Pipeline lever 1:
adding new conversations keeps your sales pipeline
flowing
Like everything else mentioned in this course,
there is no magic key, secret technique or complicated formula to
getting more deals. It's actually very simple. All you have to do
to get more deals from the far end of your sales pipeline is to put
more conversations into the front end.
3 steps to having a healthy sales pipeline
flow:
- Set a daily or weekly goal for adding new
deals. We once set a goal for our sales teams to come up
with a list of 10 sales opportunities every week. Within 2 months,
we found that this technique was allowing us to increase our
revenue. The time it will take you depends on the length of your
sales cycle, of course.
- Make this list building an unbroken habit, or "don't
break the chain". Constant effort keeps your pipeline full
and keeps the money flowing. Jerry Seinfeld is one of the most
successful comedians of all time. When asked what the secret to his
productivity was, he
described a simple technique of creating a chain of activity
that he never broke.
- Get creative about how you make your weekly
list. There are some obvious ways to do this. We all know
about following up with inbound leads and calling people from a
list you bought. Those are good, but you have to get a bit more
creative in order to keep that pipe full. Here are some ideas for
your list building activities:
- Go back through your
list of contacts and get
in touch with people you haven't spoken to for 3-6 months,
including those who said no initially. A lot can change over
time.
- Keep your finger on
the pulse of what your contacts are doing. Often, job
changes can be a good excuse to start a short conversation with
them. Services like Newsle help to track
mentions of your friends and work contacts in news.
- Turn randomness into a system. There are many opportunities right under your
nose. As you watch TV, read the paper or see a sign on the
way to a meeting, take note of these and make contact.
- Ask for referrals
from your existing customers as well as prospects who did
not buy. Every NO can help to build your pipeline.
Make it a habit to find new sales opportunities that help you to
continually put new conversations into your sales pipeline. This
persistent and consistent effort is one of the 4 levers to ensure
that you get the most from your pipeline management efforts. In the
next lesson, we'll focus on the second lever: how to grow revenue
by getting bigger deals.