According to Stanford University research, 85% of all customers buy after 5+ meetings. Problem is that 95% of salespeople give up after four. This nugget of valuable insight was presented by Colleen Francis of Engage Selling in her workshop at the Sales SheBang, yesterday afternoon.
Colleen shared a wealth of information that shows where the sales process falters and how to begin thinking about shifting it to higher effectiveness.
For example; When initiated by a cold call, a salesperson must contact 75 leads to close 1 sale. Compare that to referral leads with a close ratio of 1 in 4.
Considering that people are relying more on "people like them" for recommendations and insights about purchasing, developing a solid referral network is a great addition to any sales strategy.
Although I'd love to recount everything Colleen had to share, you'll have to settle for a few great tips and insights as I have to prepare for the workshop I'm giving about how to Flip Your Focus to customers this morning, so I'm short on time.
Think about the following: (source: Yahoo)
- 87% of buyers believe customer reviews and customer stories (use them prominently)
- 50% of buyers spend less than 8 seconds on your website (ouch)
- 60% leave because of lack of relevance (even worse)
Colleen also recommends that you use a one-sentence testimonial in the signature line of your emails. I love this idea. Much better than your company's logo and tagline. Go find one that will blow people away!
One last thing. When you leave a voicemail, make a promise to the recipient. When you follow-up, remind them of the promise and deliver on it. This strategy should help you build engagement. It's about creating great impressions by delivering value. (as perceived by your lead, prospect or customer - not just you. So think about this carefully.)
Colleen Francis also offers a subscription coaching program that is a bargain, given the insights and immediately actionable information she provides. Go check out Engage Selling Solutions. At the very least you'll want to sign up for her newsletter and get her 10-day intensive Sales Secrets eCourse.
For you marketers out there, getting the flavor of how sales sells can be invaluable for creating sales tools that sales will actually use, saving them all that reinvention time and keeping those feet on the street.
