The Price Proposal That Won”t Scare Customers Away [Template]

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The nature of contract work begs a lot of questions.

What does it take for a contractor to actually land a job? How do they differentiate themselves from their competition? How do their customers know what theyre getting into financially? How do you know if you love someone? Do dogs know their own names?

A lot goes into answering those questions, but theres a consistent factor involved in most of them. That factor is called a price proposal. It often plays a massive role in addressing three of those five concerns Ill let you guess which ones.

Lets explore what price proposals are, how to determine a fair price point for them, and how to write them effectively.

What is a price proposal?

A price proposal is a contractors preliminary bid for the price for a potential customers job. Its a document that identifies a single price the contractor will charge after calculating the potential costs they will incur as a result of completing the customer’s project.

Its important to bear in mind that a price proposal is not an estimate. An estimate is a rough, educated guess about how much a project would potentially cost a prospect. A price proposal is a detailed document containing accurate quotes for the price of raw materials, labor, taxes, and other general overhead.

It also features a contractors proposed markup and is often submitted in competition with other contractors vying for the same job.

Ideally, a price proposal is thorough and comprehensive in covering any potential costs that may arise throughout the course of completing the project. It should also strike a balance between value for the customer and financial feasibility for the contractor.

As a contractor, you want to be able to demonstrate every cost you detail in the proposal is valuable and relevant to your prospects needs. In some cases, you might have to offer a competitive deal or rely on an exceptional reputation to differentiate yourself from the competition.

At the same time, your price proposal still needs to be worth it for you. Dont drastically undersell yourself for a contract that ultimately wont be worth your time financially. Understand your customers budget and see if a potential contract is viable for you or your company.

Value-Based Pricing

The best way to gauge your potential price point is through value-based pricing. Its a pricing strategy used by businesses to price products and services at a rate that they believe consumers will be willing to pay. A value-based pricing model doesnt just consider production costs with a fixed markup tacked on.

Getting a feel for that figure can be a difficult process. It takes customer analysis, competitive analysis, and market research to really nail down what you should be charging for a particular service.

For instance, say you represent a civil engineering firm vying for a contract to install a new septic system at a city park. You estimate the system will take ten days to install at a cost of $2,000 per day. How do you go about determining a price for your proposal? And how do you decide whether to take the job or not?

Based on prior outreach to previous customers to see how much they would pay for similar services, market research that speaks to how much new customers might pay for the same job, and competitive analysis to see what your competitors are charging, you determine your competitive value for this project is $25,000.

If a $5,000 profit is worth it to you, and you can demonstrate your services are worth $25,000 to your prospect, thats the price you should lead with. Dont be quick to rashly undercut that price in order to try to win business. That could come off as cheap and undermine your prospect’s faith in or respect for what you have to offer.

Value-based selling may be a complicated process, but its the best way to determine a reasonable, effective price for your services. To learn more about it, check out this article.

Price Proposal Template

You can download this template to help guide you through the price proposal writing process here.

Though writing price proposals can be tedious, it’s an essential part of being a contractor. Hopefully, with a better understanding of what these documents are and how to approach them, you can make the process of writing them smooth, efficient, and painless.

And who knows, maybe youll have enough extra time to figure out what love really is or if your dog has some concept of their identity.

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How Social Media Moves the Needle

https://ift.tt/2azuO3O Presents: How Social Media Moves the Needle

I adapted to the internet before the internet was even a thing. In 1997 I created an online business; sure it failed, but it taught me valuable lessons about fitness marketing online. Today, social media is the number one way to move the needle in your business because you can share your personality with the world. People don’t buy what you do anymore, they buy who you are. If you’re not willing to adapt and evolve with changing times and be open to using new platforms, your personal training business will suffer.

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Get Off The X With Jason Redman

https://ift.tt/2wtnmDd presents: Get Off The X With Jason Redman

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On this episode of Inside Look, Bedros sits down with good friend, retired Navy Seal, purple heart recipient, and New York best selling author, Jason Redman. Jason tells us about his tragic story of getting ambushed in Iraq and about his injuries which forced him to retire from the Navy Seals. They talk about the secrets of getting off the X and what hardships can do for you in the long run. Listen and hear why you need to get off the X and become the best you!

Your attitude determines your outcome.
Own your story instead of it owning you.
We can never go back and change the past. All we can do is shape the future.
– Jason Redman

Heres what youll discover:
01:55 – What forced Jasons retirement from the Navy Seals
17:32 – When Jason realized his operational career had ended
20:00 – Everyone gets ambushed at some point
25:16 – How to get off the X
33:42 – Use life ambushes to better yourself

The best of the bad decisions is still better than staying on the X.
– Bedros Keuilian

Follow us on Instagram: @bedroskeuilian / @jasonredmanww

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How to Develop a Strategic Plan for Business Development [Free Template]

Read through this Sqribble review to discover precisely why it is the preferred e-book designer software package.

Business development. Its usually confused with sales, often overlooked, and only sometimes given the strategic focus it deserves. Having a business development strategy, however, is crucial to long term success and ensuring that everyone in your company is working toward a common goal.

But how do you develop a business development plan? Pull up a chair and stay awhile, Im diving into that and more below.

Its not unusual to mistake business development with sales, but theres an important distinction between the two. Business development refers to many activities and functions inside and outside the traditional sales team structure. In some companies, business development is part of the larger sales operations team. In others, its part of the marketing team or sits on its own team altogether.

Ready to dive in? Here are the key business development strategies youll want to implement.

1. Understand your competitive landscape.

Before you can develop a strategic plan to drive business growth, you must have a solid understanding of the competitive landscape in your industry. When you know who your ideal customer is and what problem they are looking to solve with your product or service, research who else is providing a viable solution in your industry.

Identify other companies operating in your space. What features do their products have? How competitive is their pricing? Do their systems integrate with other third-party solutions? Get crystal-clear on what the competition is offering so you know how to differentiate your product to your customers.

2. Choose effective KPIs.

How will you know if your business development efforts are successful? Ensure you can measure your goals with relevant, meaningful key process indicators (KPIs) that reflect the health of your business. The result of these metrics should give you a strong indication of how effective your business development efforts are. 

3. Develop long-term customer relationships.

Do you engage with your customers even after the deal has been closed? If not, its time to develop a plan to keep your buyers engaged. Building long-term relationships with your customers pays off. For businesses in the US, 40% of revenue comes from repeat customers, and returning customers are cheaper to convert. In fact, it costs five times more to convert new customers than it does to sell to returning customers.  

Not only are repeat customers easier to sell to, they can also provide valuable feedback and insights to help you improve your business. Additionally, customer testimonials can be used for valuable content that can attract your next buyer. 

4. Implement customer feedback.

If and when you have customers who are willing to provide feedback on your sales process and offering, make sure you hear them out and implement it. Your customers offer a unique, valuable perspective because they chose your product over the competition their insights can help shape your strategy to keep your business ahead of the curve. 

