quickly build if team members think it’s too hard and give up. Remember everyone learns at different rates and what may seem obvious to you may not be so obvious to others. It’s like solving a maths problem - different team members will get to the answer at different times. It’s just the way we’re made. The main point here is to make sure you control any frustration you may feel. Be confident that in the end it will click. Ensure everyone has the training and ongoing support they need and be patient, as when all around them are on board even the most reluctant will be encouraged to try Praise where it’s due

And finally, we all like to hear a little praise from time to time, and to have our efforts recognised. Make sure you celebrate even the smallest steps that are being made by those who are finding it hard. As well as bigging up the ones who have really run with the idea. If a team member has an idea or suggestion that could be integrated then do it and help grow the feeling of ownership across the whole team.

Teaching new tricks – how to get your sales force to go with the times







Marketing and SalesWorking Together








Social, content and inbound marketing are now likely to be dominating your marketing team’s budgets. But as they make the shift from more traditional marketing activities to these new routes, just how adaptable are your sales team to these changes?

The rise of the internet means your prospects can now carry out their own research and no longer need to contact you or your sales team until they are almost ready to buy.

Marketing can use channels such as social media and content marketing to try to keep control of this information and to ensure it’s relevant, correct and helpful.

So is sales playing a waiting game for new leads to be sent their way, or are they cold calling prospects armed with the pain points your product can solve?

Historically, marketing will have been most active at the top of the funnel, while sales will often have been more focused and active at the bottom. But now, as marketers are being measured more and more on the revenue their activity is generating (not just the interest they create), they are becoming more and more reliant on sales to convert leads into sales.

This pressure can create a Love-Hate relationship between marketing and sales. And where there is poor alignment between the two, business may begin to suffer and results to drop.

Where companies instead see this as an opportunity for sales and marketing to work more closely together, it can be transformational for the sales process. Rather than operating in isolation, sales and marketing can pool their knowledge and come together to create a strongly integrated and informed strategy that can help increase the close rates for the business.

A report by the Aberdeen Group found that businesses with good marketing and sales alignment achieve a 20% increase annual revenue growth, so it’s something every B2B business needs to consider.

Aligning sales and marketing

To assess how aligned your sales and marketing teams are, start by asking these three key questions:

1. How do your sales and marketing teams work together to influence a prospect through the buying process? Content such as whitepapers, social media and case studies can all influence a prospects’ buying behaviour, especially towards the end of the process when they are close to buying.

2. Whose responsibility is it to handle prospects that are leaking out of the funnel and to move them back to being a convertible prospect? Traditionally a qualified lead is passed to sales, who then convert that lead to a customer - but what happens to prospects who decide not to buy? They shouldn’t just disappear into a black hole never to be seen again. By passing these unconverted leads back to marketing, a nurturing process can begin. Nurturing leads will not only increase conversion rates, but will also push more qualified leads through the funnel.

3. Who defines what a “sales ready” lead is? A rift between sales and marketing is commonplace in many companies and is often caused by miscommunication. Sales and marketing should be working together to define and agree what a sales ready lead is – for example, how many times did the prospect visit your website? Did they ask about pricing? Did they find your website via PPC? By agreeing terminology for varying levels of leads and average close rates, both parties can plan and measure effectively.

And finally, once you have an alignment strategy in place, don’t assume it will deliver eternal success – constantly work on the relationship by measuring and adapting the process and strategy to ensure both marketing and sales are maximising every opportunity.

Creating a Love-Love relationship between Marketing and Sales







Directors and managers have to make big decisions all the time in order to develop and move a company forward – and your sales and marketing strategy should be no different.

Traditionally your marketing efforts would have been concentrated on the top of the sales funnel – delivering your message to as broad a spectrum of prospects as possible. Alongside this the sales team would have concentrated on a more targeted group of leads at the bottom of the funnel. While this isn’t an issue, it has led to problems for many businesses.

