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Leads Still Not Converting. What's Wrong?
"Ok," the manager says, "We've got the lead generation program going now and good qualified leads are coming in. But nothing is closing! What's going on?"
There's a common thought that great selling is about special sales magic, bigger-than-life charisma and brilliance. Of course, that doesn't hurt if you've got it, but it's not what's needed or the key here.
Again, sales is not rocket science. It is thoughtful and quality execution of right activity with right people at the right time.
There are 3 keys for higher lead conversion rates:
1. Numbers, Numbers, Numbers
You must evaluate the metrics. There may not be enough quality leads coming in yet from the new program. One in ten or one in twenty or one in fifty are relative terms. Measure a reasonable sample and improve from there. Don't panic yet.
2. Qualify, Qualify, Qualify
Are these leads really qualified? May be the right title, but is that all we know going in? If so (and we're happy to have them), we'll need to take these actually unqualified prospects and work a Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How qualification process.
3. Quality, Quality, Quality
It really comes down to the quality of the conversation. The best ones know the right questions, how to ask them, when to ask them, and how to respond. It's a professional, high-quality conversation that uncovers a viable opportunity from a raw prospect call.
Yes, there's some investigative work to get done to figure out the right metric goals, the process to correct lead qualification, and the appropriate call/conversation skills to not let good lead slip away.
Good news: you've got leads; bad news: they're at risk.
How's your leads?
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New 2013 2nd Edition!
42 Rules to Increase Sales Effectiveness
by Michael Griego
Foreword by Mark Leslie Venture Capitalist and former Founder/CEO of Veritas Software
"This book rocks - I've got pages dog-eared and notes throughout!" - Enterprise VP of Sales
"42 gems that any entrepreneur can use to their company." - Start-up CEO
"An excellent, well-written guide that de-mystifies the process for repeatable sales success." - VP Business Development
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Sales Fright
There's nothing more obvious than a professional athlete who has lost their confidence. Happens all the time in all sports. You can see it in the eyes, the stance, the gait of the walk. It needs to get fixed quick or slumps and downtimes continue unabated.
It's the same with salespeople. It comes in many forms though. Oftentimes is merely fear of the phone or a sense of intimation or collapse of one's pipeline. Wise managers can see it in the eyes, tone of voice, fuzzy pipeline reviews, faltering numbers. As something we've all experienced at some level, in most cases it's fixable, even at the rep level.
Here are just 3 common causes and fixes of sales fright:
- Fear #1: Call Paralysis - You've been beaten down by a prospect and had your confidence rocked. Get up off the ground and get back on the phone. It's only one bad apple in the batch. Spit it out and regroup. A helpful key is to reset on your talking points, your sales pitch, and nail down the next call. Great salespeople regroup quickly and overcome calling fear.
- Fear #2 - Big Deal Loss - You've lost a significant deal in the works. It hurts. You may or may not have backup in the pipeline to replace it. Management is putting pressure on you beyond the pressure you've put on yourself. Learn from it. While you can't forget it, get over it. Quickly. Even if it takes you another quarter to build back up, get on it. Great athletes, and salespeople, come back after losing the big game and have great seasons and careers.
- Fear #3 - Spiraling Pipeline - It's not just one deal, it's several dropping like flies. It's like a string of bad luck, overwhelmingly effective competition, or a loss of personal mojo that has you reeling and your management doubting. Again, winners make must-do adjustments after honest self-assessment. It's your product, your company, your territory, right? Maybe, but make no excuses. It's on you to fix it. Step up and pick up the pieces. It's a comeback story in the making.
There's no secret formula to overcoming sales fear and failure. The key to recovery is grit, action, tenacity and mental fortitude. And never underestimate your own sales skill and experience. It's normal to take a hit. Experience takes the blow and sees past it. Yes, sales can produce fear and trepidation in even the best of players. But best players face fear, recover and beat it back.
How goes the sales fear battle?
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Momentum Mobile Accelerator & RocketSpace features MXL Partners
 
MXL Partners Michael Griego and George Arabian were the featured speakers at the recent gathering of entrepreneurs at the Momentum Monday Accelerator held at RocketSpace in San Francisco.
The Momentum Monday Accelerator is a program for startup founders focused on the enterprise. The program is sponsored by Samsung, PayPal, Intuit and Wilson Sonsini. As part of Mobile Monday with global presence in over 140 cities across 50 countries, participants get global exposure with leading brands to help foster business relationships and potentially commercial deals.
MXL's "Closing the Deal Workshop" was titled "Enabling Founders - 6 Steps to the Close" After breaking the myths about selling, MXL presented highly practical practices and key steps to closing the first set of customers.
In addition to offering professional sales training and consulting services for established high-growth enterprise sales firms, MXL offers a Revenue XLerator service for early-stage start-ups.
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Rule #29 - Get Them to Call Back
(2nd Edition)
Effective salespeople get people to communicate with them. It's not always easy. You leave a message, send an email, then wait for something, anything that lets you know they know you're there. But they've gone dark on you. It's happened to all of us. It happens even more in tough economic times. What's a salesperson to do?
One thing to do is to be calm and realistic. There are 3 Reasons why people don't return your calls:
1. You're not compelling.
Sorry, but there's a very real chance that your sales pitch or message is just not striking or compelling enough for the prospect to respond. Welcome to the sales club. It's not the end of the world. Change your message if you're finding people are consistently not responding to you.
2. They're too busy.
This is most common as people are often interested but are tied up with other projects or issues. Remember that other people have Top 10 lists or even Top 20 lists. You might be #17. They'll get to you eventually. The suggestions below will be most helpful for these busy types.
3. They're not interested.
There's a high likelihood that they are just not interested in your product or service. Again, this is not fatal. It happens all the time. Better to have a "No" than a "Maybe" that will waste your time.
Here are 3 Keys to increase the likelihood that prospects or customers return your calls:
* Develop a Compelling 20-40 Second Phone Message.
Remember in Rule 26 we learned to compose a powerful 20-40 Second Speech. This can be easily adapted to a compelling phone message. There's a logical flow to a crisp message/pitch that hooks one to listen, respect and respond. Note: your email should have the same structure.
* Follow up Appropriately.
Don't give up too soon, but don't overdo it. Place up to 4 calls over 2 weeks before moving on, or call back next quarter, as appropriate. Keep track of the follow-up details in your CRM. Many salespeople fall short here as they fail to stay systematic in their territory sales activities.
* Remember Not Everyone Buys.
Some people/companies are just not good prospects right now. Not everyone is ready to buy your products now or potentially ever. But don't blow your chance to even possibly do business with them in the future. Be gracious, professional, and "live to sell another day." (Rule 27)
Are you getting them to call you back?
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Henry Ford on Sales Fear 
"One who fears failure limits his activities. Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again."
- Henry Ford, an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company
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