If you have read any of my other articles, you will have learned that in order to Turn Leads Into Sales you need…
- A clear roadmap and process, and
- A company wide definition of what a quality lead or prospect should look like.
The next step in your path to “Turning Leads Into Sales” is to create a plan to develop your leads over time.
But what does this mean and why should you do this?
Let’s start by asking a different question – Why do you exhibit at Trade Shows?
Other than branding, promotion and networking, typically we exhibit at Trade Shows to look for sales.
For most of us, however, we have to accept the fact that trade shows are no longer the “closing sales at the show” environment that they used to be. Rarely are a majority of your booth visitors looking to buy immediately (although there is always a bit of luck).
Most are there to learn about what is new; make contacts; get information and plant seeds for potential projects or initiatives down the road.
In fact, our studies and experience show that for every 100 visitors to your booth, 10 will have an immediate need/project,
7 0 will have a future or unspecific need, and 20 are not sure why they dropped by (perhaps to win the prize you were offering). So, based on those statistics, the answer to “Why do you exhibit at Trade Shows” is…. to secure long-term sales opportunities – not immediate sales.
So now that you know that trade shows are a great way to build long term sales opportunities, why then do most organizations have their reps (distributors, independent reps, dealers inclusive) focus only on the “hot” leads, while ignoring and often losing track of the future opportunities? Surely that is counter-productive.
How do we solve this problem?
Create a follow up and development plan, which includes regular touching via phone, mail, email, fax, etc, to ensure your organization never loses track and falls out of touch with your non-immediate sales opportunities.
These opportunities are the reason you went to the show in the first place and they represent the vast majority of your leads.
To develop this plan, you will need to:
- Assign resources.
- Document the process.
- Choose a piece of CRM or SFA technology to make it efficient.
By implementing this plan many of those future leads will eventually turn into sales.