Originally Published in BIC Magazine, March 2020

BIC Magazine: First, You Need a Sales Plan

How lack of sales strategy defeats marketing plans. Essential sales processes including phone handling, CRM implementation, and lead tracking for industrial companies.

BIC Magazine Cover, March 2020

BIC Magazine Article, March 2020

Marketing Success Requires Sales Strategy

A lack of sales strategy can defeat your marketing plan. If your marketing goal is to obtain a positive return on your investment, you're probably going to judge the success or failure of your marketing plan by whether you make or lose money. Maybe you don't hold your marketing person, department or firm responsible for sales revenue, but when you are deciding whether to continue a marketing plan, sales should be a serious concern for your marketing staff regardless of whether they accept accountability for sales results. This is the common challenge we face as a marketing company.

Phone Call First Impressions

Over many years of service, we have identified several common "leaks" in sales processes. The most common leak we have found is poor phone-call handling. These mishandled calls can be identified using a phone tracking system that matches the marketing source of the calls and records the audio for training to improve handling.

If calls go to voicemail during business hours, that's the first problem to fix. Voicemail is a deal breaker for potential customers. A phone-answering service may not be ideal, but it's a good way to patch this leak, if necessary.

Motivate and Incentivize Your Team

Someone needs to be accountable for following up with prospective customers. Each team member who follows up should be motivated to convert sales leads into sales opportunities and sales opportunities into sales revenue. Incentives may or may not include commissions or bonuses, but being responsible for completing the sale is generally best accomplished by rewarding success instead of penalizing failure.

What You Say Needs to Reflect What They See

When speaking or communicating with potential customers, the message you deliver should be consistent with the information they gathered before reaching out to you. If the message on your website, brochures or pitch decks is different from what you say in conversation, fix that. Be consistent in describing the problems you solve and the benefits of your products or services.

Get a CRM and Use It Correctly

A customer relationship manager (CRM) tracks sales and helps measure the effectiveness of your sales program. Sales Force may be the best known, but it is not always the best solution. At Mansfield, we believe simplicity is the key to success when it comes to CRMs. This is especially true for small companies that may not have a dedicated sales team. Consider CRM alternatives like Sugar or Copper. Be sure to test the CRM before signing a contract to commit. There is a big difference between what each CRM offers.

Trends Over Perfect Tracking

"Analysis paralysis" is a real thing. A balance must be struck between perfectly measuring every minute detail and dedicating energy to doing. One strategy is to match every sales lead to a known marketing source. Trends are the most important metric. For example, if we can identify that approximately 50 percent of our sales leads come from our website, and 25 percent of those leads convert to revenue, we have the information we need to make an informed decision about the future investment of our marketing dollars.

Your sales plan is the foundation that enables marketing to generate measurable ROI. Without proper phone handling, follow-up systems, consistent messaging, and tracking mechanisms, even the best marketing campaigns will fail to convert opportunities into revenue.

This article was originally published in BIC Magazine, March 2020. Read more published works by Doug Mansfield.