Working Leads: Find Ways to Succeed, Not Excuses as to Why They Fail

Working Leads: Find Ways to Succeed, Not Excuses as to Why They Fail

I’ve run a number of sales teams in my career, and spent some time in the mid 90’s training automobile dealers on how to create an effective sales process working Internet leads that was the antithesis of their traditional sales process. (This was with the very first Internet lead company, autobytel.) Managing my own consumer fulfillment sales teams since those times, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that “the leads were not good,” I’d be a rich man. My response has always been: “Then why is so-and-so consistently making $20k-$30k a month working the same leads you are?”

Because it’s rarely the leads, that’s why.

As a lead generator, I’ve worked with thousands of advertisers over the years. I’ve had the opportunity to share processes with and aggregate best practices. Some of these clients have seen tremendous ROI and consider leads the best thing since sliced bread, yet a few don’t see success using a subset of the very same leads. Why is that? Because: the leads are only as effective as you are. Process, positioning, and competitiveness matter. Engagement with the consumer also matters…a lot. A microcosm of this is why most sales organizations consistently have certain sales people at the top of the board, the middle of the board, and those who should seek other employment.

The top producers are not necessarily more talented than anyone else. (Although that is a small part of it.)

What top sales people do tend to have in common, however, is a better sales process, a better pitch, the ability to connect with people (engagement), and personal drive (defined as work ethic) in which excuses are not acceptable. They hold themselves accountable and find ways to succeed, not excuses as to why they fail.

Again, the leads are only as effective as you are, because the deals are in there.

Stay tuned… I’ll be outlying a fail-proof strategy for working leads in my next posts.

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