At Executive Management (EM), a consulting company of 10, the pressure to keep sales running smoothly is overwhelming. Edith Myers owns EM and will tell you,
“Selling consulting services isn’t a walk in the park.”
Edith and 3 sales reps feel the pressures from unpredictable revenue, juggling piles of manual work, and the nightmare of missed follow-ups.
Sales Pressures
Edith spends her time selling, visiting clients, and ensuring that work gets done. The team spent too much time with unqualified prospects and were knee-deep in manual follow up. Both detracted from engaging with EM’s best prospects and clients.
Sales Trends
EM experienced inconsistent revenue in the past 3 years. Fluctuations in deal volume and closing rates disrupted cash flow. In fact, EM’s closing rates declined from 2 in 10 to 1 in 10.
“We needed twice the prospect to keep up with past sales,” Edith said.
Edith knew she needed a systematic approach to sales.
Strategy and Action`
Edith’s advisors suggested a sales specialist to strategize and implement sales actions. The specialist listed several ways to increase sales:
- Rank prospects and allocate sales time based on ranking.
- Segment prospects by rank, service needed, and buyer timeline.
- Set up personalized outreach with follow up by assigned sales rep.
- Automate 50% of the outreach to A&B prospects and 80% to C prospects.
The team agreed to personally follow up 6 times with each A&B prospect.
Systematic Approach
The specialist recommended the use of a robust CRM to support the team’s plan. Within 30 days, the CRM was up, contact records loaded, and training completed.
“Our specialist was amazing. The CRM was up without interruption and is incredibly intuitive. Even I can use it,” said Edith.
The specialist set up the CRM with:
- Segmented lists by buyer rank and product interest.
- Email campaigns personalized for A, B, & C prospects with calls to action.
- Automated “follow ups” based on prospect calls to action.
- Triggered Sales Rep Reminders to call A&B prospects in between emails.
- Prospect tracking managed in the Sales Funnel.
At once, the sales team became “contact centric” and found themselves with free time.
Sales Rep Free Time
Over the next 12 months, the following results were apparent:
- Sales increased 20% over 1 year ago with a 90 day pipeline.
- The sales pipeline grew month over month every month.
- Closing rates now exceed 2 in 10.
- Interaction between A&B prospects and sales reps doubled.
- Sales reps saved 4 to 6 hours per week.
When you allocate new Sales Reps Hours to A&B prospects, your conversion rate increases, and your hassle factor goes down.
“It’s a game changer!” said Edith
