BEFORE YOUR TEAM SPENDS TOO MUCH WASTED TIME…..Are they “real” and are they moving forward…..do you know….do your sales people know? How do they know? Here are a few fail-safe tactics:
Watch the numbers: The best predictor of sales success is each individual pipeline
Conduct qualification reviews.
- What new accounts are they calling on (getting appointments?)
- Is there a real opportunity discovered after they meet?
- Did they qualify the account properly? Example:
- Quote for the decision maker?
- Decision upon quoting?
- Will it be profitable/acceptable?
- No potential headaches?
- Funding Exists?
- Customer knows the price range?
- Dissatisfied with current vendor? Why?
- Will leave incumbent vendor?
- Timeframe is appropriate?
- We have a solution?
- Competitive issues handled?
- Can we FORECAST this business (close-able?)
To raise expectations and help your people be more accountable follow the process on a regular basis (weekly?) Remember, the pipeline is the single most predictor for sales success!
Remember: Activity without results is useless!
AXIOM: “Don’t listen to what they say…watch and inspect what they do!”