5. Keep your website content and user interface fresh.

When was the last time your company had a website refresh? Can you ensure all links are working, that your site is easy to navigate, and that it is laid out and intuitive for those who want to buy from you?

Keeping your website up-to-date and easy to use can make or break the sale for customers who know they are ready to buy. Dont make it too difficult for potential customers to get in touch with you or purchase your product directly (if that suits your business model). 

6. Speed up your response time.

How fast your sales team responds to your leads can make or break your ability to close the deal in fact, after sending an inquiry 78% of customers buy from the company that responds first. If you notice your sales process has some lag time that prevents you from responding to prospects as soon as possible, these could be areas to prioritize improvement. 

Now that you understand what business development entails, it’s time to create a plan to set your strategy in motion. When we refer to a business development strategic plan, were referring to a roadmap that guides the whole company and requires everyones assistance to execute successfully and move your customer through your flywheel and close deals.

Strategic Plan Template

Let’s review the elements you need to create a rock-solid strategic plan.

1. Craft your elevator pitch

What is your companys mission and how do you explain it to potential clients in 30 seconds or less? Keeping your elevator pitch at the forefront of all strategic planning will remind everyone what youre working toward and why.

Some people believe the best pitch isnt a pitch at all, but a story. Recent studies show 5% of meeting attendees remember statistics and 63% remember stories. Others have their favorite types of pitches, from a one-word pitch to a Twitter pitch that forces you to boil down your elevator pitch to just 140 characters.

Find the elevator pitch that works best for your reps, company, and offer, and document it in your business development strategy.

2. Include an executive summary

Youll share your strategic plan with executives and maybe even board members, so its important they have a high-level overview to skim. Pick the most salient points from your strategic plan and list or summarize them here.

You might already have an executive summary for your company if youve written a business proposal or value proposition. Use this as a jumping off point but create one thats unique to your business development goals and priorities.

Once your executives have read your summary, they should have a pretty good idea of your direction for growing the business without having to read the rest of your strategy.

3. Set SMART goals

What are your goals for this strategy? If you dont know, it will be difficult for your company and team to align behind your plan. So, set SMART goals. Remember, SMART stands for:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Assignable
• Relevant
• Time-based

If one of your goals is for 5% of monthly revenue to come from upsells or cross-sells, make this goal specific by identifying what types of clients youll target.

Identify how youll measure success. Is success when reps conduct upsell outreach to 30 clients every month, or is it when they successful upsell a customer and close the business? To make your goal assignable, ensure everyone on your team understands who is responsible for this goal: in this case, sales or business development reps.

This goal is relevant because it will help your company grow, and likely contributes to larger company-wide goals. To make it time-based, set a timeline for success and action. In this case, your sales team must achieve that 5% upsell/cross-sell number by the end of the quarter.

4. Conduct SWOT analysis

SWOT is a strategic planning technique used to identify a companys strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Before conducting a SWOT, identify what your goal is. For example, Wed like to use SWOT to learn how best to conduct outreach to prospective buyers.

Once youve identified what youre working toward, conduct market research by talking with your staff, business partners, and customers.

Next, identify your business strengths. Perhaps you have low employee turnover, a central location that makes it easy to visit with prospects in person, or an in-demand feature your competitors havent been able to mimic.

Your business weaknesses are next. Has your product recently glitched? Have you been unable to successfully build out a customer service team that can meet the demands of your customers?

Then, switch to opportunities. For example, have you made a new business partnership that will transition you into a previously untapped market segment?

What are the threats? Is your physical space getting crowded? What about your market space? Is increasing competition an issue?

Use SWOT results to identify a better way forward for your company.

5. Determine how youll measure success

Youve identified strengths and weaknesses and set SMART goals, but how will you measure it all? Its important for your team to know just how they will be measured, goaled, and rewarded. Common key performance indicators (KPIs) for business development include:

• Company growth
• Revenue
• Lead conversion rate
• Leads generated per month
• Client satisfaction
• Pipeline value
• Reach

6. Set a budget

What will your budget be for achieving your goals? Review financial documents, historical budgets, and operational estimates to set a budget thats realistic.

Once you have a draft budget, check it against other businesses in your industry and region to make sure youre not overlooking or misjudging any numbers. Dont forget to factor in payroll, facilities costs, insurance, and other operational line items that tend to add up.

7. Identify your target customer

Who will your business development team pursue? Your target market is the group of customers your product/service was built for. For example, if you sell a suite of products for facilities teams at enterprise-level companies, your target market might be facilities or janitorial coordinators at companies with 1000+ employees. To identify your target market:

1. Analyze your product or service
2. Check out the competition
3. Choose criteria to segment by
4. Perform research

Your target customer is the person most likely to buy your product. Do your homework and make sure your business development plan addresses the right people. Only then will you be able to grow your business.

8. Choose an outreach strategy

What tactics will you use to attract new business for your sales team to close? You might focus on a single tactic or a blend of a few. Once you know who your target market is and where they hang out, then you can choose an appropriate outreach strategy.

1. Networking

Will your business development plan rely heavily on thought leadership such as speaking at or attending conferences? Will you host a local meetup for others in your industry? Or will your reps network heavily on LinkedIn and social media?

2. Referrals

If referrals will be pivotal to your business growth, consider at which stage of the buying process your BDRs will ask for referrals. Will you ask for a referral even if a prospect decides they like your product/service but arent a good fit? Or will you wait until a customer has been using your solution for a few months? Define these parameters in your strategy.

3. Upselling and cross-selling

Upselling and cross-selling are a cost-effective way of growing your business. But its important this tactic comes with guardrails. Only upsell clients on features that will benefit them as well as your bottom line. Dont bloat client accounts with features or services they really dont need thats when turnover and churn start to happen.

4. Sponsorship and advertising

Will your BDR work with or on the marketing team to develop paid advertising campaigns? If so, how will your BDRs support these campaigns? And which channels will your strategy include? If you sell a product, you might want to feature heavily on Instagram or Facebook. If youre selling a SaaS platform, LinkedIn or Twitter might be more appropriate.

5. Outreach

Whats your outreach strategy? Will your BDRs be held to a quota to make 25 calls a week and send 15 emails? Will your outreach strategy be inbound, outbound, or a healthy combination of both? Identify the outreach guardrails that best match your company values for doing business.

Need help getting started? Download our sales plan template.

Strategic Plan Example

Lets put all of these moving parts in action with a strategic plan example featuring good ol Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

Elevator pitch

Dunder Mifflin is a local paper company dedicated to providing excellent customer support and the paper your business needs to excel today and grow tomorrow.

Executive summary

At Dunder Mifflin, our strengths are our customer service, speed of delivery, and our local appeal. Our weakness is that our sales cycle is too long.

To shorten the sales cycle 5% by the end of Q4, we need to ask for more referrals (which already enjoy a 15% faster sales cycle), sponsor local professional events, and outreach to big box store customers who suffer from poor customer support and are more likely to exit their contract. These tactics should allow us to meet our goal in the agreed upon timeline.