More often than not marketing departments are measured against the revenue their activity generates; as such, the marketing teams are dependent on the sales team to turn leads into sales to justify their efforts. This does, and can, cause conflict, and this conflict can have a negative effect on revenue. So what’s the solution?

The secret lies in sales and marketing working closer together, particularly when it comes to agreeing strategy and defining what qualifies a lead, so they are much more aligned. And this shift can actually be quite straightforward.

To align sales and marketing, ensure you are helping each other’s efforts. Here are the top issues to consider: Content marketing

Content marketing is the creation and sharing of content, with the aim of getting new customers. By creating highly targeted content for different buying stages, rather than

just top level content at the start of the sales funnel, you’ll be delivering what the customer wants at each stage of the buying cycle.

For the sales team, this means contacting the company at the right stage to help encourage the sale, rather than contacting them at the wrong stage when they risk taking them back a few steps (or losing them completely). We’ll explore how the sales team can target customers at exactly the right stage further on.

The types of content you could be creating include blog posts, videos and whitepapers, as well as social media updates. There’s a huge choice of content types – you just need to ensure that what you are creating is targeted and of a high standard. Communication

How frequently do sales and marketing communicate with one another? And at what stages of the customer’s buying journey are they talking? This must be factored in to any business strategy, to ensure all leads are dealt with appropriately.

For example, if you have a prospect who does not decide to buy, who is responsible for the next steps and staying in contact with the lead? Sales should be concentrating on converting qualified leads into sales, while marketing’s job should be nurturing and creating quality content around target customer’s needs. So in the case of leads leaking out of the sales funnel, marketing has the tools to try and keep and nurture them back through the process.

While the above is a very specific example, throughout

A Lead Forensics guide: creating a new Sales & Marketing strategy







the entire sales and marketing process, both teams must keep communicating with each other. Not every lead will be qualified or taken on to the point of sale, so it’s a case of deciding who is best placed to keep targeting a lead. Strong communication between each department will be vital for this. Streamline the sales process

Finding a way to refine the entire process is fundamental to your new sales and marketing strategy; and at the heart of this is lead tracking software. Not only will your new strategy be more aligned, thanks to content marketing and better communication, but the entire sales process will be simpler, allowing sales teams to concentrate on qualified leads and marketing teams to concentrate on nurturing leads. Measurement

It should go without saying that you should always measure your efforts – that way you can constantly evaluate and refine the process and your overall strategy.

For example, always assign a source to a lead, so you know where it came from. You can track how many leads have come from a particular source with the use of lead tracking software, and match this up to spend and lead worth to help you work out ROI. If there are parts of the process where leads are not converting into sales, get a better understanding of why this is the case, and work with the marketing department to decide on a strategy for nurturing those leads.

For the future, make sure your sales and marketing strategy is more aligned. Take advantage of content marketing and lead tracking software, and ensure your teams are communicating with one another throughout the entire






Don’t let what you cannot do

interfere with what you can do.

Charles H Green

“”


Tools







It’s a fantastic time to be working in sales and marketing, and there have never been so many clever and innovative digital tools available that could help you nail your targets (as well as organise your personal life and have some fun along the way!).

If you feel like you’ve been missing out, but the thought of trying to wade through to find the really good ones is leaving you in a cold sweat, then fear not. We’ve done the hard work for you.

Here are the top 5 digital tools that anyone working in sales and marketing should have in their lives, along with the best of the rest. These apps and services are so hot and so awesome, you’ll wish you’d known about them ages ago. 1. IFTTT (If this then that) - ifttt.com – Rated outstanding by PC Mag, this free website and service is just amazing and really easy to use. It lets you automate simple tasks and can make almost any app work with another one. You simply link anything you’d like to reach, such as your emails, Dropbox, social media accounts and even weather apps, then create ‘recipes’ to make things happen. For example, you can set up to get notifications if it’s going to rain tomorrow, or post new Instagram photos to Tumblr or Flickr automatically. There’s even the ability to get out of a meeting by sending yourself a phone call at a scheduled time. 2. HubSpot – Many digital marketing teams say they just couldn’t be without HubSpot - and for good reason.

