Sales Speak: Keep your Sales Pipeline Flowing

There are several types of leads in any professional's pipeline and they are labeled in a variety of ways. The terms are just semantics; any label will suffice. Here is a general synopsis:

Cold leads ' potential business and/or referral sources that you do not know and have been selected as possible sales sources.

Contacts ' potential business and/or referral sources that you have met casually or have been introduced to via social networking

Acquaintances ' individuals you have met personally who share similar professional goals and/or interests

Close contacts/referral sources ' those who you know professionally and perhaps personally, and with whom you have a rapport ' not all of these contacts may be direct referral sources, but they are interested in your business/practice

Warm leads ' individuals with whom you have a relationship and have a need for your/your firm's services.

Leads in progress ' individuals with whom you have established a rapport, who recognize a need that you/your firm can address and are interested in your/your firm's
services

Enhancing Your Sales Efforts

Some professionals are naturally adept at staying in touch with their clients and contacts. Generally, these people are the small percentage of natural rainmakers within each firm or practice. They just seem to work the crowd and bring in business without trying. This is not the case for the vast majority of lawyers tasked with perpetuating business and generating revenue. This is where a full and flowing pipeline is priceless.

Now that we have established what the pipeline is, let's discuss how it can be used to enhance your sales efforts. Everyone in the pipeline needs to be “touched,” but not necessarily on the same timetable or using the same method. A “touch” can be a variety of communication tactics, such as reaching out via social media, sending an e-mail, making a phone call or visiting in person. The trick is determining the appropriate method and timing for staying in touch with various contacts. It sounds simple, but can become cumbersome and difficult if there isn't some “method to the madness.”

To make sure your pipeline is flowing, you must organize your contacts and make sure you are in touch on a regular basis, although “regular basis” will vary among the various types of contacts.

Organize Your Contacts

There is no real right or wrong way to organize your contacts; the best plan or program is the one that works best for you. If your firm has a Client Relationship Management (CRM) system, a contacts/sales database or an e-mail system that helps organize and track communications, then take advantage of it. If not, then you can devise your own method for managing your pipeline and staying in touch.

Use Your Technology

A lot of the clients I work with in a business development capacity are now using their smart phones or tablets to manage their pipelines. If your smart phone has e-mail, list and calendaring capabilities, it is the perfect choice for the task. If your phone has voice-activated commands or you can download an application for voice activation, all the better: Voice activation lets you manage, update and communicate with your contacts with ease.

Communication

Now let's turn to the appropriate communication method and timeframe. First, give your contacts the labels of your choice. Some contacts may have more than one label, such as both client and referral source, and that is fine. The more labels or roles a contact has within your pipeline, the more important it is that you stay in touch with that contact frequently. I used the labels listed above to provide a sample communication schedule.

Cold leads ' Invite them to join your social media network(s) so you can provide valuable industry information and other information that you regularly share. If you are added to their network, reach out via e-mail to begin a discussion. Ask about their businesses and practices before providing information about your firm and practice. Also, ask if you can add them to your firm's contact database so they can receive e-blasts and/or newsletters that are pertinent to their businesses that might originate with someone in your firm other than yourself. Keep your cold leads on a bi-annual or quarterly schedule, depending on their potential need for your services.

Contacts ' Follow up the initial introduction with an e-mail and add them to your social network(s) and firm's contact database. If the contact is local, ask if you can briefly visit their office to discuss mutually beneficial business activities, or invite them for coffee or lunch. Try starting out with quarterly touches by e-mail and/or in person.'

Acquaintances ' Ideally, you will see these individuals at industry and trade networking functions several times each year. Reach out to these contacts every other month and plan an in-person connection quarterly.

Close contacts/Referral sources ' These are the easiest to stay in touch with, unless you get really busy. Try to touch base with these contacts monthly, even it it's just a quick e-mail or call to say hello. These people are your bread and butter when it comes to referral business, so plan in-person connections, lunches, etc., several times each year.

Warm leads ' Stay in touch monthly via e-mail and phone call and always plan on next steps before closing the discussion. The goal is to get an in-person meeting as soon as possible.

