Here's How You Can Turn Leads Into Sales To get a lead is one thing, but to turn it into an opportunity i.e. into a sale is another ball game

It is often seen that the lead to sales ratio is much lower than what a business owner expects. While you may think that you have a lead development issue, the reality often lies with the fact that you have a problem with your sales process. Identifying this is very important and immediate steps should be taken to implement due amends.

To get a lead is one thing, but to turn it into an opportunity i.e. into a sale is another ball game. And it has now been established that having a lead generating machine which lacks in a robust sales process, can result in wasted opportunities and money drain.

Are you facing issues with your lead to sales ratio? Here are 5 suggestions which will help you to convert leads into more sales-

Grab attention immediately

Focusing all your attention on getting traffic to your website can be tricky as the visitors can produce a fake sense of hopefulness for you and your business potential.

It is very important to direct people to your website so that you have the opportunity to turn them into leads. However, if you fail to grab their attention in the first five seconds they will leave your webpage and that will mean a wasted opportunity for you.

According to B. L. Mittal, founder, SastaSundar, what is most important for your consumers is that you understand their challenges and have a solution for them. Hence, if your message does not resonate with them, they will desert you.

"Customers generally look for answers to their problems. The best way is to provide them with an eBook, a White Paper, or an infographic, so that it is of value to them and assists them in finding an answer. In return you can ask their name and email while they go for downloading your offer free of cost. Always remember that you are there to help and refrain from being too inquisitive or they will decide against downloading your offer," he advised.

After your visitor downloads your information, you are armed with a lead to follow up with.

Track Results

It is good to be hopeful, but to be fanciful can be disastrous for business! Tejal Kamdar, Business Development Consultant, says the difference between fantasy and reality is often more than 60 percent.

"One of my clients claimed to have closed at an 80% leads to sale rate. On digging deep we found the gap between his claim and the reality was actually 68%. My first advice was to get him on an all-in-one sales and marketing platform and CRM structure. Access to sales and marketing metrics helped him understand the reality of his situation. Eventually it was revealed that there was a problem closing of sales," he shared.

The accurate understanding of the issue allowed Kamdar's client identify the real problem and eventually create a new sales process.

Follow Up

Being prompt in action goes a long way in helping you transform leads into sales. "The faster you connect with a lead the better is your chances of turning that into a sale opportunity. Lacking a well-synchronised method to deal with leads, especially those generated from the net, can lead to loss of plump opportunities for you. Put in place well defined system to augment your response timing, and see how the results improve rapidly!" advocated Arnab Roy, Director, Sales, VEDROOP.

Solve Problems Don't Sale Products

Earlier it was a salesperson on whom the customers depended for information on products and services. The reality has now changed for good. Buyers are now far more informed and educated and are averse to the concept of hard selling.

Roy Strongly vouches against hard selling and emphasises on solving problems. "Avoid details of your product or service with online leads as the client has already articulated his/her interest in it. The sensible way to go ahead is to engage the client with a short introduction, state that you are following up their request and simply ask them if you can be of help in any other way," he shared.

The next step would be to listen with patience. It is likely that most of your qualifying questions will be responded and the consumer will come up with the issues he/she is facing. That will be the opportunity to advocate a suitable answer and solution for the specific problem, not promote a product or service. Adopt this line of approach and observe how your engagements with consumers enhance.

Understanding Competition

It is often the case that the major concern affecting your closing ratio is your competition as you are most likely in a highly competitive space which is rather price sensitive.

"It is a well known fact that cost is often the most significant factor in a sales process, but not the only one. For one of my clients, whose service was priced slightly higher, I recognized that rising above price objections was the cause which is why he was losing out on business. One of the chief supports that I offered him was a thorough comprehension of his competition through a competitor analysis that I carried out at the very beginning of the engagement," shared Hari Balasubramanian, an investor, advisor and mentor.

By thoughtful analysis of price sensitivity as an objection, Bala compares his client's services with other competing ones and established the key quality differentiators. On informing the client's sales team with the findings, the team members found ways to surmount the objections and the conversions rates visibly improved.