SMART goals

Dunder Mifflins 2019 goal is to decrease our sales cycle 5% by the end of Q4. We will do this by more proactively scheduling follow-up meetings, sourcing more qualified, ready-to-buy leads, and asking for 25% more referrals (which have a 15% shorter sales cycle already). We will measure success by looking at the sales pipeline and calculating the average length of time it takes a prospect to become closed won or closed lost.

SWOT analysis

Strengths: Our strengths are our reputation in the greater Scranton area, our customer service team (led by Kelly Kapoor), and our warehouse team, who ship same day reams to our customers something the big box stores cannot offer.

Weaknesses: Our greatest weakness is that our sales team has been unable to successfully counter prospects who choose big box stores for their paper supply. This results in a longer than average sales cycle, which costs money and time.

Opportunities: Our greatest business opportunity is to conduct better targeted outreach to prospects who are ready to buy, ask for more referrals from existing customers, and follow-up with closed lost business thats likely coming up on the end of an annual contract with the big box store.

Threats: Our biggest threat is large box stores offering lower prices to our prospects and customers and a sales cycle that is too long resulting in low revenue and slow growth.

Measurement of success

We will measure success by looking at the sales pipeline and calculating the average length of time it takes a prospect to become closed won or closed lost.

Budget

[Insert budget breakdown]

Target customer

Our target customer is office managers at small- to medium-sized companies in the greater Scranton, PA area. They are buying paper for the entire office, primarily for use in office printers, custom letterhead, fax machines. They are busy managing the office and value good customer service and a fast solution for their paper needs.

Outreach strategy

Networking, sponsorships, and referrals will be our primary mode of outreach. We will focus on networking at regional paper conferences, HR conferences, and local office manager meetups. We will sponsor local professional events. And we will increase the volume of referrals we request from existing customers.

A strategic plan for business development is crucial to have your team aligned and working toward the greater good of your company. Not tapped out on planning? Check out this sales plan template, or this free template for building a successful business plan.

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What”s Considered a ”Hot Lead” in Sales?

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Youre working closely with your companys marketing team and your efforts to align are paying off a constant stream of leads is coming in. Time to cue the celebration, right? Well, yes and no.

According to Gleanster, only 25% of marketing-generated leads are high enough quality to advance to a sale. So while attracting a good number of leads is a positive sign for your business, there is more work to be done to determine if they are the right leads you should be selling to.

How do you know when a lead is worth pursuing? It helps to (figuratively) check their temperature, and often, hot leads are going to be your best bet. Lets discuss what a hot lead is, and why identifying them is key to reaching your sales goals.

Whats a Hot Lead?

A hot lead is a qualified lead who is highly interested in your product, and is ready for direct contact asking for the sale. To identify a hot lead, consider the following criteria:

1. Level of interest in your product

How familiar is the lead with what you offer? If they already have a sense of your offerings key features and specs, chances are they have done some preliminary research, which shows a genuine interest in your product. With this information in mind, you dont have to sell them on what your product is and why they should consider it, because they are already familiar and would like to continue the conversation.

2. Your product fulfills a need

Not only is a hot lead interested in your product, they also know what problem they are trying to solve and are aware that your product can help them solve it. This is an indication that they are in the later stages of the decision-making process, and are inclined to buy sooner rather than later.

3. Has the budget and authority to make the purchase

There are few things worse than moving through the sales process and investing precious time into courting a prospect only to learn they either dont have the budget to purchase, dont have the authority to purchase, or both. A hot lead has the means to purchase your product, and the authority to accept your proposal.

4. The lead has a clear timeline

In addition to knowing what they want, hot leads know when they want it. Typically, a hot lead has a clear timeframe they are working within to implement your product as a solution to their problem. This gives you a good idea of when you can expect to close the deal.

Cold vs. Warm Lead

Now that were clear on what a hot lead is, lets discuss the other types of leads you may encounter warm leads and cold leads.

Warm Lead

An individual who has expressed interest in your product or company but does not have a sense of urgency or specific timeline for their purchase can be considered a warm lead. This could be someone who opted in to receive a piece of gated content on your website, or who submitted a contact form requesting more information about a product or service you offer.

Essentially, a warm lead is someone who is aware of your product and is interested in buying from you, they just may not be looking to buy right now like a hot lead is. If you have warm leads in your pipeline, here are some ways you can nurture them to prime them for the sale:

• Respond to their inquiries quickly Many warm leads are established when individuals submit an inquiry to learn more about a product. When you receive credible inbound contacts, it is important to respond as soon as possible. With 78% of buyers purchasing from the first company to respond, time is of the essence when it comes to working with interested leads.

• Perform product demos If a contact has submitted their information expressing interest in your product, performing a demonstration can be a great way to keep them engaged. Whether you invite them to an already-scheduled upcoming demo, or personally set up time to show them the features of your offer, allowing a warm lead to see the ins and outs of your product is a great way to keep them engaged and prepare for the sale.
• Share customer success stories Customer case studies can be a powerful sales tool. For warm leads who are interested in your product but still on the fence, sharing a customer success story that showcases how your product helped another customer can help the lead see the value of your product, encouraging them to buy.
• Present a short-term offer to create urgency Do your CRM records indicate a contact has visited the product page of your website multiple times but has yet to press “buy”? Encourage their decision with a short-term offer such as a discount or bonus within a short timeframe. This can help create a sense of urgency for indecisive leads.

Cold Lead

A cold lead is a contact who has not shown interest in or an intent to purchase your product or service. This could be an individual who was contacted via cold outreach, or someone who initially expressed interest in your offering but has since become unresponsive and disengaged.

Though working with cold leads may feel like a dead end, all hope is not lost depending on the contact and your bandwidth as a rep, nurturing cold leads to prime them for the sale at a later date can be worthwhile endeavor. If you have a lead that has cooled off, here are some tactics you can use to re-engage them.

• Relationship-building When trying to win over new contacts, remember building trust is key. While this contact may not yet be ready to buy your product, if they see you as a helpful resource whose opinion they can trust, it can build a solid foundation for a future sale.
• Personalize your communications If you have a lead you are reaching out to cold, dont kick things off with a generic message. Personalize your messaging to cold contacts as much as you can. According to Epsilon, 80% of consumers are more likely to do business with companies that create personalized experiences. So when reaching out to cold leads, always make sure your message is tailored to the individual and their industry to build a connection.
• Share relevant content Before asking for the sale from a cold lead, establish rapport by providing value. For example, if you have a prospect you have been wanting to reach out to take some time to do a bit of research about the individuals industry, company, and role (LinkedIn is great for this). When you see content that may be relevant or helpful to their industry, you can share it with them as a way to break the ice and begin establishing trust.
• Clarify you have the right contact A key factor in working with a hot lead is knowing youre working with the right decision maker. If you have a contact who has gone quiet after you have sent a proposal or no longer seems interested, verify you have the right contact. This post has helpful questions that can direct you to the right person for the sale.

