Episode C.023 Sales Funnel & Automation

Introduction
This week we continue our focus on the post pandemic re-opening of business. Other than dealing with customer and employee fears, there is nothing different or special about today's show except urgency. Unlike other expansions at the end of a contraction, this was not a structural - it was imposed. Normally a contraction (recession) is a result of over supply and decreasing demand awaiting a unplanned event to prick the bubble. In this case the demand still exists with diminished supply and we have sufficient information to predict the beginning of an expansion. The purpose of IBGR programming this month is to prepare the entrepreneur for the turnaround. it will require acting with urgency over the next 4 months.
​
Show Objectives
We have 2 tasks left to reopen the business fast and hard. The issue of how to measure marketing, sales, and service is tomorrows show (C.024). Our focus today is on building a Sales Funnel you can measure and manage. Once you have made the decision the last component of our conversation is how to automate it in your CRM.
​
What You Need to Know
There are many excellent models for designing a sales model. It should based on what type of interaction is required to move a Qualified Lead to a Sale. The other consideration is the type Sales Relationship you have with customers: Transactional, Relational, or Consultative (Show ). Based on those decisions select or build your own.

Some Issues to Consider when build your Funnel:

• Avoid to few or too many steps. 1 is not enough and 6 or 7 is too much;
• Provide clarity on the criteria for when a potential customer moves into and out of the stage;
• Incorporate how you use publishing: blogs, social media, email, etc., to interact with potential customers;
• If the relationship goes beyond the sale such as servicing what was sold, include that step in the process - it is the hand-off from the Sales function to Service;
• Make sure your choice of CRM allows for this small amount of customization.

What You Need to Do
The model we use has been an industry standard for the last 50 years: Qualified Leads become Suspects who become Prospects whom buy and become Customers and post sale Support:

• Qualified Leads: a measure of marketing effectiveness, they are potential customers you targeted (based on your perfect customer profile) to find  - who is making a buying decision in the immediate future and financially capable of paying for it;
• Suspects: based on your initial contact, they are potential customers interested beyond kicking the tires and want to discuss it further to arrive at the right decision;
• Prospects: discussing benefits, features, and terms – potential customers have moved beyond being interested and have placed themselves in the closing process;
• Customers: they have made a purchase and you are about to deliver or in the delivering process;
• Alignment: our last step is to make sure, because our offer can be complicated, the customer has realistic expectations of what happens now.

Once you have built a Sales Funnel that fits what and how you sell, customize your CRM to reflect the steps. All CRM Systems provide administrator status where you can customize it to fit the business.

​
Next Show: C.024 Marketing & Sales Budget