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Inquiries Become Sales In The Long Run
by Mac H McIntosh
More Business Skills Articles
Published on this site: March 18th, 2009 - See
more articles from this month
So, how often do inquires from potential customers actually
translate into a final sale somewhere down the road? Research
compiled from dozens of studies on the subject (of sales, leads
and inquiry handling) all point to the same conclusion: although
nearly twenty five percent of inquiries convert to a sale within
half a year or less, the majority of sales are longer-term,
occurring in six months' time or more.
Let's consider one such study undertaken by Reed Business
Information. This study concentrated on inquiry handling and
measured the responses over time. Reed Business Information
examined forty thousand inquiries from advertisements and
magazine press releases for this study, all of which centered
around manufacturing businesses. After six months, the study was
able to report the following information:
- It was discovered that over sixty-five percent of the people
responded saying they still have plans to buy.
- Over twenty percent of the inquirers purchased the item that
was advertised, either from the advertiser, or a competitor
offering a similar product.
When looking back at some of the inquiries that were older, it
was discovered that:
- Over ten percent of the inquirers purchased within 90 days of
first inquiry.
- About seventeen percent of these inquirers made a purchase
within four to six months after the inquiry.
- Twenty-five percent of responders bought within seven to
twelve months after the inquiry.
- Almost half took over a year to make the purchase of the
advertised item.
However, although the amount of inquirers that become sales
over time are high, the majority of sales people think that ad
inquiries aren't worth following up on. Why is this so? This is
most likely because these inquiries are long-term prospects, who
won't help the sales department make the more immediate sales,
which are more valued for meeting seasonal quotes and
commissions value.
As a result, your company's inquiry handling process may pass
all inquiries on to your sales staff, representatives and
distributors, but sales may be sifting through them and
neglecting to cultivate the long-term prospects. The result
could be a huge loss for your company, as a large majority of
all potential sales may just be left there in suspense.
You're probably asking what you can do to convert more of these
inquiries into sales. Just follow the four steps below in order
to maintain a better inquiry-handling process and create
sales-winning relationships for the medium and long term:
- Send requested information immediately to demonstrate your
responsiveness to an inquirer.
- Follow-up with inquires on the telephone to find out more
about their needs, budget, timing and authority to purchase.
- Keep in touch with long-term prospects with email, fax, mail
and phone, keeping your products in mind while supplementing new
information.
- When your long-term prospects are qualified and likely to
make a purchase soon, get the sales staff involved.
Your marketplace is like an orchard. Your marketing people are
the planters, weeders, and waterers of the trees. When the fruit
is ripe, they call in the pickers - your sales people, reps, and
dealers. If enough seeds have been planted and trees tended, the
orchard can be well-tended with follow-up, reaping a bountiful
harvest. If not, pickings could be slim.
Mac H McIntosh: Is president of Mac McIntosh
Inc.
http://www.sales-lead-experts.com, a sales and marketing
consulting firm that helps companies get more high-quality sales
leads and turn them into sales. Read more articles on marketing
business-to-business.
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