Mastering Sales Follow Up: A Guide to the Best Handover Points
Handover Point
In the world of sales, the follow-up process can often be the make or break moment in closing a deal. Sales follow up is crucial in nurturing leads, building relationships, and ultimately converting prospects into customers.
However, mastering the art of sales follow up requires more than just individual sales talent - it also involves knowing the best handover points to structurally transition prospects from one stage of the sales process to the next.
The Importance of Strategic Handover in Sales Follow Up
A strategic handover during the sales follow-up process is crucial for maintaining the forward momentum of a sales cycle. It ensures that leads are nurtured effectively, relationships are strengthened, and the potential for conversion is maximised. The absence of well-defined handover points can lead to missed opportunities, prospects becoming disengaged and generally wasting your sales team's time.
The goal is to create a seamless transition for the prospect from one stage of their buying journey to the next. This transition is not merely about passing information from one team member to another; it is about ensuring that the unique needs and interests of the prospect are understood and addressed at every turn.
For instance, handing over a lead from a marketing team to a sales team requires a thorough briefing so that the sales representative is fully equipped to build on the relationship that has been initiated.
Identifying Optimal Handover Points for Maximum Impact
Identifying the precise moments for handovers within the sales follow-up process can significantly elevate the successful lead conversion. Does this mean that you need to put all opportunities on a silver platter for your sales team? No.
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For example, we record conversion rates across all of our campaigns and generally speaking, the best performing handover points are;
Booked meeting (Online, Phone or Face to Face)
Arranged phone call
Other example handover points include Booked Demo, Sales Qualified Lead & Marketing Qualified Lead.
Interestingly, these two actually have a very similar conversion rate. This is really useful information for your marketing team to know, that they can aim for a seemingly lower barrier and still achieve a similar result.
Leveraging Technology to Streamline Sales Follow Up
The key here is to use technology to help with tracking. In an era where efficiency and effectiveness are paramount, technology stands as a crucial ally in enhancing the sales follow-up process. The utilisation of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, for instance, allows for an intricate mapping and tracking of every interaction with prospects. This level of detail not only ensures that no opportunity is missed but also facilitates a smooth handover by providing the next team member with a comprehensive view of the prospect's journey thus far.
That being said, you don't need to go overboard. If you're in the midst of a technology review, all you need to do is make sure that these points are tracked for every lead;
Lead Source - Usually this is the source that directly lead to the opportunity being passed to sales e.g. online enquiry
Handover Point - This is the point at which your sales team get involved
Won or Lost Sale
Value of Sale
Days To Close - Time between passing to sales team and getting a won or lost
Reason for Winning or Reason for Losing the sale
Owner of the deal
If you record nothing else, these will tell you a lot about your best performing sales process. We hope you found this useful! You can find out more about our Quality Control Process & Handover Point management here https://notabli.io/quality-control
