If you are in direct sales, you know how important it is to generate leads and convert them into customers. But how do you use the data from your sales activities to find more prospects and improve your performance? In this article, you will learn how to use sales data to get more leads in four steps: analyze, segment, target, and follow up.
Analyzing your sales data is the first step to optimizing your lead generation strategy. You can use tools like CRM software, spreadsheets, or dashboards to collect and organize your data. It’s important to track key metrics such as lead sources, quality, conversion rate, and value. Doing so will help you understand your strengths and weaknesses, and identify the opportunities and challenges in your lead generation process. You should pay attention to where leads come from, how qualified they are, how many you convert into customers, how much revenue you generate from each lead, and how loyal and profitable your customers are. By tracking these metrics, you can gain valuable insights into your lead generation process.
It is very important to maintain customer list with proposal /quotation submitted. Keep visiting these datas regularly to update it which can give insight about progress of each project. Give probability percentage and fix up time lines for each Leads / Prospects and make strategy for each customer based on information gathered from different sources.
Of course, it is very important to use sales data, but the most important thing here is the customer's communication with you. It is much more important to analyse the conversations in the communication with the customers and to analyse what the customers need more and which products are more realistic to sell and to use this data rather than keeping the sales data.
It’s simple I sold products to mini marts that moved really well . I then went down the street telling the other minimarts that my products were moving great offering them a sample that I preferred to stock and test myself to get best results . They would be very interested and consider changing .. they wanted more new sales . They were greedy like me .
Me always drilldown data about my future clients, and then prepare sales pitch accordingly, which has worked in my favour. And above all since i was fluent in regional languages ( Indian languages) was very easy to convince them.
Evaluate prospect data on these 4 things. 1) whether it is a right match for business. 2) Have we understood needs properly and have all right data to recommend right solution 3) whether my offer or product will be right match for prospect reqirement 4) what could be prospects reason to go for the solution or change
The second step is to segment your sales data and group your leads and customers into different categories. Segmentation allows you to customize your marketing and sales messages, offers, and tactics to each group, thus increasing relevance and response rate. You can segment your sales data using criteria such as demographics, psychographics, behavior, engagement, and stage. For example, you can consider age, gender, location, interests, purchase history, email opens, website visits, and loyalty. By segmenting your sales data in this way, you can target your leads and customers more effectively and efficiently while creating personalized and meaningful relationships.
Segment your data from the point of view of potential for business i e. Value of business, prospect data, decision makers, people involved in buying, social information about them, prospect information e.g business data etc
Segmenting your data is important but can be overwhelming and cause call paralysis. Keep it simple. Hot, Cold, No Contact. One of my favorite emails to send is the Break Up Email. Subject line reads, Are You Still Interested? In the body keep it very direct and again ask if they are interested in your product/service. If not interested, ask them to email you back, NOT INTERESTED or you will keep following up since it is your job. Getting a no is progress within the data.
Every business, client, brand, and person for that matter is unique. Comparing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats are perceived differently. Segmenting business by vertical markets helps identify the position of commonalities like 1. Price, 2. Product, and 3. Service. The theory says you can only have 2 of the 3. If you position your value to what is important to the client you can have all 3. Studying by listening to the client and then segmenting sales data enhances profitability and the relationship.
The third step is to target your sales data and prioritize the segments that have the highest potential and value for your business. This allows you to focus your resources and efforts on leads and customers that are likely to buy from you, thus maximizing your return on investment. To target your sales data effectively, consider criteria such as fit (how well do they match your ideal customer profile?), intent (how interested and motivated are they to buy your product or service?), opportunity (how big and profitable is the market size and share for each segment?), and relationship (how strong and loyal is the connection between you and each segment?). By targeting your sales data, you can optimize your lead generation strategy, increase sales performance, and ultimately improve results.
All verticals and customers for that manner are not equal. Some have greater or unique costs to serve, and some are process driven but all have an expectation. Sales data does not lie; it determines winning verses losing. I share with sales and operations the areas that need to be protected and the areas we can improve the company's outcome. What if sales could increase revenue and help reduce costs. Today with rising costs, maintaining business and growing the business requires all-hands-on deck.
Evaluate business potential vis a vis possible value for prospect. Do swot analysis , buying power, decision makers, relationship with decision makers, where can we dufferentiate
Not always some businesses just need to be educated on what’s happening with competition see how we can help them. Like I say you can always learn each day and some business don’t want to change but they have to. To move forward some will not listen but a good person to guide them is the key.
Targeting your data should start with your low hanging fruit of current or past clients. Learn about the company you are representing and really figure out their best sellers and start to paint a picture of what these Perfect Clients look like within the data. No need to reinvent the wheel.
Leveraging sales data to generate more leads is a strategy that relies on precise targeting and, increasingly, the power of AI. AI-driven analytics can unlock valuable insights from sales data, identifying patterns and trends that might not be apparent through manual analysis alone. With the assistance of AI, businesses can harness their sales data to optimize lead generation strategies, resulting in more efficient and effective outcomes. My experience and observation of results in this domain have shown that integrating AI with sales data not only improves lead generation but also enhances decision-making and drives revenue growth. It's an approach that's becoming increasingly essential in the ever-evolving world of sales and marketing.
The fourth and final step is to follow up with your sales data and nurture your leads and customers through the sales funnel. This can help to build trust, provide value and education, overcome objections and challenges, and persuade and influence. You can use methods such as sending personalized emails that address their pain points, benefits, and objections; calling to establish rapport; connecting with them on social media platforms; and hosting webinars to showcase your product or service. By following up with your sales data, you can move your leads and customers closer to the purchase decision, thus increasing your conversion rate and customer retention.
Once you qualify prospect for business. Your communication must focus on customer requirements and addressing issues and problems to build credibility, trust and rappirt
Play the Follow Up Game it's the key to sales. If someone says yes on the first call, potential red flag. Typically, your 2nd & 3rd attempt will get responses from your best prospects and earn their respect as a Sales Professional.
In my experience, integrating sustainability into your lead strategy motivates leads to convert and become loyal customers, driven by the positive impact they can create. Additionally, sales data reveals referral opportunities, leveraging satisfied customers for high-quality word-of-mouth leads. It also pinpoints upsell and cross-sell chances, boosting revenue.
One tool I find useful I usually make use of my updated excel files to analyse and monitor customer prospective and keep in close contact with them to learn about new leed generated in the market. So the most important part is to keep files updated and keeping touch with your current customers because the know about new projects.
Wake up early, out work everyone, add value, and be consistent. Sales is a marathon not a sprint when it comes to fostering long-term relationships. Last person standing wins.