Sometimes, it’s hard to identify why your leads aren’t converting. Do you need better leads, or is it a matter of building a better sales process that converts the leads you have?
Lots of problems can contribute to a lack of conversions, and perhaps you’re dealing with multiple at once.
Fortunately, there are ways to identify and solve the problem before it costs you too much money.
Step 1: Start Tracking
If you’re not already using software to manage and track your leads and maintain a consistent sales process, that’s where you should start.
By tracking where in the sales process you’re losing the most people, you can easily determine where you need to make improvements.
Leads that never make it past the first couple of phases of your sales funnel aren’t particularly qualified. This is actually a good thing, because a sales funnel is essentially a filtering process – you want the least qualified prospects to drop off before you spend a lot of time and energy marketing to them.
However, if you notice that the vast majority of your leads aren’t making it deeper into your funnel, you should look at your marketing messaging and your lead generation strategy.
Match your marketing message to the kinds of people who are likely to make a purchase, then get that message in front of the right people.
Meanwhile, if you notice that a healthy proportion of prospects get a few steps into your sales process, and then there’s a sudden drop-off at a particular phase, it’s likely that your process needs some improvement.
Step 2: Talk To Your Sales Team
You hired good salespeople, so make sure you’re using them effectively.
Nobody knows your customers like the people who talk to them every day, so ask your sales team about their impressions of the quality of leads you’re getting.
More importantly, ask your most productive salespeople. Ineffective employees will often blame the quality of the leads rather than admitting their own weaknesses.
Then again, if you can’t find any productive salespeople to ask, that might also be a clue.
Using excellent marketing automation software helps you weed out the fantastic employees from the nonproductive. Again, tracking is vital to the success of your business, so track employee productivity along with sales numbers.
Step 3: Review Your Marketing Message
The best marketing says the right thing, to the right people, at the right time.
Even if you have a great marketing message, if nobody sees it, it’s not going to make you any money.
Meanwhile, if you find the perfect audience for your products, but the marketing message doesn’t resonate with them, they’re never going to interact with your brand or make a purchase.
Bad marketing is, at best, ineffective. At worst, bad marketing can actually prevent people from making purchases from you in the future.
Begin with your ideal prospect in mind, and design your messaging to connect with them.
They have to see it at the right time, though.
Think about this: have you ever had a telemarketer call you during dinner, or while you were watching your favorite movie?
Most people are frustrated and irritated when marketing interrupts their day, and they’re not likely to convert in that mood.
It’s the same thing if they simply don’t have time to read your marketing materials – if someone jumps onto their social media page for just a couple of minutes, they’re not likely to read a long message.
Ample and good quality research will help you develop a strong marketing message.
Marketing is one of the most important things your business will ever do, so if you’re struggling, it might be wise to invest in third party help.
Step 4: Make Changes Gradually
After all that work, you’ve probably identified a few places where you can make improvements.
Don’t change everything at once!
Apply the scientific method: change one thing, observe the results, and proceed from there.
It’s tempting to make sweeping changes in an attempt to get faster results, but that’s not necessarily smart. What if one change has a positive effect, and another actually hurts your sales? How can you tell which to keep and which to abandon?
By changing gradually, you’ll see if you were right to go after better leads, or if your sales process improvements are actually effective.
Improving your conversion rates takes time, patience, and consistent effort.
With the right tools and the right attitude, though, you’ll see fantastic results.
