Sales Tips

How often as a Manager have you wished for a magic wand, you know that wand that would:

Gain new Customers
Increase Sales
Decrease employee problems
Decrease customers problems
Fix all the management demands
Decrease costs

Well I may not be your fairy godmother, but I hope that what I have to share here, will be equal to taking you to “Ollivander’s” from Harry Potters Stories, and allow you to find the magic you seek.

Information is the magic want for business solutions in the 21^st century. This has proven itself over and over again. It is why we must approve of our phone calls being recorded. It is why when we create websites and have google analytics. Every day, in every way, we are part of the big wheel in data collection. Now, this sounds really easy, but with Door to Door salespeople, collecting useful data that can be collected, and used easily, viably and cost effectively – is easier said than done.

No! It was easier said than done, but with the latest release of technology, the IS is now a WAS.

So now as an experienced Sales Manager, you want to know, what, how, cost and what’s the catch.

What is this new technology?

Google Maps. New? You are right, it is not new, it has been around for ages, available on every device you can think of. But what is new is that Google Maps has released some IT magic – known as an API – Active Page interface. OK, now I sound like a geek. So in English, Google allows products and tools to interface with it. You know this because you have a google map on your web site. True. But some companies have gone to a new level, and allow any of your sales people to use this technology to add, edit, photograph, keep documents etc. in Google Maps.

That is right. On a simple smart phone, your door to door collector or sales person, could record their meeting, take a photo, select a signature, get information – all on their phone, and it instantly is available to you in your office. You know where your sales people are, what sales they are doing, seeing and hearing their sales (if you wish).

By the assessment of sales demonstrations, you can see the problems and help your staff overcome them. You don’t have to be on the road, you can do this in your office. So enabling yourself to be fair more efficient.

It will not damage or compromise any of your current systems, as it is external to them, and you can control what data is entered and added, and how automatically you want this data to transfer. This is in your control.

An example of such a product is CRM-Map.com

Now you know the WHAT the next question is HOW.

Data can be collected by a range of methods. You could collect data by keying it in. You can collect data by requesting reports – e.g. Google analytics. You can collect data by ‘outsourcing’ this data entry and either purchasing the data, or having someone enter this for you. Finally you can collect data as part of a process.

In the context of working smarter, we will discuss the how in a couple of methods.

Method 1. Internal lead generation.

Current Lead generation if internal, would already be entered ‘somewhere’. If this somewhere, linked to CRM Map, then you have your leads , icons and coding already in Google Maps, so your sales staff can update this information.

If however you educate your sales people to work ‘smarter’ . Then as they go to and from appointments, they could collect other data that would lead to prospects. As Google Maps is so easy, this can be done by clicking a location on the phone, and applying a product of note, and a status. This could be competitors products, no products, etc.

Method 2. External Lead Generators

Either their systems, or the spreadsheets they send you can be imported into products like CRM Map so that your sales people can update and track their prospects. This also saves you data entry time, as this will integrate directly to your CRM under your own rules.

You can now see, that duplication of work can be minimized (if not removed), and that smarter sales people can actually assist in getting new prospects. So the obvious question would be:

Cost.

You are right, this sounds to be a very costly exercise and until this November, this would have been. However, with recent software releases, you can rent this technology purely on a low cost monthly basis. How low, well about $8 per month – average. Obviously the more users, the cheaper it gets, but it is still a very low cost charge, for what this can return to your company. Even the capture of one single qualified lead by your sales person a month, is cheap at $8 per month. Excluding the wasted time in double entry, lost data, non-recording of information – the list goes on. So the ROI, in my opinion renders this new technology quite cheap.

One major advantage with CRM Map, is that if a user has access to more than one application of CRM Map, you are not charged twice, only once – as the user is only registered once. This CRM Map refers to as crowd leverage costing.

What’s the catch?

Most great products have a catch, e.g. a locked in contract or a price rise after your hooked. Well some of the google API interface products do have catches and lock in contracts, as the host company is “locked” in with google for 12 months. However, CRM-Map, has allowed companies to leverage together and use this product without the locked in contract.

The biggest catch, is that you need to decide what data you wish to capture, how you wish to interface and how you wish to use this technology to work smarter, and gain new customers.

Why have you never heard of CRM Map?

CRM Map is the first of its kind and has only been released in November 2015. So technologically it is “hot” and new.

Think it might be better to wait and see?

My answer to this is that 15 years ago, I heard almost every main department store and supplier curse e-marketing companies for ruining the retail market. Yes, they changed it. However, every single still existing main company now offers e marketing. They have e stores, or they allow e ordering and deliveries etc. Those that have not moved to this, are now either out of business or well on the way to being out of business, especially if metropolitan located.

What e-marketing has done to the retail sector, Google maps API is now doing to the Door to Door sector. The question therefore is really how long you will wait to see. Remember a lot of companies tried to get into the E marketing too late. They are now either smaller, or gone. Timing is essential. But one reason not to wait, is that currently quite a few of these new products offer free trials. So you can try the product, learn, gear up, and then decide to implement or not. You are then make a wise choice, than just watching others going ahead and then deciding to join the market movement.

Getting New Customers, Increase Profits, Decrease Employees and Customers Problems.

Just like Magic!

If you had a magic wand as a Manager, what would you like it to do for your company?

