Charlie Jones (CJ) owns Civil Engineers Inc (CEI), with 3 salespeople and 7 engineers. CJ is involved in marketing, sales, client services, and administration. As CEI grew, it outgrew its ability to manage marketing and sales. As CJ said,
“We did lead generation and management by the seat of our pants.”
The team was overwhelmed keeping up with its growth, juggling multiple tasks, and losing track of leads.
CJ’s Greatest Assets
CJ’s 3 greatest assets were his reputation, client list, and team. As CJ explained,
“When I started, I played golf with people who needed my services.
Today, buyers have more options.”
As sales had not kept pace with past years, CJ knew he needed to formalize his marketing and sales processes.
CEI’s staff jumped on the opportunity to express what they saw:
- Too many prospects showed limited interest.
- Prospects did not receive different treatment based on their importance.
- Some prospects were never touched.
The team recognized they were slow to respond and inconsistent in their follow up.
Sales Funnel Review
CJ drew a picture of a funnel and divided it into 3 parts. The team reviewed last year’s prospect “dropouts” and here is what they learned:
- 40% showed very little need for services and were top of funnel dropouts.
- 50% of the remainder were middle of funnel dropouts.
- CEI closed 10% of the remainder.
The numbers were compelling.
CEI had $1M in sales with an average sales price of $25,000. CEI’s recurring revenue was 50% of CEI’s total. CEI needed 20 new sales per year to just maintain its sales revenue.
CEI’s Responds to Its Data
CEI’s team was excited and asked the following questions:
- What actions will reduce our sales funnel dropout rates?
- What actions will increase our closing rate?
- What is the number of businesses to contact to make the 20 sales?
The team asked the right questions.
Get Rid of the Spreadsheets
CJ asked his advisory board for help. Here were their recommendations:
- Narrow the top of CEI’s sales funnel to reduce unqualified prospects.
- Rank prospects and allocate time to CEI’s Very Important Prospects.
- Segment prospects by client type i.e., commercial vs residential developers.
- Build referral sources among the engineering communities.
- Engage a CRM expert to help track prospects and automate specific sales functions that lead to greater sales.
CJ found the right CRM vendor and implementation began.
Outcomes Are What Counts
Within 45 days, the CRM was up and running. Changes included:
- New definition of the ideal client.
- New industry trade associations were assigned, and others were dropped.
- Each prospect was ranked using ideal client criteria.
Staff was trained and the vendor remained available to support Cei’s initiatives.
One year later, CEI’s closing rate has doubled. As CJ said,
“We made more sales with fewer prospects and lower costs.
Our CRM vendor made it happen!”
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