There is More Than One “Close”
Generating sales leads online is a process. I have written about closing tactics a few times before and should probably highlight it more often but I don’t want to kill the horse, so to speak.
This post is spurred (I am sticking with the horse metaphor) by a short series of articles from Geoffrey James at BNET about closing rules in which he discusses the process of selling and the various points at which a great salesperson “closes” another component of the sale.
Myth: Every sale has a single, all-important point where the deal closes. Truth: Some extremely simple sales processes have a defined close point, but complex sales processes (i.e. almost all B2B sales) have a series of points where the prospect makes a decision, even if it’s just the decision to let you pitch, rather than pitch you out. According to closing guru Linda Richardson all sales go through four phases, each with its own type of close:
- Initial. The “close” is moving from a cold-call into the sale cycle.
- Developmental. The “close” is gathering information to define a solution.
- Culmination. The “close” is the asking for the next step or for the business.
- Follow-up. The “close” is ensuring that the relationship goes forward.
Your job is to make certain that all those “closes” take place in a timely manner.
Geoffrey’s discussion is centered around the off line parts of a sale - once the sales lead had been generated - but getting the sales lead online has similar steps. There is not one point at which the lead is “closed.” A website needs to be designed with various “closes” in mind. Sites I design using the Lead Optimize process begin by looking at how people arrive at a particular site or page, how they are engaged in the content, and why they would make the decision to contact you for your service or product.
Removing Barriers
Going further, just like in off line sales, to generate leads you have to remove barriers. For instance, imagine you are on a site with an excellent offer and you are ready to fill out the contact form when your momentum is broken by the offensive length of the form. Or, even worse, let’s say it has a “clear form” button exactly where most sites put their “submit form” button. Will you fill it out again? It better be a good offer.
Generating sales leads online requires a smooth transition from one close to the next. With each close, you should be building positive momentum - drawing the customer further into your process and closer to working with you. Failure to close any part of the process will probably result in the loss of that sales lead. Know your process, know your customers, keep the momentum, and remove all the barriers. Let me know if I can help.
