by Will Rotondi
Call it an argument of semantics if you want, but you can’t close your leads.
In order for deals to close, you have to get someone to agree to a purchase. This requires them to know who you are and what you do and for you to have learned whether they’re even a fit for your services. In other words, they’ve passed the prospecting stage and entered your own sales pipeline.
True, some deals are closed faster than others, just as some leads are more receptive to talking with you sooner. But the distinction between prospecting and sales is important.
How to turn your leads into prospects
Salespeople hate prospecting. Who wants to hear no thanks and not at this time for most of their day? Yet that’s the name of the game, and it’s essential if you want to find the handful of people who do turn out to be interested.
This is where prospecting email automation comes in. In order to generate prospects you first need to generate leads. Leads are contacts that have been familiarized with your company, they have received valuable information on your services and have been warmed up over a period of time. These are the contacts that your sales team should be reaching out to, to find any potential prospects for your business.
It can take several email attempts to get leads to agree to an initial phone call, and it can take 2-3 calls to close a prospect. Cold contacts can take time to close, they require a lot of effort, patience, and organization. This is why it is important to look into other tools to help keep your sales team on task as it can be more cost-and time-effective.