It is an integrated inbound marketing platform that can help companies attract visitors, convert leads, and close customers. Rather than hitting potential customers with outbound marketing, the platform allows for the targeting of people who have a genuine need or interest, coined as inbound marketing. It enables firms to be found in the natural course of the way potential customers shop and learn, by providing content that is helpful and of value. Offering a huge range of tools, marketing teams can use it to do everything from building landing pages, to managing social media, publishing blogs, improving search engine optimization and measuring ROI. 3. Google Drive - Google Drive is a free service that allows you to store files online and is accessible from anywhere via the cloud. It gives you access to free web-based applications for creating documents, spreadsheets and more. For teams, Google Drive provides a place for multiple people to work on a document at the same time, from slideshows to spreadsheets and text documents. There is no broken formatting like you can hit in Microsoft Word, no forgetting to save as it auto saves and you can even work offline if you need to. 4. Lead Forensics – You’ll never miss a single website lead again thanks to this clever software. If you’re driving web traffic then Lead Forensics can reveals the identity of anonymous visitors, helping to turn them into actionable sales leads in real-time. This valuable data ensures no

Top 5 tools every sales and marketing team needs to know about






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https://ifttt.com/

http://www.hubspot.com/

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opportunity is ever missed and lets you engage with prospects right at the top of the funnel, identifying sales leads you never knew you had and accelerating marketing ROI. 5. GetSidekick.com – The tool every sales person needs in their life. You’ll get the ultimate in email data with Sidekick. Know who opens your emails, when they opened them, how many times and even from where. When you’re writing an email, with Sidekick’s tools you’ll have all the relevant information about your recipient at your fingertips, from contact history to social media content, mutual connections and more. And the best of the rest…

Buffer.com – In a nutshell, Buffer is a way to simply and easily share social media posts on multiple platforms. You simply add your Tweets, Facebook stories or LinkedIn updates onto your Buffer ‘queue’ and Buffer will post them for you, all well spread out over the day and at the best times.

Teamwork.com – This free and easy to use online application is perfect for team members who are collaborating on larger

projects that may have multiple tasks assigned to lots of different people.

Trello - Millions of people and companies of all kinds and sizes love using Trello. It’s a free, flexible, and visual way to organize anything with anyone. Perfect for those ‘to do’ lists, showing your priorities at a glance.

Buzzsumo – Not just a great name but a great tool too, perfect for use with content marketing and SEO campaigns. It helps you quickly identify what content is working well in an industry, which topics related to your business are getting the most attention and who the major influencers are.

Canva – A great online image manipulation and creation tool. Makes it super easy for non-designers to create stunning graphics. In today’s world images are more important than ever and with Canva you can quickly create them.

1Password – With all these apps and new technologies our modern world is becoming increasingly full of passwords and logins. 1Password is a super useful app that can remember them all for you, so you just need to remember the one as the name suggests.






http://www.getsidekick.com/

https://buffer.com/

https://www.teamwork.com/

https://trello.com/

http://buzzsumo.com/

https://www.canva.com/

https://agilebits.com/onepassword


For any business, regardless of its size, converting relevant leads and driving sales is vital to their success. Companies who just sit back and wait for customers to arrive at their doorstep will simply struggle to survive.

In contrast, harnessing a decent marketing and sales strategy, as well as investing in the correct tools, will enable businesses to attract suitable leads and improve profits as a result.

This is where lead generation software can be invaluable for your own company. So if your organisation is aiming to improve B2B sales, how can this form of software help you generate higher conversions? 1. Target relevant B2B leads

The sales process becomes more successful when you have the right insights and a strong understanding of the audience you need to target. Lead generation tools will provide you with this information.

As opposed to approaching cold leads from the ground up, lead tracking software will reveal the identity of your unknown website visitors.