How you choose to pursue a lead can vary depending on your business model and current resources. But with strategy and intention, you can nurture a lead from any stage. To kick your prospecting efforts into high gear, check out this post teaching you how to generate more B2B sales leads.

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The Inbound Sales Matrix: What It Is and What It Can Do for You

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How do you know how much effort you should put into pursuing a specific prospect? How can you prioritize one contact over another? Those scenarios arent always easy to navigate.

Prospecting is a spectrum. There are going to be sales opportunities worth pursuing to different degrees for different reasons. But, how can you tell what those degrees and reasons actually are?

The sales matrix is a tool you can use to make sense of different opportunities. Lets take some time to establish what a sales matrix is and how you can use one to improve your prospecting efforts.

Sales matrices are designed to show you how receptive a prospect might be to what your business has to offer. It allows you to consider a prospects potential fit and general interest when deciding how to allocate its resources on outreach or prospecting.

One of the key metrics to an inbound prospecting matrix is fit. It covers the more technical side of the process. Its where you consider factors like company size, annual revenue, industry, and purchasing authority.

The other side of the inbound prospecting matrix is interest. Companies can check all the conventional, practical boxes for your product, but if they arent actually sold on you, you wont win their business. If you find a business is a great fit but lacks interest in what you offer, you should do your best to nurture that lead.

Why Make a Sales Matrix?

A sales matrix specifically an inbound prospecting matrix is a great way to help you prioritize your leads and coordinate your outreach more efficiently. It helps you understand which prospects will be most receptive to more involved sales efforts, which ones are going to be best to nurture, and which ones wont be worth your time.

But how do you determine both factors in a matrix? Figuring out fit is more straightforward. You should have an idea of what kinds of businesses are best suited for your product. Thats where traditional prospecting tends to end.

The concept of inbound prospecting considers whether a company is actually interested in your business. It gives a more holistic view of the viability of turning a prospect into a customer.

But how do you gauge interest? What can a company do to show its inclined to do business with you? Website visits can be a valuable reference point. Having resources that allow you to keep track of those visits can be crucial to any inbound prospecting efforts.

HubSpots prospecting tools within Sales Hub can help you do that. They allow you to view what companies have been visiting your website. It looks like this:

Someone whos viewed 24 pages on your website is more open to hearing from you than someone who’s never heard of your business. That’s why it’s crucial to consider interest alongside fit when prospecting.

For example, take these two prospective companies (lets call them ACME Corp vs. General Products, LLC). Which would you prioritize?

The answer is obvious: ACME Corp.

However, unless you had inbound prospecting tools, it would be impossible to know whether or not either company is interested in your business before you contact them. And without understanding someone’s interest in your company, you’ll waste time barking up the wrong tree time and again.

Inbound prospecting flips this problem on its head, with the easy-to-understand Inbound Prospecting Matrix:

If a prospect is a good fit and interested in your company, they should be your first priority.

Other prospects should either be nurtured or removed from your pipeline, dependent on their location on the matrix. Here’s how to get started with the Inbound Prospecting Matrix.

Step 1: Find companies that are visiting your website.

To find companies that are interested in your company, you can for the free HubSpot CRM and navigate to its Prospects setting. This will show companies that have recently visited your website:

Step 2: Filter companies that are a good fit.

You’ll now have a list of companies that have visited your website. At this point, you can apply filters to identify companies that are a good fit, such as:

• Number of times they’ve visited your website
• Date they were last active on your website
• Company size
• Location
• Industry

The possibilities are endless.

To execute this, click Add filter on the left-hand side of the screen and apply whatever filters are important for your business.

Bam! Youve just added companies into your Inbound Prospecting Matrix that are:

• Interested in your business (i.e. viewing pages on your website)
• A good fit in terms of industry, size, location, etc.

These are your hottest prospects most likely to close. As the Inbound Prospecting Matrix dictates, you should contact them immediately.

Step 3: Be notified when these prospects visit your website.

With HubSpot Sales Hub, you can receive notifications when specific prospects or those who meet predetermined criteria visit your website. You can use that information to gauge their interest and contact them accordingly.

You have the option to see which pages theyre visiting as well. If a prospect is visiting a page listing case studies or pricing, chances are they’re interested in purchasing your products or services sooner rather than later. This notification provides insight on when it’s best to reach out.

Understanding when companies are interested in you as opposed to when you’re interested in them helps structure the conversation in a way that is maximally helpful to the buyer.

Inbound Sales isnt about making 80 cold calls and then celebrating three answers. Its about delivering customized, relevant messages to prospects who are already interested in your business.

Stop disrupting, and start helping.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in February 2, 2016 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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The 7 Best Sales Funnel Software Tools for 2020

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The sales funnel might be the most notorious, fundamental, straightforward model detailing the process by which prospects become customers.

The old school sales funnel is typically divided into three stages: awareness, consideration, and decision. The funnel gets narrower with each transition to a new stage. Not every prospect makes it from awareness to consideration the same goes for the shifts from consideration to decision and decision to purchase.

The term “sales funnel software” generally refers to platforms and resources that facilitate that process by helping businesses automate or create assets such as landing pages, follow-up emails, and payment gateways. In short, they provide tools and features to help turn interested prospects into paying customers.

Here are some of the best sales funnel software available and some insight into whether they might be right for your business.

1. HubSpot Growth Platform

• Price: Plans starting at $113/month

The HubSpot Growth Platforms tools provide some of the most effective ways to construct and maintain a healthy, functional sales process that can deliver the results your business needs. The platforms robust suite of features includes conventional sales funnel tools like landing page templates, infrastructure for creating and distributing content offers, and email automation.

Beyond that, HubSpots Growth Platform has everything you need to accommodate all of your businesss marketing, sales, and service needs all with an exceptional CRM at its core. Its an excellent resource for attracting, engaging, delighting, and retaining customers.

The system is tailored towards companies of any size, looking to build and sustain a solid customer base. Its pricing options reflect that, with options that suit every kind of organization from small businesses to larger enterprises.

2. PlusThis – HubSpot Integration

• Price: Plans starting at $39/month

PlusThis is a campaign toolkit for marketing automation users. Its an excellent platform for creating and promoting content and marketing collateral. It includes a robust suite of features that can generate and sustain prospects interest in your business.

The software helps set your sales funnel in motion by automating registration and follow-up for webinars, providing tools to create evergreen content offers, and enabling Facebook syncing to show leads relevant ads based on their position in your campaign.

PlusThis is one of the more affordable pieces of sales funnel software on the market. It can be a great resource for smaller businesses looking to make the most of their wealth of insight or content.

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PlusThis

3. WishPond

• Price: Plans starting at $49/month

The WishPond platform rests on four main features: landing pages, pop-ups and forms, contests and promos, and marketing automation. Its “contests and promos feature“ is particularly unique. It allows you to run sweepstakes, photo contests, and other competitions to promote your brand and land new contacts.

