HOW DOES THE CYCLE WORK?

Let’s look at two examples, one for a professional in the business-to-business (B2B) marketplace and one for a professional marketing business-to-consumer (B2C) services.

Suppose you are a B2B computer software consultant who typically works with large corporate clients. At a breakfast meeting of the Association of Information Systems Professionals, you met the director of information technology (IT) in a major corporation. You spoke for a few moments about his company and exchanged business cards. The director is now a contact in your marketing pipeline.

When you returned to your office, you entered his name and other information into your computerized contact management system, and set up an automatic reminder to place a follow-up call the next day. He is now in your follow-up pool.

The next day, the IT director’s name and phone number popped up on the reminder list displayed on your computer. You called him, got his voice mail, and left a message reminding him of your meeting, briefly describing the kind of work you do, and suggesting it might be to his benefit if the two of you were to talk. Then you set up another reminder to follow up again three days later.

The IT director did not return your call, so when he popped up on your reminder list again in three days, you placed another call. This time you reached him, but he didn’t have time to talk. He did mention, however, that some changes were coming in his company that might indicate a need for your services. With this new information, the IT director is now a likely prospect rather than just a contact. He is still in the follow-up pool.

You now send the IT director an e-mail, telling him how you could be helpful to him during this upcoming project. You provide a link to your website, referring him to some biographical information about you, a summary of the type of services you provide, and a list of satisfied clients. A week after sending the e-mail, you haven’t heard from him and call him again. After three phone calls over ten days, you once again reach him in person. This time you suggest a meeting, and he agrees to meet the following week. He has just moved from the follow-up pool to the sales conversation stage.

At the meeting, you spend about half the time asking questions and learning about his company and the upcoming project. Then you describe how you can help him, and why you are uniquely qualified to do so. You answer his questions about your background and expertise. At the end of an hour, you ask if he is interested in using you on this project. He asks you to prepare a proposal, outlining what you would do and how much it would cost. You agree, and before leaving you schedule a phone appointment with him a week later to go over the proposal. At this point, the IT director is still in the sales conversation stage.

One week later, you meet by phone to discuss the completed proposal you sent him the day before via e-mail. You explain what you have written, and the rationale for your process and pricing. After answering his questions about the proposal, you ask if he is ready to sign a contract with you. Your prospect has now moved from the sales conversation stage to the closing sales stage.

The IT director tells you he must discuss your proposal with his team before making a decision. You make sure he has all the information he needs for that discussion, and offer to be present at the meeting. He declines your offer but tells you he will decide within two weeks.

Two weeks pass without the IT director’s contacting you, so you e-mail him. He replies that he has not yet had time to meet with his team and suggests you try back in another couple of weeks. You e-mail again after two more weeks go by, and wonder of wonders, the IT director says his team is in favor of hiring you. You ask him when you can get to work, and he suggests you come to a project planning meeting next Monday. You send him a completed contract by e-mail, and he signs and returns it. Congratulations! You have just closed the sale.

That the entire process took over two months from beginning to end is not unusual. Sales cycles even longer than this are common, whether your clients are big companies or single individuals. Following up appears in the center of the Universal Marketing Cycle diagram for a reason: Consistent and persistent follow-up is central to successfully moving a prospect forward to making a sale.

Now for our second example, let’s say you are a B2C career coach whose clients are professionals in job transition. You gave a talk entitled “Planning Your Next Career Move” to the Professional Women’s Network. At the end of your presentation, you asked for anyone who was interested in finding out more about career coaching to give you a business card. Three women in the audience—Elsa, Mindy, and Dolores—gave you cards. They are now prospects in your marketing pipeline.

The following morning, you stapled each card to a page in your prospects notebook and noted where and when you met these women. You mailed each of them a copy of your brochure with a personal note. In your daily planner, you entered an action item for one week later to place follow-up calls to all three. They are now in your follow-up pool.

Two days later, Elsa called you. She had read your brochure and wanted to find out how much you charge. The moment you picked up the phone, Elsa was in the sales conversation stage.

You asked Elsa to tell you about her situation and explained how you thought you could help. After making sure she understood what she would get for her money, you told her your rates, and asked if she wanted to make her first coaching appointment. She said yes. You have just closed the sale with Elsa. And of course, five days later, you will still call Mindy and Dolores, who remain in your follow-up pool.

Your sale with Elsa closed easily only three days after meeting her, but closing sales with Mindy and Dolores might take much longer, or they might never close at all. You will continue to follow up with them until you are able to have sales conversations with each of them, or until you decide it is no longer worth your while to follow up because you have other more likely prospects on which to spend your time.