May 25, 2016 | 4 minute read

Sales Pipeline – After the Alert Email

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By: Carrie Miller

Ok, you just got your Visual Visitor Instant Email Alert that a warm lead is on your website.  What are the sales pipeline steps that you or your sales person should take in turning that warm lead into a hot new customer?

Your Sales Pipeline

Does your company or Sales Department have a defined sales pipeline?  A good sales pipeline are detailed steps that define the path the buyer should take to go from lead to customer with your company.  A great sales pipeline will take that general outline a step further and also outline the steps that your sales staff will need to take to correct any deviation from that plan to keep your warm lead on the right path to become a hot new customer.

Does your company currently have a workable sales pipeline defined? Or are you looking to go from a good pipeline to a great one?  Here are some basic steps to either begin your journey, or take it to the next level.

• Step 1. Get the Lead.

Getting your marketing campaigns set to attract and engage new leads can seem overwhelming on its own, now imagine that you have no method to track those interested customers when they do finally make the click and visit your website.  Did you realize that only 2-3% of interested visitors will actually fill out a form on your website for more information?  This is where anonymous visitor identification or website visitor tracking can help.  Products like Visual Visitor are a B2B marketers dream as they capture the information of your visitor and report it back to you – with actionable data!  These products can range in price, but Visual Visitor’s $59/month tool has quickly become the low priced leader in an ever growing industry.  If you haven’t already signed up for a 14 day Free Trial from Visual Visitor, you can do that here.  No credit cards, no obligations.

• Step 2. Lead Qualification.

Now you have the lead.  You must determine if it is a good lead that has a high potential to turn in to a sale, or just a so-so lead that has almost no potential to turn in to a sale.  The highly likely to be a sale leads need to be sent over to a sales person for a follow up, and maybe have the so-so leads either get set to the side, or go to a junior level sales person, an email marketing campaign follow up, or other second tier program.

• Step 3. Sales Person Approval.

Now that your sales person has been assigned this lead in Step 2, they must determine if the lead is a good one that deserves follow up, or if it should be downgraded to one of the second tier programs mentioned above.  If the sales person accepts this lead, some follow up should take place – phone call, personal email, etc.  Visual Visitor offers an email marketing campaign feature called Identify ANYONE that allows you to tag this user in an individual email in addition to tagging in a newsletter or email campaign.  This will provide you with a per user tracking system for your website.  You will not only see the original click on this email, but all future visits (regardless of whether the lead came in through the original email or just typed in your url).  More information on this feature is here.

• Step 4. Lead Qualified.

Your sales person has made contact and qualified this as a hot lead.  Now the lead will be assigned to a specific account manager for further nurturing and development.  At this point in the pipeline, you should have in-depth knowledge as to the needs and interests of the lead and be prepared to close the deal.

• Step 5. Close the Deal.

You’ve done all the legwork, followed the pipeline, and now you’ve closed the deal.  This could have taken days or weeks according to your business model, but it is a good feeling when you have reached this phase.  You’re not done yet though.  Timely product delivery or performing higher than expected in your service will ensure that this customer is satisfied and either returns for more product, and/or recommends you to a friend or coworker.

• Step 6. After the Sale.

Your customer relationships should go beyond the initial sale.  Continue to engage with this customer and watch their traffic patterns to your website via your Visual Visitor Instant Alert Emails and/or dashboard.  If you see them hitting your help files, give them a call and pre-empt their need to call you.  Also, take this time while the sale and process is still fresh in your mind to make some notes.  Things that worked and things that need a bit of tweaking.  Neglecting your customers post-sale could be the difference in growing your business with return purchases or constantly fighting for that one-time sale.

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