WishPond has options that fit the needs and budgets of businesses that are just starting out, but by no means is the software specific to small businesses. Its an impressive platform that boasts an equally impressive list of clientele, including Sony, CBS, and Walmart. Its a good option for businesses of any size looking for a comprehensive suite of funnel-enabling features.

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WishPond

4. Leadpages – HubSpot Integration

• Price: Plans starting at $25/month

Leadpages is a tool that helps small businesses easily construct visually appealing, high-converting landing pages, websites, alert bars, and more. The services templates manage to reconcile fun and engagement with sleekness and professionalism. Its interface can easily be operated by anyone on your team no matter what their experience with web design may be.

The service is one of the most cost-effective sales funnel solutions available. It can be a sound investment for small to midsize businesses, young startups, and entrepreneurs looking to expand their web presence and win new business. If youre in the market for an affordable, accessible funnel software, Leadpages is a good place to start.

Image Source: Leadpages

5. ClickFunnels

• Price: Plans starting at $97/month

ClickFunnels is one of the most prominent sales funnel software tools on the market, and for good reason its as easy to operate as any similar resource available. The platform has tools to guide buyers through each step of the sales process like email and Facebook marketing automation and an accessible, smooth web page editor.

The platform also features a one-click upsell tool that automatically upsells any shopper that purchases anything from your website. It can be an effective means of increasing potential revenue from your customer base as a whole. It gives buyers who have already demonstrated interest in your product or service more options after theyve shown theyre inclined to buy from you.

ClickFunnels is a solid option for small businesses and entrepreneurs that need a simple, straightforward system for translating prospects interest into hard sales.

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ClickFunnels

6. GetResponse Autofunnel

• Price: Plans starting at $15/month

GetResponses Autofunnel tool is an excellent resource for businesses looking for a service that can automate and perform most sales funnel functions on its own. The software boasts impressive features, including resources for purchasing Facebook and Instagram ads, built-in webinar software, and templates for conversion-focused sales pages.

The software is a very solid “plug and play” option. Its automation capabilities allow users to essentially “fill in the blanks” with their own content and let the software do the legwork. Its an excellent, cost-effective option for businesses that want to take a more hands-off approach to managing their sales funnel.

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GetResponse

7. Kajabi

• Price: Plans starting at $119/month

Kajabis general marketing and funnel solutions are great for helping garner interest in your product or service and turning that interest into hard sales and new customers. Its code-free, fully integrated landing pages offer a professional aesthetic with minimal set-up or required web design experience.

It also features a built-in shopping cart, zero transaction fees, and completely customizable checkouts for eCommerce. Kajabis platform might not suit small businesses and startups budgets all that well, but it is still an incredibly effective option for facilitating your sales funnel strategy.

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Kajabi

Ultimately, even though theres a lot of “sales funnel software” on the market, the concept of a sales funnel itself is well on its way to becoming a thing of the past. Nowadays, the best “sales funnel software” doesnt actually create a funnel. It creates a flywheel.

Funnels are linear. They have start and endpoints. They can turn a prospect into a customer, but once that customer has made their way through the funnel, they get left behind. Theres no conscious effort to serve them beyond landing their business.

The flywheel is constructed with a recognition of the power of word of mouth. It puts the customer first and works to consistently engage and delight them. Customers can rely on a companys service, marketing, and sales infrastructure to continuously work in their interest. In turn, those customers can drive new business themselves.

Even though the sales funnel’s days might be numbered, sales funnel software isn’t going anywhere. So, no matter which service you choose to go with, be mindful of how well it can help you serve your customers.

At this point, you shouldnt be looking to buy “sales funnel software,” you should be in the market for “sales flywheel software.”And that means putting the customer first.

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The Ridiculously Successful Way to Introduce Yourself Over Email

Look at this Sqribble review to know precisely why it's the best e-book builder software program.

Writing an email to a stranger is easy. Writing an email to a stranger that gets a response? Not so easy. The typical professional gets so many messages on a daily basis it’s a feat if they even open yours — let alone reply.

Luckily, at HubSpot, we know a lot about effective emails. Here are our best tips for introducing yourself over email.

How to Introduce Yourself in an Email

1. Write a compelling subject line.
2. Tailor your greeting to the industry and situation.
3. Make your first line about them.
4. Explain why you’re reaching out.
5. Provide value for them.
6. Include a call-to-action.
7. Say “thanks” and sign off.
8. Follow up with them.

1. Write a compelling subject line.

Persuade your recipient to open your email with a compelling subject line. Piquing their curiosity is key; unlike a message from someone whose name they recognize, there’s no guarantee they’ll read yours unless it grabs their attention.

Take a look at the subject lines that have convinced HubSpotters to click. And take a look at a few of the best subject lines we’ve seen here:

Networking subject lines:

• “Beers on me?”
• “Can I buy you lunch?”
• “No such thing as a free lunch (until now?)”
• “Long-time [listener, reader, fan], first-time emailer”

Sales subject lines:

• “Do you have an online course for [book]?”
• “40% growth in 3 months — wow”
• “Have you considered Twitter ads?”
• “Hello from [company]”

Job search subject lines:

• “Curious what working at [company] is like”
• “Are you looking for a [job title]?”
• “Saw [company’s] hiring a [job title]”

2. Tailor your greeting to the industry and situation.

It might be one word, but the greeting you opt for makes a difference. If you’re emailing someone in a conservative industry, like finance or government, go with the traditional “Dear.” If you’re emailing someone in a more relaxed industry, such as tech, media, travel, or fashion, use “Hi,” “Hello,” or even “Hey.”

Picking a greeting they’re familiar with shows you’ve done your research.

As for the second part of the salutation: Their name. I recommend referring to them by first name. These days, that’s the norm across industries.

Steer clear of “[First name] [last name]”, which sounds stilted and robotic, and “Mr./Mrs./Ms. [last name]”, which makes you seem young.

3. Make your first line about them.

The opening line is one of the most important parts of an introduction email. Here’s where you try to establish relevance. If you succeed, you give your recipient a reason to keep reading.

Even though your first instinct is probably saying something about you — such as “My name is X and I’m reaching out because ” — this will quickly cause their eyes to glaze over.

Here are some equally bad first sentences:

• “We’ve never met, but “
• “You don’t know me, but “
• “I’m a complete stranger, but “

Never highlight the fact you’re a stranger — it’s like telling your recipient your email will probably be irrelevant.

Instead, you want to lead with something about them. After all, most people like talking about themselves more than any other topic.

HubSpotters loved these openers:

• “I noticed you manage one of the software teams at HubSpot.”
• “Just saw your post at the HubSpot blog about organizing posting calendar in terms of topic clusters.”
• “Have you ever thought about turning your book into an online course? Or creating an online course based on the same topic as your book?”
• “I’m inspired by the work you’ve done, not to mention your unique career.”
• “I’ve never learned so much from a single piece of content.”

Want more inspiration for your salutation? Check out these email opening lines and greetings that put “Hi, my name is” to shame.

