It's All About that FU Money!
The average business is spending 1-2% on advertising regularly. Though that sounds like a small investment, that investment produces leads - and a lot of them at that. So, why do people struggle to grow when they are invested heavily in marketing? Simple: they don't like the FU money! Or, more commonly? The follow-up money.
Business owners invest so much in marketing, but they have never invested in their sales teams or their sales process. So many businesses continue to stay where they are because they have what we like to call "order takers" on the phone. These people don't answer the phone, when you call, they don't return your voicemails, they never ask for the business, and they only want to book those customers who ask to book on the first call.
Maybe in some businesses that works, but in most, you need a solid follow up processes and funnel for your sales. You need to earn the FU money. In one of our businesses, the time between the first contact and closed sale can be up to 8 months. There is so much follow up work to be done and questions that need to be answered. Sometimes those questions are the same ones over and over, but when you are dealing with high ticket items, it's essential to make sure that the customer and your salespeople are on the same page.
Tidbit for today!
Sales processes and hustle seem to be the biggest challenge for many business owners. They are very good at what they do, but creating sales teams was not something a majority of them got into business for. However, if you are spending money on marketing and are still watching your leads go down the drain because your salespeople don't follow up or don't know how to close the hard ones, then follow these three steps.
Sit with your sales team members to know what they feel works best for them when it comes to closing those big deals. From there, create metrics that will allow you to concretely measure where their sales process is working and where the drop-offs are. Then coach them based around those metrics and adjust your process until you have a closing machine.
If your salespeople aren't able to close every single deal on the first call or meeting (like most people out there), then it comes time for that FU money! The only way to get that FU money, though is to Follow Up. Make sure that your sales team has a routine follow-up process that extends further than just a plethora of sticky notes on their computer monitors. Whether it's with Outlook or a reminders app, encourage them to instate a follow-up pattern. Something like the below is a good starting place. Not only does this help your sales team to prioritize their tasks, but it also gives them the freedom to close out a lead if they get to the end of the process and realize that the customer hasn't yet reached back out.
Day One: initial contact
Three Days Later: call, leave a voicemail, and send an accompanying email
One Week Later: call, leave a voicemail, and send an accompanying email
One Week Later: send a final follow-up email
One Week Later: close out the lead due to inactivity
If you are not a salesperson, then you need to encourage your team to join some sales groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram to learn more and to be around other salespeople. I am part of a lot of online groups that just want to help those that are in the same space. Sales Talk for Sales Pros is the best sales group on Facebook, in my opinion. The admins keep the group fun, spam-free, and sales focused. There are also tons of books that have been written on sales best practices - everything from unique follow up tactics to simply how to be a better conversationalist. Though they're kind of passe now, books are still a great way to learn new tricks and hone your skills.
If the first two tips don't work and your team continues to struggle, then you need to work with the best group out there. I have worked with a lot of good sales consultants before, but The Apex Group is one of the best. They just so happen to be the same group that runs the Sales Talk with Sales Pros group previously mentioned. They offer a gambit of training programs through their Apex Group as well as through their Break Free Academy.
Listen, sales are your company's lifeblood, and if you are sitting out there waiting on fish to jump into the boat, you are about to go hungry. Take time today to analyze your sales team and figure out how you can invest in them to find better performance. I also want to mention that I don't get paid by The Apex Group. I have just been a student of theirs for a while now and know that you are going to get great results learning from them. Reach out to Zach Sasser or Drewbie Wilson on Facebook to get connected with them.
Enjoy!
