Here’s why you aren’t closing more sales

Every seasoned sales professional knows there’s a fine art to closing more sales. However, your sales team may be spending a great deal of time nurturing leads only to lose the sale at the last minute, which is both frustrating for your employees and detrimental to potential revenue growth. Sales managers need to find a way around this challenge to make the most of Internet lead generation efforts and grow the company over time. There are a number of issues that can impede the effectiveness of your team, but an integrated marketing platform may be able to alleviate some of the difficulties.
It can be difficult to maintain sales productivity during the summer when employees may have vacation plans and are distracted from day-to-day tasks. Additionally, leads at other companies may be scheduled to be out of the office. While waiting and not putting too much pressure on prospects may be the right approach during the rest of the year, waiting for the right moment could mean missing an opportunity to convert a decision-maker, according to an article for Salesforce written by Josiane Feigon. Setting more specific deadlines during the summer can drive productivity and ensure your salespeople don’t miss their chance. Productivity is one cause of lost sales, but there are other more significant issues at play as well.

Unqualified leads inhibit sales success

While it can be tempting to generate as many leads as possible to have a large pool to work with, quality is always more important. Even if your team has hundreds of prospects, it won’t matter unless they are a good fit for your product or service. Even if a sales professional is skilled at closing deals, leads have to be qualified for the rep to be able to win the business, Gregg Schwartz wrote in a separate article for Salesforce. Quantity is often irrelevant because leads need to have certain characteristics to make them a good fit for your company. Job title, business size, and geographic location all factor into qualifications.
While some leads may need more time to make a decision, if a prospect is highly interested but isn’t a good fit – whether the buyer doesn’t have the right budget or another extenuating circumstance – your team won’t be able to close the deal. Problems with qualified leads can be the result of which team is responsible for attracting new prospects. Many B2B firms rely on their marketing teams to generate leads, but these employees sometimes prioritize quantity over quality, leaving sales representatives with prospects they can’t convert.
In smaller firms, sales employees are tasked with prospecting for new leads. Although your sales team has a solid understanding of what characteristics are needed to convert prospects into customers, cold calling can significantly detract from the time they have to spend on other tasks. Additionally, prospecting is a labor-intensive activity with a fairly low rate of success, according to an article for Business 2 Community written by David Dodd. Even though sales reps typically have an idea of the qualities of an ideal prospect, they need a way to work smarter, and an integrated marketing platform can provide it.

Sales reps are strong-arming prospects

There is a time and a place to apply pressure to prospects, but overdoing it can cause your team to lose the sale, Schwartz wrote. Modern B2B sales are largely driven by customer preferences, so your reps need to go at a steady pace. Much of the sales process on the buyer’s end takes place behind the scenes, and there may be a number of internal factors at work, such as budget discussions and approvals. In some cases, a stronger relationship with prospects can provide sales reps with a better idea of these processes so they don’t use too much force at the wrong time.
This is one of the key ways an integrated marketing environment can help your sales team close more deals. Lead scoring and nurturing help your employees take the right approach to each individual prospect. If a buyer isn’t ready to purchase or doesn’t have the approval yet, you can stay in touch over time to build a strong relationship and keep your company at the top of mind as leads evaluate their choices. Even if it takes months to convert a qualified prospect, it may be worth pursuing the opportunity, especially if the lead is a strong fit for your product.
Another major reason leads aren’t converting is because they don’t trust you, according to Schwartz. This highlights the need for establishing a relationship with individuals. An integrated marketing environment can help your sales team with this pursuit, as well as streamline many of the tedious manual aspects of the sales process.