4. Explain why you’re reaching out.

Now that you’ve stimulated their interest and genuinely complimented them, it’s time to connect the dots.

For example, let’s say you’re hoping to set up a networking meeting so you can learn more about their role (and potentially get a job referral).

If your first line is “You’ve done an impressive job at [company] building [X strategy] and revamping [Y program]”, your second line might be, “I’m considering a career in [person’s field] and would love to buy you coffee so I can learn more about it from an expert.”

Or perhaps your goal is booking a sales call. Your first line might be “I see you host several campus events per year,” and your second could be “I work with companies like Facebook and Google to help promote their college recruitment events.”

The key is making your explanation as relevant to your recipient as possible. You want them to feel special — not like one person on a list of 100 that you’re emailing. And always make sure you’re writing sales emails prospect’s actually want to read using this five-step process.

5. Provide value for them.

Before you ask for anything, you need to provide value. Thanks to the principle of reciprocity, receiving value makes people want to return the favor.

In Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Dr. Robert B. Cialdini describes a study in which an unknowing test subject received a can of soda from the researcher. The soda cost $0.50.

Later, the same researcher asked the participant to buy $5 worth of raffle tickets. Agreement rates were much higher than for participants who didn’t get any soda.

A thoughtful, authentic compliment can definitely provide value, so if you’ve already said something nice in your first few lines, you don’t necessarily need to do more. However, it doesn’t hurt to go a little further. Here are some ideas:

• Review their book on Amazon, Goodreads, etc., and share the link
• Recommend an article they might find helpful
• Suggest a useful app or tool
• Offer to introduce them to someone who they’d benefit from knowing

6. Include a call-to-action.

The final piece of the puzzle? Your call-to-action (CTA). Remove as much friction from your ask as possible; if you want them to meet with you, for example, provide a link to your meetings tool so they can instantly see when you’re both available and book a time. Or if you want them to review a post you’ve written, include the attachment so they can immediately read it.

Take a look at these sample lines:

• “Would you be willing to comment on the LinkedIn post I wrote? It would be great to have your unique perspective (and hopefully get some discussion going).”
• “If you’re thinking about how Greener could apply the concepts in the guide, I have some ideas I’d love to share. Here’s the link to my calendar: [Link].”
• “Are you open to answering a few questions about your experience working at HubSpot? Happy to chat over phone or email, whatever’s more convenient.”

Try to strike a balance between polite and confident. Phrases like, “I know you’re busy, but “, “I’d normally never ask, however “, “You probably don’t have time, so “, “It would mean the world to me ” and “I’ll be forever in your debt if ” make you seem desperate — and suggest your recipient would be massively inconveniencing themselves by saying yes.

Because you’re reaching out to a stranger, your request shouldn’t be that excessive or unreasonable. If it is, that’s a completely separate issue. Don’t hurt your chances of a “yes” by sounding insecure.

7. Say “thanks” and sign off.

No need to write anything more. The best emails are short, sweet, and concise. After all, extra information or unnecessary details lessen the probability your recipient will actually read the email — they’ll be too put off by its length. You also run the risk of distracting them from what actually matters.

With that in mind, say “thanks,” “thank you,” or “thanks so much” (depending on the size of your request), and add your name. Looking for more sign off ideas? Try one of these powerful email closing lines that’ll intrigue your recipients and prompt responses.

8. Follow up with them.

If you send this incredible introduction email and the unthinkable happens (i.e., they don’t respond) send a follow-up email they won’t be able to ignore. Here are a few things to try:

1. Send them actionable advice.
2. Send a how-to guide and offer to follow up in person.
3. Share weaknesses in their business and solutions you’ve identified.
4. Share relevant industry articles/news.
5. Respond to a social media message, then follow up with more.
6. Reference a blog they wrote and ask a question about it.
7. Invite them to an upcoming event.
8. Bring up a pain point your buyers face and present a solution.

Want more tips on great follow up? Here’s a guide to sending a follow-up email after no response.

Introduction Email Template

Now that you have all the building blocks, let’s see each section in action working together as a full introduction email.

How to Introduce Yourself as a Personal Referral

40% Growth in 3 months — wow

Hello Elena,

I’m inspired by the work you’ve done in customer success, not to mention your unique career path.

I saw your recent article on managing surges in support tickets and had to reach out. I’ve helped companies like yours easily manage accelerated support tickets, which has contributed toward as much as 40% growth in as few as three months — this case study illustrates how.

If you’re interested in learning how to implement some of these strategies in your team, I’d love to share more. Here’s a link to my calendar [insert link].

Thank you,

Caroline

How to Introduce Yourself to a Group or Business

Maybe you just started a new job or joined a different team, and you need to introduce yourself to a group of people. Use this template to create your email introduction.

Hello enterprise sales team

Hi all,

I’m the new sales director for the enterprise sales team. I wanted to take a moment to say an official hello.

The work you’ve done and the numbers you’ve hit have been key factors in our successful year. And I’m thrilled to work with you more closely over the coming months.

In the future weeks, I’ll be reaching out to everyone so I can meet you all and say hello. Should you have any questions or concerns during this time, don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly — my door’s always open.

Looking forward to working with you all.

Thank you,

Katrina

By Way of Introduction

“By way of introduction” is a common phrase just as commonly misused. When introducing a new topic, person, or idea, you would say, “By way of introduction …” and include examples or anecdotes to give your new subject context. For example, “Our next guest will be Aja Frost, by way of introduction, I’d like to share a few of Aja’s accomplishments with you.”

“By way of introduction” is a phrase that can be used when introducing a new person. And below we’ll take a look at the best way to introduce others via email.

How to Introduce Someone via Email

If you have a contact who would benefit from connecting with a friend or colleague of yours, use this template to introduce them via email. Include reasoning for the introduction and make sure the connection will be valuable for both individuals.

Introduction — Kelly Davis and Rob Cortez

Hi Kelly,

Please meet Rob Cortez, a manager for our top-performing, mid-market sales team. He previously managed sales operations at a tech startup, [Company Name], and has insight into new sales ops technology. He’s interested in our sales operations and would love to learn more.

Kelly is a senior manager on the sales operations team and she’s reviewing the tools and software the team’s using for the next year.

I’ve copied Rob on this email so you can connect about sales operations and technology — and I’ll let you two take it from here.

Best,

Valentina

How to Introduce Yourself to a Recruiter/Hiring Manager

Sure, you might spend hours polishing your resume and cover letter for a job — but do you give the submission email any love before hitting send?

When recruiters are sorting through applications, you want to do everything you can to stand out. The first step is sending a thoughtful introduction email. Don’t write a novel, but do write a friendly and professional “Hello” note.

In the example below, I state the reason for my email, share no more than one sentence explaining why I’d be a good fit for the role, and offer to provide more information upon request.

It’s concise and gives my application a little extra shine.

Meg Whitton — Candidate for SDR

Hello Sara,

I’m pleased to share my resume and cover letter for the position of Sales Development Representative at SpotHub. I’m confident my background as a BDR for Sales-R-Us has equipped me to succeed in this position, and I’m excited to submit my application.