Why is this so important for your business? Because ultimately you will then have the power to visualise which companies are landing on your pages, determine their intentions, and target them as hot sales leads.

Without lead generation software in place, the whole process

of locating this specific type of lead will take longer to achieve. 2. Understand user intentions

When you can see which pages your website visitors are viewing, you can then start to determine which services or products they are interested in too.

With this knowledge at your disposal, when approaching new leads, you can draw on the specific areas of your business that each prospect has been viewing.

As part of the sales process is focused around establishing individual prospect intentions, building a relationship, and gaining their trust, lead tracking software gives you the insights you need to start conversations on the right foot.

From here, you can focus all of your attention on negotiating and closing the sale before moving onto the next targeted prospect. 3. Attain accurate contact information

Even if you know who has landed on your pages, it’s still difficult to locate their contact details in order to follow-up on potential leads.

However with the help of IP tracking software you will be able to view the contact details for every business that has visited your site.

This information can be used to target the prospect, or

5 ways Lead Generation software can enhance B2B sales








assigned to a member of your sales team to contact them at a later date.

Understanding who has viewed your pages, as well as being able to access their contact details, will save you time and provides quick access to the information you need to enhance sales. 4. Streamline the sales process

When it comes to your sales chain there are a number of stages to complete before your website visitors will actually convert.

As time is money, especially in the world of business, your company needs to streamline the sales process as much as possible if you want to generate greater profit and reduce unwanted admin. IP tracking software can do exactly this in a number of ways.

First of all, trigger reports can be setup to notify your sales team when specific activity occurs on your site. Secondly, bespoke reports can also be sent directly to the inbox of key personnel in your company so that they can chase hot new leads straight away.

Whilst streamlining the sales process, IP tracking software allows you to focus on increasing sales through relevant, as opposed to random, leads.

5. Focus on your sales pitch

With a constant stream of relevant B2B sales opportunities being presented to you via IP tracking software, you won’t need to focus on this area.

Instead, work on your sales and marketing techniques.

This way, incoming leads that you pick up should convert at

a higher rate.

It’s not just about being able to follow-up on leads, your team also needs to be able to sell and close the deal on every available prospect.

So as the leads are generated for you, your sales team has time to perfect their pitch, aim to seal every deal, and propel your business forward.

Turn your leads into conversions

As you can see there are a number of ways in which lead tracking software can enhance your sales process.

This simple, but effective, way to track and target hot leads means that you can increase your ROI and attain more business as a result.

With the insights from the software and a dedicated and skillful sales team behind your business, it’s possible to generate greater revenue and push your company in the right direction.







The ultimate aim of the marketing function is to support sales in generating revenue for the business. It’s likely the following tactics are currently being used to generate new leads: telemarketing, email campaigns, paid advertising, social media and SEO. All of these tactics are great and can be highly profitable however analytics are required to track each of them. Lead Forensics’ IP tracking solution provides data that helps identify the campaigns that have been most fruitful for lead generation. The tool even goes one step further by identifying unknown website visitors providing a flow of new hot sales opportunities. This Slideshare presentation explores how Lead Forensics can help businesses generate more sales.

Slideshare - How Can Lead Forensics Help Your Business






http://www.slideshare.net/Leadforensics/how-can-lead-forensics-help-your-business-generate-more-sales-power-point

http://www.slideshare.net/Leadforensics/how-can-lead-forensics-help-your-business-generate-more-sales-power-point


Why wait? Take the free demo and trial today...

020 7206 7293 www.leadforensics.com

GET STARTED

Experience turbo-charged lead generation with a free demo and trial today:

By being your efficient central hub for website visitor intelligence, lead generation and marketing insight, Lead Forensics will give you all the data you need to convert high quality leads faster. Uncover who your anonymous website visitors are, identify when they’re ready to buy and access the contact details you need.

Imagine if you could take control of your lead generation activity, then nurture and convert your prospects before your competitors even get close.







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