 |
| Recent
Articles |
Building
Consumer Confidence Builds Sales
Many small online business owners have yet to understand the sheer power that
comes from building consumer confidence. They struggle with sales month after
month, but still...
Marketing
Effectiveness is Not Measured by Response Rates Alone
Two things are certain. 1. Driving all leads directly into the SFA or contact
management solution is a losing proposition - for both marketing and sales.
Website Conversion: Meet Your New Sales Rep
Website conversion is a methodology designed to improve your website visitors'
experiences on your website and, in so doing, generate desired results for your
company.
2
˝ Steps to Sales Success
You have just walked out of the office of a potential new major customer that
you have anxiously been waiting to meet with for weeks and again, you realize
you have no idea what is going to happen next as...
|
|
|
09.01.05
Life Cycle Contact Relationship
Management
 By
Osman Baig
Technology and communication advancement has opened the corridor to new markets,
providing for a cost effective approach to expanding your customer base while
building new relationships.
As sales professionals we must understands the value of developing, building,
maintaining, and growing relationships. An intangible value of a sales person
is who he knows and how well he knows them. Credibility within the marketplace
allows sales professionals to flourish. The best interest of the client and your
company, the old win-win is still the best approach.
The World is Smaller than You Think
The distorted perception of an endless funnel of prospective clients has devalued
the relationship building process which is a pillar for success in this globalization
era. Every interaction with a prospective contact must be leverage and converted
into an asset component of an every growing network of contacts. "An opportunity
lost is a contact gained!" Many sales people neglect the strategic component of
contact relationship management which prepares you for the initial communication
with the prospective contact. Time is a valuable commodity that must be respected.
If you are ill prepared, what value can you effectively present to a prospective
contact? Burning your bridges early will effectively lead to low conversation
rates and can tarnish your reputation in the marketplace. People deal with people,
do your homework and build successful relationships. The world is smaller than
you think!
A New Prospective on Contact Relationship Management
A customer centric approach to sales is fundamental in today's marketplace. Generating
revenue as well as expanding your network asset base, who you know, but not overlooking
a common mistake, who knows you. The condition of the market changes constantly.
A dormant contact can become a viable opportunity at any time. You may change
companies where the product or service is now in demand by your network contacts.
Have you left your mark? Will they call if the need arises? Every individual you
build a relation with is a potential client, referrer, mentor or coach. Recognizing
the unique value of every individual is important. Not every situation is convertible,
don't waste time where the return or potential of return is too low or non responsive.
We still have a function to fulfill.
Strategic Contact Relationship Management
Many people think that the contact relationship process begins when you first
communicate with the contact. This mindset is a common ailment among sales people
which also is one of the factors for low conversation rates for prospects into
contacts. The popular dart technique adopted by many sales people, targeting a
large market vertical with a replicated approach until they eventually hit a potential
qualified opportunity, is an under productive and resource intensive methodology.
Nonetheless, management in many companies still promote and measure the sales
environment against the dart model philosophy, number of total outbound calls,
calls per hour, down time in between calls just to mention a few. Professional
corporate sales environments have become telemarketing call centers.
One of the top sources for information for management, even about what is happening
in their own industry is still Sales Professionals. Taking the time to understand
your product, aligning business values, understanding the variation model for
point-of-contact, identifying key players in opportunities, industry and prospect
specific pain points, industry and prospect specific project priority ratings,
contact and project specific win results, understanding ideal profile filtering,
and the industry itself, just a few to wet your appetite. A key factor of differentiation
between sales reps and sales professionals is knowledge. People respond well to
those who have value to offer, regurgitating the same old sales pitch will irritate
potential contacts and under value you as a professional and your offering. Be
prepared, do your homework, and position yourself as a valuable partner to your
contacts rather than just another salesperson. Building relationships on value
will result in a higher conversation rate of prospects into contacts of which
the by product is higher sales. For this article I only have time just to brush
the surface on the topic but will in future articles expand on each topic covered
throughout the article.
Read
the rest of the article.
About the Author:
Osman Baig is the President of Mughal Consulting Group, a revenue catalyst firm
driven by the ability to augment sales, marketing, business development, and strategy
initiatives for their clients. For additional information, please contact us at
media@mughalcorp.com or visit our website:
http://www.mughalcorp.com. |
|
WebProWorld Marketing Forum