If I can provide you with any further materials to illustrate my fit for this role, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

I appreciate your time.

Regards,
Meg Whitton

How to Introduce Yourself to an Executive

Getting a response from a CEO or executive is tough. But your introduction can make all the difference. Remember a few things when crafting your email.

First, make your ask gentle and advice-driven. Executives are great with people and usually love helping others. Open your email with a request for information or advice, instead of a request to sell.

Another great tip: compose your email to them on your phone. Executives are busy and often check emails while they’re on the go. Compose your email on the phone, to make sure you’re providing them with a good reader experience.

And don’t forget to put your email signature to work.

Have time for rebrand geek?

Hello Amber,

I noticed you recently unveiled a shiny, new rebrand for BlueHouse Designs. It looks fantastic, congratulations!

My name is Amy, and I’m interested in learning more about what drives executive teams to determine it’s time to rebrand. Would you have time for a 15-minute phone call to walk me through your decision to rebrand?

Regards,

Amy Polish
[Company name]
[Company tagline]
[Website link]

How to Introduce Yourself to a Gatekeeper

Never underestimate the gatekeeper. Set yourself apart by offering to help them before you help yourself. In the example below, Liz provides value to the gatekeeper and explains that she wants to “earn” the introduction to Tom’s boss.

Can I make your week easier?

Hi Tom,

I know you likely get a lot of email from salespeople trying to get through to your boss. I’m no different — except that I want to earn the right to be passed along to Amber.

My name is Liz, and I help companies like yours decrease hiring time by up to 25%. So, that marketing coordinator your team is currently hiring? I can get a top candidate in that role faster.

Have I earned a few minutes with Amber? If so, feel free to book time on my calendar, here: [Insert calendar link]

If not, I’ve got more up my sleeve.

Regards,
Liz Prater

How to Distinguish Between a Professional and Casual Introduction

The email you send to a former colleague making an introduction on a contacts behalf is going to have a different tone than an email sent to a LinkedIn connection youre hoping to convert into a customer.

When sending an introductory email to a professional contact (such as a LinkedIn connection), you want to ensure you state how you are connected, and why youre contacting them. As you are first approaching a new contact, keep your email concise so they can quickly decide if and how to respond. Youll want to provide just enough information to prompt next steps.

For example, if you want to reach out to someone you are familiar with from LinkedIn, heres a seamless introduction.

Love your LinkedIn content

Hi Jerry,

My name is Meghan, and Im a sales enablement specialist at XYZ company. I have loved following the insightful pieces you share on LinkedIn. Since we connected last summer, I have implemented several of the strategies youve shared through your content and have seen excellent results.

Our company has recently conducted ground-breaking sales enablement research that could be an excellent addition to your content. Do you have time to hop on a brief call next week to discuss?

Regards,

Meghan Brown

When sending a casual email to a previous contact you are getting back in touch with, or for an informational meeting, your message can have a more relaxed tone. Heres an example:

Connecting brilliant minds

Hi Jesse,

I hope your new position with Salt and Co. is treating you well! You are surely missed on our team.

I would like to introduce you to Shannon, the new account manager who backfilled your role. She is interested in pursuing the sales enablement specialist certification program you completed last year.

Ive copied Shannon on this email so you can connect and discuss the program. You two can take it from here.

Regards,

Rachel Bass

Introduction emails don’t have to be awkward or unreliable. Follow this formula, and your introduction emails will go over like a charm. And if you’re looking for more email tips, check out these less pushy alternatives to “As Soon As Possible” next.

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Strategic Account Managers, Here”s How to Amplify Your Efforts

See this Sqribble review to see precisely why it's the preferred e-book designer software program.

After a deal closes, the customer relationship is still in its infancy. Beyond renewals, existing accounts present a great deal of new revenue and partnership opportunities for sales pros who understand their continued role managing customer accounts strategically.

In this space, Strategic Account Managers identify and create opportunities by positioning solutions aligned with customer goals, challenges, and initiatives. By focusing on strategic account management, sales professionals can grow accounts and enjoy other benefits, including:

Once the deal has been closed, the company needs to be able to dedicate efforts on maintaining and growing these relationships. In doing so, existing accounts can grow, offering many benefits, including:

• Shorter sales cycles
• Reduced acquisition costs
• Priority relationships
• Greater access to decision-makers

It is important to note, that in an ideal state strengthening relationships with valuable accounts should come from dedicated support in the form of Strategic Account Managers so sales reps can focus on closing new deals.

In this post, well ways your company can leverage strategic account management in your pursuit of opportunities with existing customers.

Strategic Account Manager Job Description

Ready to add a Strategic Account Manager to your team? Heres a job description to help you find a qualified candidate.

[Your Company Name] is hiring a Strategic Account Manager.

This role is responsible for managing relationships with our most valued customers. As a Strategic Account Manager, you will oversee customer retention, satisfaction, and revenue growth strategy.

In this position, you will:

• Serve as the main point of contact for your assigned accounts.

• Get to know your assigned accounts to understand their opportunities and challenges.

• Identify how our company can support the customers opportunities and challenges.

• Monitor the satisfaction level of your customer accounts and report progress to internal stakeholders.

• Be on point as the internal company contact regarding your customer accounts.

Skills and qualifications:

• Must have hands-on experience and demonstrated success managing multiple key customer accounts.

• Strong relationship-building skills to build trust and rapport with customer account stakeholders.

• Effective written and verbal communication skills.

• Excellent customer service skills.

• Data reporting and analytical skills; must be able to pull and analyze key metrics to measure the results of customer retention and satisfaction.

• Creative problem-solver.

• Sales experience meeting quota should be the norm.

Strategic Account Management Process

To ensure success implementing the strategic account management process, consider these best practices.

1. Focus on the right customers.

Growing a current relationship starts with smart customer selection. Salespeople must take the time to determine which of their accounts represent the most significant opportunities. How? By finding the overlap between the customers strategic initiatives and your solutions.

In this early stage, examine “hard” factors including revenue generated and product mix and “soft” factors, such as level of access, relationships, and buying behavior.

Consider the divisions, departments, and locations within a target account. The best opportunities arent necessarily found in the accounts that have spent the most. In fact, these accounts often represent fewer sales opportunities because theyve spent so much. Look for the accounts with the most significant potential for future purchases.

2. Analyze customer needs.

Targeting an existing account requires as much foresight as targeting a new one. Though salespeople already have access to some stakeholders, its still crucial to build a plan. This process begins by understanding the buyers journey, which helps sales professionals align their activities to the customers place in the buying process.

Of course, the buyers journey begins when they encounter a challenge in their pursuit of long-term goals and short-term objectives. The value of expanding existing accounts is it places the sales professional on this path early. Youre there to greet your customer when they arrive, so to speak.

In these initial stages, sales professionals can shape the customers thinking and properly frame their needs. This level of influence comes from salespeople who become trusted advisors. Reaching this point means youve provided insight to the customer and have taken the time to understand their business.

