Many of the CEO’s we support explain that their biggest frustration is that they get leads coming into their company, but they then struggle to convert them into sales.
In this blog, I am going to share with you the five key reasons why you’re not converting leads into sales and what you can do to change it in order to win sales consistently.
THINKING ABOUT IT THE WRONG WAY
Many business owners see leads coming through and automatically get really excited and think, “that must mean there’s lots of opportunity here”. They think they need to sell to those leads and tell them how great they are straight away.
This is the wrong way to approach a new lead. Those who are really good at sales don’t just assume that just because someone’s downloaded a guide, or someone’s connected with them on social media, it is an opportunity to sell. They use it as a chance to be inquisitive and to get to know the other person. They see it as a conversation rather than a sales activity.
Use the lead that has come in as an opportunity to get to know them and then make decisions as to whether it could be an opportunity to then develop them further.
GO IN TOO QUICKLY, TOO SOON
What do I mean by this? Don’t be a business owner who thinks a lead is an automatic opportunity to sell. Like I said in the above point, you have to think about it as a conversation opportunity.
The worst thing you can do is pounce on your leads before they’ve gone through a thought process, understood your company, what you do, and how you can solve their problem or desire.
The reality in sales is that if we try and convert leads too early or before they are ready to be converted, we are likely to lose the opportunity. I always say to my clients that you generally can’t win business on the first meeting, but you can lose it!
So use that conversation and accept that there may be one or two or three more conversations that you’re going to have before you start to do business with someone.
Remember people get pushed away and feel unhappy when people are desperate and act in a pushy way. Be in a position where you’re having great conversations and be prepared to bide your time and it’s going to help you in the long term.
USE GREAT QUESTIONS
My approach to sales (the best approach you can take) is to use great questions to get to know the other person, and then summarise this position at the end. Great questions used over one, two, three or even four meetings that can enable you to then summarise someone’s position, is critical!
It does take time, but when you build that rapport and relationship up it is going to help you show the other person that you have listened and understood them. You can then give them an outline of your solution.
Too many business owners and sales teams like to go in straight away and showcase how great they are and what they do, and they’re not prepared to bide their time and really ask the questions needed.
Try using simple phrases such as:
- “What would you like to do next?”
- “How do you want to move forward?”
You enable them to see the decision they want to take when you make that part of the general conversation. This is far better for the other person as you are getting them to make the decision for themself rather than being forced into a corner. This is a key critical factor when it comes to turning leads into sales.
THEY DON'T BELIEVE YOU
1. How you are going to do it., and
2. Do they think that the price that you charge is good value.
How are you going to do it?
You have to bring your solution to life! Show them a step-by-step guide of the process you’ll undertake to take their problem away, and that having the problem resolved CAN be a reality. Show them the journey that they will go on, and show them how you will turn x into y.
Most people don’t buy things because they don’t believe that it is possible, or they can’t picture themselves in that situation. Your job is to be able to bring that to life for them.
Showing value
Does the price that you charge match the value? Too many salespeople are afraid to talk about the budget issue. They don’t talk about the value of the investment that it’s going to take to get the problem solved.
If a prospect says your price is too high, most of the time it’s not because they aren’t prepared to pay for it, it’s just because they haven’t seen the value for it yet.
If you want to convert more leads into customers, really understand what you can do to show how you can make the problem go away and get that value gap closed. Make sure that you’ve understood what they value, what’s key for them and match that alongside what you do, so the two come together to hopefully turn that lead into a customer.
GET THE TIMING RIGHT
When I’ve reached the right point in my sales conversations, I like to ask:
“hey, what do you want to do next?” or “how would you like to move forward?”
These phrases are what I call assumptive closes that moves them to the point of closing. When you ask the right type of questions, people then become comfortable and they feel like you’ve got their best interest at heart, and they develop trust in you and who you are.
There are my 5 points on what you can do to convert more leads into sales.
- Think about it in a different way
- Don’t jump in too quickly
- Get to know them and the problem/desire
- Show them how you can make it happen
- Ask the right questions at the right time
I would love to see you converting as many leads as possible! We have got a guide that gives you lots of tips and ideas like I have shared with you today. Click the link to download it and let’s get you and your sales team winning more business consistently and turning more leads into sales.
