Client Success – The Answer is in the Lead Sheets
When we work with a client, frequently we come on the scene to replace failed efforts, either internally or after they have outsourced to other firms. When this happens, the client has a basis to directly compare how we, a teleprospecting firm using experienced executive callers, compare to the methods they have used previously.
What we get most often from our clients, whether new to us or organizations that we have worked with in the long-term, is the positive feedback about the notes and comments in our lead sheets.
Our lead sheets contain a great amount of information that we have captured from the telephone conversations with complex B2B sales prospects. The feedback from our satisfied clients is that they are surprised at how thorough the conversation is and how that is reflected in our notes.
Consistently we hear that they never seem to experience that anywhere else.
Conversations That Tell the Whole Story
A thorough and comprehensive lead sheet, that is a result of a real conversation, helps a client understand what is going on with the prospect right now. It includes complete answers to the following important questions:
- How is the prospect doing things today?
- What solutions do they have in place?
- Are they happy with those solutions or not?
- What is their time frame to make a decision, and do they have the budget?
- Does the person we’re speaking to have the authority to make this decision?
A completed lead sheet should define the need of the prospect as much as possible.
It is important to capture other information as well, and that is why we document other items as well – family, personal likes, or any other information they choose to share with us.
Why Quality Teleprospecting Matters
Our clients all consider this to be extremely valuable information because we are telling the story of the opportunity.
A telemarketer is more likely to have a one-sided call that will result in checking off some boxes but will rarely garner the information that will tell the story of what the opportunity is. This gives the sales rep or sales manager very little to work with.
A peer to peer conversation that occurs in a teleprospecting phone call will result in the valuable information that we want to pass on to our client. The conversation starts the front end sales process, so when the sales manager handles the follow-up, he or she will feel well-prepared and well-informed about who they are approaching on that call.
The Right Approach to the Interaction
As I stated in an earlier blog about Appointment Setting, “A good teleprospector will ask open-ended questions … Their mindset is to listen and learn in order to discover information that leads to a highly-qualified sales lead that will benefit from a next step appointment, demo, or conference call.”
The result of this sort of approach is that the prospect is talking more than the teleprospector, who is simply guiding the conversation.
When the prospect does the talking, the teleprospector is able to construct a comprehensive and valuable lead sheet. That is what sets us apart.
Have you outsourced your complex B2B inside sales? What was your experience with the data you received? Please leave me a note in the comments.
John