Are leads costing too much? The adage of you get what you pay for was definitely true most instances, but is this necessarily true today with lead generation? With all that the internet has brought to marketing and sales, what has technology brought to the value of lead generation, especially when we consider the generation of quality leads?

Each business industry and methodology has a different cost to gaining leads to get new customers. Businesses work diligently on how to get better qualified leads at a lower cost, as this has a direct impact on profit. In the last week I have heard of leads costing $25, $52, $129 – depending on the technique and industry, the cost is varies, but the cost is real. This is such a topic that there are even summits held to discuss this matter.

Most companies are very aware, that it costs money to make money. This means investing in your company to keep helping your company to grow. Without leads, there are no sales, and without sales, there is no profit, so no business.

The end goal is to get Sales, and sales need quality leads. This Blog will look at ways to gather leads.

TeleMarketing

Telemarketing has been used for many years now. My recent direct research has shown that 75{c36baba5c73b6c9a0b80d5e7ba0a8acbfd233dc9453b651cdb653391d31dba51} of companies are now not finding telemarking just “not working” for them as it used to. This is related to so many reasons: Call filters, Do Not call registers, education in not “being caught” etc. However for the 25{c36baba5c73b6c9a0b80d5e7ba0a8acbfd233dc9453b651cdb653391d31dba51} that find telemarketing they have really improved the science of this form of marketing. For example better scripts, better training for callers, positive encouragement to keep the telemarketers on track. Many companies are also outsourcing their telemarketing to lower the costs of leads. The science of telemarketing is not necessarily using generic call lists, but filtered call lists, for example, these could be people that have already shown some form of interest, e.g. they have put their name down on the internet, or at a public display etc. Blogs expressing how to use telemarketing are numerous and quite informative.

Online Marketing

Online Marketing when used as a call to action to get people to commit their intention to consider the advertised product is a great way to get a filtered list, and possibly even a direct lead. Some webs are actually allowing the user enter the date and time of a requested visit. So online marketing can bring either a filtered list for telemarketers, or it can create direct leads themselves.

Promotions / Displays / Advertising – Call to action Marketing

Sales teams go to trade shows, perform advertising, have testing/tastings and a range of other direct – call to action forms of marketing. Quite often these direct call to actions bring in a lot of interest, but they can be very expensive and exhausting. However, they generally do more than just one function. For example they are a call to action, but they can also be promotional, educational and positive for existing clients.

Repeat Sales

This is generally one of the highest quality leads generators over all. A client that already loves their product is very keen to purchase another product from you, or upgrade their product as they already have confidence. So caring for your customers and creating repeat sales should really be important. It is also good business management to have products that can create back to back sales.

Upselling

McDonalds has certainly taught all of us about up selling. This is not generally seen as a lead generator. However if up selling, is selling another product along with the initial sale, then this can be seen as a form of lead generator. This is very common when a company has many departments and they interact. For example your department may sell kitchens, but another department may sell electronic equipment for kitchens, and other one sells kitchen flooring.

Sometimes creating the ability to up sell, needs a business that has been well established, has a lot of funds, and good solid management. Even if your business is not in the position to have multi departments your sales people can still increase profits if you have the ability to up sell. The end goal is to increase profits, so being able to up sell can still achieve the main goal. Good managers need to make sure that you have more than one product, or one level of a product.

Side Selling – Lead Generation

This is the latest form of lead generation. This form of lead generation has not been taught, however this is probably the least understood form of selling, however this is also probably one of the best ways to gain quality and economy in lead generation. I have been researching this concept for ages, and find no direct term for this form of lead generation, however my experience leads me to believe that this is by far the most effective in form of lead in regards to cost, quality and Sales value.

Women are known for being multi-tasking guru’s, but side selling is not actually about Multitasking, in the true sense of the word. It is about being efficient and using your time to the best advantage of sales for your company. Today, as business demand efficiency, productivity and cost effectiveness, side selling will soon be the new catch phrase.

So how does one side sell? It is well known that sales often occur in pools. These pools could be related to location, age, interests, geography etc. So if a sales person is selling in a pool, and during the process (arriving, during, leaving) this same salesperson documents and notes other potential sales. This is side selling – especially if this information is not lost.

An example of this could be selling house solar panels. The sales person has a presentation. While driving to this presentation, he notes on the same street, which houses have panels and those that don’t. During the sale, the sales person asks for referrals or takes note of information given freely by the prospect. At the conclusion of the sale, the team then would contact the properties that don’t have solar panels and let them know that your company is the one that installed the panels on the house at no 23. So instead of calling every house, your call center operator is only calling possible prospects.

I analyzed the most profitable and enjoyable sales I had experienced. I also chatted to other successful business men about their easiest and best sales. Over 80{c36baba5c73b6c9a0b80d5e7ba0a8acbfd233dc9453b651cdb653391d31dba51} of these came to these companies via Side Selling. However, these business people referred to it as Referrals, Great Watching by a Sales person, being in turn with the market etc. However, they were all talking about Side Selling.

This is why I founded our new Google Maps tool CRM Map. It is because I could see the advantage of being able to record and note possible sales and information, at the touch of a screen just on a map that finds exactly where I am right now. Using tools like this is a great way to get really high quality leads, at virtually no cost.

I hope with these ideas, you can consider some of the ways that your company can lower their costs of lead generation. I hope this blog has given you some ideas that will fuel the challenge of you lowering your costs on lead generation.

Category: Sales Tips

Sales Manager Insights: Use Door to Door sales people the smart way