You have a lot of direct sales leads to manage. What’s the best way to keep them organized?

In order to manage direct sales leads it's very important to keep an updated spreadsheet arranged as per the organisation name wise if you aren't using any CRM tool. Either you can use CRM tool very minimal one which is only used to keep the records and can be checked instantly any time as per your customizations.

Use a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System: A CRM system centralizes all your customer data and interactions in one place. Allows you to track communication history, set reminders, and categorize leads based on their stage in the sales funnel. Segment Your Leads: Divide leads into categories based on criteria such as industry, location, or sales stage. Segmentation helps tailor your communication and marketing strategies for different groups.

I recently worked with a client who had been neglecting to update their CRM properly for quite some time. By the time we were hired on, stats and analytics were wildly off (to the point it was obvious without having to verify.). We insisted that the client clean their CRM, especially as they were hiring new sales people. They insisted the other way and focused on new sales instead. After a month, not only were analytics still un-trackable (so we couldn't do our job) but we uncovered that somewhere north of $500K was missing in account receivables. TRACK. YOUR. LEADS.

Effectively manage numerous direct sales leads by implementing a comprehensive CRM system. Centralize lead information, track interactions, and prioritize follow-ups with customizable fields for contact details, preferences, and sources. Use tags to segment leads based on criteria, facilitating targeted outreach. Integrate communication tools for streamlined outreach and task automation. Regularly update and review lead data to maintain accuracy. This approach empowers your sales team to focus on building connections and converting leads into customers.

I think CRM is a tool to do that but what really make it effective is the mindset. In another way, it's essential to keep your data organized and know your preferences.

Different leads may have different needs. Some may want off-the-shelf products, while others may want customized solutions. Some are going to buy soon, while others might have longer sales cycles. If you can arrange your leads so that you know what resources to commit and action steps to take, that will help a lot in your time management

This step really needs effort to find insight or common information to group database. Is there any ideas on how to do it efficiently?

The leads must be prioritized according to whether the client is interested in your value proposition and the amount of time and effort required in the likelihood of the client conversion ?

Perhaps the most underrated skill in sales is to qualify and prioritize your customers. This can be done in a simple way by finding out 4 factors: 1) Needs. How shall the customer benefit from your solution? What is the impact (financial and otherwise) of your solution to the customer? What are the consequences if the customer does nothing 2) Money aspects. What is the size of the deal? The expected margins or profits? How soon can they pay? 3) Relationships. Who are the Champions? What is our level of trust with them? Are we able to get insights about their fears they might have? 4) Potential. What are the long-term prospects if we work with them? Can they be good references for future customers?

The follow up is arguably the most important part of the sale. What are you expecting? For them to say yes and throw their credit card at you as soon as you call? Obviously most sales take time to reach the desired conclusion, statistically a sale is made between the 5th and 12th contact. By not following up with your leads, you're actively wasting the time spent talking to them the first time. The follow up allows you to build a relationship, to adjust to their objections and to show that you believe in what you're selling. Automation is great way to maintain contact but you have to do the job. I promise you (at least) half your team isn't following up, which means they're losing, and if you're doing it with them, you're losing too.

Sales and Marketing should work together to understand the following - 1. Is the marketing program bringing in the right target prospect? Think title, timing, and budget. 2. What type of follow-up produces the best results after a lead comes in? A soft touch via email, a phone call, or a combination of both. Test all 3 methods and track results. 3. Are your efforts providing financial results? If you are comfortable with how 1 and 2 are being addressed and your prospects aren't turning into clients you have a different problem which is why you need to track the entire life-cycle of the funnel. To summarize measure lead quality, the response to your efforts to engage the prospect, and then the overall sales process.

Just as filling up your sales funnels is essential, removing "dead-end deals" from them is just as important. Sometimes, we may find out that the deal is not worth our time and resources, or it's something other than what leverages our strengths. In such cases, it's better to take those opportunities out of the funnels to channel more energy and resources to the right customers and opportunities.

Here is how I manage multiple on the go sales leads. 1) Using a CRM that can create follow up automations till the time the deal is either won or lost. 2) Focus should be purely on large accounts first. 3) Act fast.