Last time we looked at how to increase your closure rate by changing the leads that come to you - with better targeting and more specific filtering.

Next, we turn inwards and focus on ourselves. If the best leads are coming to us - how do we close the maximum number? I often get asked, what an appropriate closure rate is... and I wish I had a uniform answer to that.

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Transcript of video:

My name is Nick Leighton and for the next few minutes, you are exactly where you want to be.

This is originally recorded March 16, 2021

Last time we looked at how to increase your closure rate by changing the leads that come to you - with better targeting and more specific filtering.

Unfortunately there is not one. When I work with marketing agencies and they are pitching single projects of $20k plus or annual retainers then I often see a 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 closure rates - in other words 20 to 25 %. And as of last year, 2.72 Percent of E-Commerce Website Visits Converted into Purchases… with some very notable exceptions - such as Amazon whom has a much higher conversion rate… and then there are some business owners that are very specific in their product offering and tell me they close 80% of the time.

Are some people better at selling than others? Yes, that’s true.

More specifically, how can YOU improve your sales results.

That’s what we’ll look at now.

First up - if you sell in person (I.e. you do not automate your sales online - such as an e-commerce site) do you have any way to measure what you are doing in sales. A Customer Relationship Management system - or CRM - is a system that helps with this. OK, so in theory, if you wrote down on a physical, daily planner the sales you were ‘farming’ and then forward planned when your follow up calls were, you would in effect have a CRM system in place.

Better still - let’s digitize it. You could use an excel sheet (or similar). Free and simple… it will measure and give you retroactive information and data, but may not actually HELP you sell more.

There are lots and lots of CRM systems out there that you could use. The grad-daddy of them is Salesforce - but I am going to guess that if you run a small business that doesn’t have more than 12 in the sales team - this solution may be over the top for you.

Customer relationship management (CRM) software helps automate and manage the customer lifecycle for sales and marketing departments. CRM software consolidates customer information into a single repository so you can better organize and manage relationships, automates common processes, and provides tools to monitor performance and productivity.

Why use a CRM system? CRM software offers three major benefits for your business:

1 - Easy access to customer data. Customer relationship management systems include searchable databases that allow you to access client and prospect information. Some solutions let you sync information across multiple devices, providing the most up-to-date customer information from any access point.

2 - Streamlined processes through automation. CRM software lets you standardize workflows and processes associated with sales, marketing, and customer support to improve coordination between these teams.

3 - Actionable insights into business performance and customer behavior. Some CRM software offer analytics functionality, where you can create customizable dashboards and reports based on customer data. These reports help in segmenting customers, tracking revenue, and managing personalized campaigns.

How good is your CRM system?

Do you need to start using one, start learning more about the one you already have, research a new one.. or maybe downgrade?

And, with that knowledge, what is your next action.

OK - so moving on, one of the three main advantages of having a CRM - as we already covered - is allowing you to standardize workflows and processes…

Next question for you - do you have a sales process?

The sequence your sales happen.

For example, maybe a prospect completes an online form, which allows for a phone conversation. Let’s call that the 10-minute introductory call. That call is an opportunity to qualify the lead. That may lead to a 45-minute discovery meeting. At the end of the meeting, an offer is made, and the sale closed.

Maybe you are new to the idea of a sales process, and you need to clearly define yours, or maybe you already have this dialed in. If you’re new to this, then take some time on this.

A couple of things to consider here:

1 - how simple is it for your customers to buy from you? Are you making it too hard?

2 - what would make this more efficient?

Have a look at your sales process and review if it’s good enough.

If not, what do you want to change, improve or implement?

After Sales processes, we need to look at sales scripts.

The advantage of having sales scripts is that they add consistency to your sales process. When there is consistency, you can make iterative improvements. In addition, when your sales scripts are written down, you will be able to overcome anxiousness (if that is something you face in selling) and you will become more aware of the situation you are in, because you are not working out what you’re about to say.

For example, in the model I used earlier, Let’s say that 10-minute introductory starts something like this:

Pleased to meet you. During this quick call, I am happy to answer any questions you may have
- if you would like to move forward - our next stage is our free ‘Diagnosis'. It takes about 45-minutes and we can do that in this hour or schedule for another time - whatever is better for you. - if, after that diagnosis, we identify that we can help you, we can build for you your custom ‘Strategy' and the cost is $199.00.
- Anything there I can explain in more detail for you?
- What questions do you have?

If that’s written down you have a clear sales script.

And every part of the sales process should be written down.

My question to you is - do you have a sales script and how good is it? Just knowing it in your head because you have said it 100 times does not count.

Is it written down?

What desire do you have to improve this or make changes?

Summary:

Use a CRM - and be very confident in all the features of yours so you can take advantage of everything it offers
What’s your sales process and what is your next action to improve it?
What is are sales scripts and what is your next action to improve them?

Next time, we look at my favorite strategy for increasing revenue - one that I use with the majority of my coaching clients and it is always amazing…

And if you like the tips and tricks here:

check out our new more revenue worksheet - I’ll link to it below
please do me a small favor - like and share.

My name is Nick Leighton and I wish you passion, profit, and happiness.

Would you like to increase your revenue this year? This is for you: https://www.exactlywhereiwanttobe.com/MoreRevenue

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More Revenue - Part 6 - aka Let's Close Them! [Video]