Take Control of Your Sales

Posted: 04/19/16

By Richard Rutigliano, PriMedia Inc.

Great software can change the trajectory of your sales. If you feel frustration watching leads disappear, waiting for salespeople to update you, or wondering whether a marketing campaign is working, it’s time for better technology. A great tracking application gives managers and salespeople the tools they need to store leads centrally, track activity, manage the sales cycle, and changes sales assignments. Consider these benefits...

• Complete vision: Lead-tracking software enables a manager to view the universe of sales leads at a glance in a variety of view options. You can list by date to see what’s happened today. You can see what each salesperson is doing this week. You can view by sales category.
  
  If you just instructed all your salespeople to get moving immediately on a fresh set of leads, it is helpful to know who hit the ground running and who decided the high-priority work could “wait until tomorrow.” You can also view all the activity of any one salesperson, or the latest information on all sales leads where proposals have been delivered.
  
  
• Complete control: When a sales manager can view and manage every sales lead in the system, they are no longer at the mercy of the sales staff. They can require salespeople to record every lead in the database, regardless of its source, and to enter complete notes on every step they take.
  
  This step alone reconfigures employee relationships and puts an end to self-protective behavior by sales representatives. Possessiveness around sales leads introduces counterproductive employee dynamics and can put the company at the mercy of a recalcitrant representative. If they get sick or leave suddenly, the company can lose track of leads assigned to them and kiss that business goodbye.  Sales leads are company property, and once the company has created a central data repository, order is created, and employee interference is minimized.
  
  
• Customize: The lead tracking software should easily conform to your organization and style. You will probably want to set firm parameters for the timing of follow-up calls, and you might want precise answers to specific questions. The application (and developer) should be capable of building in those fields and requirements and adapting them easily.
  
  
• Empower salespeople: Salespeople are most effective when they are well informed and do not repeat questions that the prospect or customer has already answered. Centralized lead tracking software puts the entire file for a lead in one place, so any representative can demonstrate an impressive understanding of the account. Instruct salespeople to record every valuable detail.
  
  
• Move forward: Great lead tracking software requires employees to take two key steps before closing out a lead file: enter a written update, and set a date for the next action alert. On the alert date, the salesperson (and anyone else designated for that lead) will receive an e-mail reminding them to take the next step on that lead. A manager can also use the entries in the database to gauge the effectiveness of each sales strategy and to help representatives pursue leads effectively and bring them to fruition.

PriMedia’s LeadPro software is a great tool for tracking your sales lead. To learn more, please give me a call at 800-796-3342 or email me at rrutigliano@primediany.com