The Henderson Group has a new Partner Page!
The Henderson Group has a new Partner Page! Our featured partner this month is LSA Global, a business training & consulting firm founded in 1995 on the principle that training "by itself" will not drive tangible change or business results.
Here is an article from their most recent newsletter …
Are You Chasing the Wrong Sales Pipeline Strategy?
A high-quality prospect is more than 40 times more likely to buy than a cold-called prospect.
Furthermore, salespeople who actively seek and exploit referrals earn 4 to 5 times more than salespeople who don't. While it seems like common sense to focus on more qualified client opportunities, surprisingly fewer than 30% of salespeople ask for referrals – the #1 source for good business.
There are many reasons that sales people seem to spend more time chasing low probability deals and RFP's instead of driving referrals.
The most common mistake is that salespeople do not know how to effectively ask for a referral. Strange, but true. When we work with sales organizations, typically no more than 20% of the sales force can display the skills required to earn a referral. They think they can, but time and time again, they prove that they are missing some key ingredients.
This ineffective approach combined with a reluctance to ask until everything is "right," an unclear value proposition, fuzzy target client profiles, and minimal accountability to a referral process doom most sales organizations. The result – bad forecasting and pipelines with low closure rates.
When done right, our clients report that referrals allow them to close more than 50% of their pipeline and get meetings at the level that counts.
If you sell professional services, a referral strategy should be at the top of your business development list.
Chuck has been spearheading our partnership efforts with LSA Global. Please contact him if you have interest in learning more about how we can collectively help your organization.
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