A trusted advisor can even be the person who triggers the buyers journey. This position is powerful and influential because, as McKinsey says, “research has found that journey performance is significantly more strongly linked to economic outcomes than are touchpoints alone.”

3. Align with the customer.

A compelling solution is not enough. Salespeople need to be better than the competition. They must find alignment with the customer, so the value of the solution resonates with their business need. This step is critical, because it differentiates their solution from competitors.

Creating alignment involves stakeholder analysis. Sales professionals need to understand who will make the buying decision. Some of these stakeholders will have an existing relationship with the sales professional. Others will be new.

Taking a strategic approach means engaging established relationships to expand to new ones. The process is ongoing because stakeholders enter and exit the picture.

4. Engage customer needs

Business drivers change and thats a good thing. These changes are exactly why the business needs solutions in the first place. To track these changes in real-time, however, salespeople must keep the customer engaged. Without a high level of communication, they risk presenting solutions and insights that dont resonate with their customer.

Regular dialogue clarifies evolving needs and boosts profitability, because fully engaged customers are more profitable than average customers. According to findings from Gallup, 40% of customers who are highly satisfied with their account manager are deeply engaged.

5. Measure success.

Strategic account managers must be able to demonstrate success to both their customers and stakeholders within their company. Customers who engage in a long-term partnership with an account manager expect a personalized experience that will help them achieve their goals and keep their business running smoothly.

Using a CRM to track customer communications can help Strategic Account Managers stay on top of their valuable partnerships.

When you are able to measure and document successful conversations and support initiatives for your customer, you gain valuable insight on how to continue having a fruitful partnership.

Additionally, those who manage strategic accounts must be able to measure and report success to their companys stakeholders. If a company is allocating resources to strategic account management, there is an expectation that the account will be able to generate significant revenue to justify the investment. Strategic account managers must be able to demonstrate success for their company.

Strategic Account Management Planning Tools

With so many inputs to consider in the strategic account planning process, its important sales professionals have the right tools to manage and track their research and relationships.

There are many options for account planning tools and templates. Selecting the right tool is important, because your team needs a tool thats robust enough to capture all critical customer information and lean enough to be put to practical use.

As you evaluate strategic account management tools and templates look for these key components:

1. Industry Analysis Tool Include a component that supports examination and documentation of external industry issues that may impact the customer.
2. Customer Relationship Analysis Tool Include a component that documents history with the customer and avenues for expansion — like untapped business units and new divisions.
3. Customer Strategy Map Include a component that captures the customers strategy to determine which of their objectives and initiatives connect with the solutions capabilities. List the customers goals, challenges, and culture.
4. Stakeholder Assessment Tool Include a component that helps your sales professionals categorize identified stakeholders by their role, level of influence, and alignment with the solution.
5. Competitive Assessment Tool Include a component where your team can review your competitive position from the customers perspective to identify ways to articulate your unique value.

To begin the strategic account planning process, check out HubSpots sales tools to facilitate mutually beneficial customer relationships and grow your business.

Ready to learn more about how account management can benefit your business? Check out this post to learn the difference between account management and sales.

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SQL vs. MQL, and What They Are

Read this Sqribble review to discover precisely why it is the preferred e-book builder software package.

During high school, I never did well during my physical education class.

One of the main reasons? The track and field unit.

Every year during this unit, we’d have to do a high jump, hurdles, and baton racing. Needless to say, none of these activities were my forte.

However, baton racing has continued to be an apt metaphor in my career.

For example, most organizations have a process of passing a lead from the marketing team to the sales team. Typically, this is when a lead goes from being a marketing qualified lead (MQL) to a sales qualified lead (SQL).

Passing a lead from marketing to sales is kind of like baton racing, just without the physical activity (phew!).

Below, let’s learn more about SQLs and MQLs what they are, what the differences are, and why they matter.

So, how do you move a lead from an MQL to an SQL?

The process is often determined individually on a company by company basis through a process called lead scoring.

According to Lindsay Kolowich, a HubSpot Academy content creator, lead scoring is the process of assigning values, often in the form of numerical “points,” to each lead you generate for the business.

You can score your leads based on multiple attributes, including the professional information they’ve submitted to you and how they’ve engaged with your website and brand across the internet. This process helps sales and marketing teams prioritize leads, respond to them appropriately, and increase the rate at which those leads become customers.

Lead scoring is a way to save salespeople time so they spend more time talking to leads that actually want to talk to them and are interested in your product or service.

Sales and marketing teams work together to determine which actions qualify a prospect as ready to move on to the sales process. You’ll determine what the ideal lead looks like and decide how much weight a particular action carries.

For example, these actions could be booking a meeting, taking part in a demo, or responding to an email. Then, you could assign higher point values to booking a meeting rather than responding to an email.

Without a defined set of actions, your marketing team might pitch leads that aren’t ready to move on to the sales process. Overall, this will slow down your sales team.

So, what type of behavior can move a prospect along? It could come in the form of engagement on your site. Let’s say a lead is engaging on your website, opening your emails, or downloading your lead magnets. That means that they’re interested in what you have to say. Depending on how much they engage with you and the type of engagement, they might be ready to move from MQL to SQL.

You could also include negative actions. For instance, if a lead has stopped engaging with you or stopped opening your emails, that could bring their lead score down.

Typically, for a lead to become an SQL, they have to have a need for your product or service, have the budget to purchase your product and infrastructure to use it, and your product or service solves their pain points.

This is the idea of the BANT system (Budget, Authority, Needs, and Timeline). While you shouldn’t use this system to ask a series of rote questions, it can give you an idea that you’re selling to a good fit customer. For example, you’ll still want to map out who’s involved, identify your prospect’s problems, and discover how quickly their organization moves.

Once your sales team gets a lead from the marketing team, it’s time to work on your sales process so that you can close as many deals as possible.

When talking to SQLs, salespeople should prepare just like always, but use the information gathered during the nurturing MQL phase to help close the deal. For example, you should know what a prospect has downloaded, and the path they took to become an SQL.

Then, it’s time to talk with them and learn their story so you’re aware of how your product can service them.

Lastly, make sure they understand how your product or service could ease their pain points.

Why do SQLs Matter?

Understanding MQLs and SQLs is important for your sales team because the system can save your salespeople time so they spend more of their time selling to the right people at the right time.

At its best, the process of lead scoring and converting MQLs to SQLs gives your sales team more qualified prospects so they’ll have more meaningful conversations.

Additionally, tracking MQLs and SQLs gives your sales and marketing team insight into what’s working what brings leads in and how likely are they to convert? Plus, how often is your sales team closing SQLs? Is your sales team having more meaningful conversations?

The MQL and SQL systems can help you determine how ready a lead is for a conversation. If your company isn’t using this system, you can use it to maximize your sales conversations, so you can make more sales.

Want to learn how to qualify customers? Check out the Ultimate Guide to Sales Qualification.

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