A list that is fit for purpose is our foundation for growth.
Consider creating a soft comfortable pillow for your lead generation process. Then relax….. a bit!
Napoleon Hill, a man much wiser than me, once said:
“Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”
Pipelines #
A huge help for any organisation is having in place a strong pipeline of sales opportunities and project work to help move the business forward. This pipeline is not just a list of prospects—it’s the lifeblood of any business, providing visibility into future revenue and enabling strategic planning with confidence.
This is the soft, comfortable pillow.
Having it in place gives us the reassurance that, if robust follow up processes are followed, a decent percentage of our potential clients will become actual clients. A well-constructed pipeline allows you to track opportunities at every stage of the sales process, from initial contact to close, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
So, what is involved? This is what I believe.
For any lead generation campaign, the size and scale of your contact list will depend on several variables, including:
- Capacity for nurturing new leads over time
- Sales conversion ratio – number of leads needed to bring onboard a new client
- The depth of your pipeline at each stage of the sales process
- Average sales cycle length for your industry
Engagement with between 300 and 400 individual leads and opportunities is a great and comfortable place to be.
You will then:
- Have this in place as a very strong base from which to build your sales pipeline, allowing you to forecast revenue with greater accuracy.
- Have a growing list of diarised call backs for between now and 12 months’ time. When to call back your potential customers will depend at which stage of the buying cycle they sit. This systematic approach ensures continuous pipeline movement.
- Put in place a rota of softer touches (by email, rather than phone) to keep potential customers updated with news, updates and offers. These touchpoints maintain momentum in your pipeline even when prospects aren’t ready to buy immediately.
Making contact #
If you operate in a competitive market where there is a lengthy buying cycle or subject to a contract, you will have to be contacting your prospective customers at the right time ahead of the renewal date. A robust pipeline helps you identify these opportunities early, giving you time to develop relationships before decision points arise. Otherwise, inertia might lead to them renewing with their current supplier or they might sign with a competitor before you have a chance to present your compelling proposition.
Consider the conversion ratio and use this to build a list of sufficient size to reach a sufficient number of potential clients ahead of their deadline. Your pipeline should always be sufficiently full at the top to ensure your target number of closed deals at the bottom.
Relationship building #
If your proposition is mission critical to your prospective customers, then you will need to build trust over time and across many touch points. Your pipeline management should account for these longer relationship-building cycles. Again, the end result: you will need a list of sufficient size to reach a sufficient number of new customers who are reassured and trusting in your proposition.
However, if you offer training to introduce a new concept or a solution, then perhaps your call back list could be smaller. But, under these circumstances, you will still need to put in place an active lead nurturing programme after the training, in order to keep your solution in the minds of your audience. Even with shorter sales cycles, maintaining pipeline momentum is crucial for consistent revenue.
I’m happy to discuss ideas #
Please make contact if you would like to discuss some lead generation ideas and strategies to build a pipeline that provides both short-term results and long-term stability.
I’m always happy to meet, run through what you are looking to achieve and learn more about you, your businesses and markets.
Thank you for reading.