Lead in progress ' Communicate with this type of contact as frequently as is practicable. Don't let the lead get cold by letting too much time pass. Unless the contact is out of the office, touch base once a week.

As discussed above, you can track your communications in any way that works for you, but be sure to track them by date, communication type and notes regarding the topics covered. I like to use my iPhone for this process. I use the calendar to schedule communications and notes function to capture the information, and can call or dictate a note using voice activation.

Conclusion

The secret to success in keeping your sales pipeline flowing is paying attention to it every day. Even if you cannot make calls every day, you can quickly post to your social media networks and send a brief e-mail or two.

Finally, here's a quick tip on actually getting the communications tasks done: Try the “Kiss the Frog” method. Each morning or evening (whichever works best for your schedule), review your pipeline to determine the two or three must-make-contact communications for the day/next day. Some will be easy calls ' to an acquaintance or close contact, to catch up and stay in touch. Others may be tougher, such as reaching out to a cold lead to establish or further solidify the professional relationship. Complete the least-attractive activity first, i.e., “kiss the frog.” Get that activity off your plate and off your mind so you can focus on the more-attractive tasks at hand.

Remember to check your pipeline every week and plan those touches that will keep things moving smoothly.

Sue Remley, Senior Vice President, Marketing Consulting at Jaffe PR, has worked in legal services marketing for over 20 years. Named by Lawdragon as one of the top 100 legal consultants in the country, she can be reached at [email protected].'

Everyone who must close sales to perpetuate their own or their firm's/company's practice has a “sales pipeline,” even if they are not familiar with the term.

A sales pipeline is all of an individual professional's or firm's leads in process ' from someone you just met at a networking function to the chief general counsel at a major corporation for whom you have worked before who may need your services tomorrow.

The pipeline concept relates to keeping the leads flowing through the sales process at the appropriate rate. That can be a tough task, given that different leads move at different paces. No worries ' we simply must acknowledge our pipelines, pay attention to the individual members at the appropriate pace and move the flow along.

There are several types of leads in any professional's pipeline and they are labeled in a variety of ways. The terms are just semantics; any label will suffice. Here is a general synopsis:

Cold leads ' potential business and/or referral sources that you do not know and have been selected as possible sales sources.

Contacts ' potential business and/or referral sources that you have met casually or have been introduced to via social networking

Acquaintances ' individuals you have met personally who share similar professional goals and/or interests

Close contacts/referral sources ' those who you know professionally and perhaps personally, and with whom you have a rapport ' not all of these contacts may be direct referral sources, but they are interested in your business/practice

Warm leads ' individuals with whom you have a relationship and have a need for your/your firm's services.

Leads in progress ' individuals with whom you have established a rapport, who recognize a need that you/your firm can address and are interested in your/your firm's
services

Enhancing Your Sales Efforts

Some professionals are naturally adept at staying in touch with their clients and contacts. Generally, these people are the small percentage of natural rainmakers within each firm or practice. They just seem to work the crowd and bring in business without trying. This is not the case for the vast majority of lawyers tasked with perpetuating business and generating revenue. This is where a full and flowing pipeline is priceless.

Now that we have established what the pipeline is, let's discuss how it can be used to enhance your sales efforts. Everyone in the pipeline needs to be “touched,” but not necessarily on the same timetable or using the same method. A “touch” can be a variety of communication tactics, such as reaching out via social media, sending an e-mail, making a phone call or visiting in person. The trick is determining the appropriate method and timing for staying in touch with various contacts. It sounds simple, but can become cumbersome and difficult if there isn't some “method to the madness.”

To make sure your pipeline is flowing, you must organize your contacts and make sure you are in touch on a regular basis, although “regular basis” will vary among the various types of contacts.

Organize Your Contacts

There is no real right or wrong way to organize your contacts; the best plan or program is the one that works best for you. If your firm has a Client Relationship Management (CRM) system, a contacts/sales database or an e-mail system that helps organize and track communications, then take advantage of it. If not, then you can devise your own method for managing your pipeline and staying in touch.

Use Your Technology

A lot of the clients I work with in a business development capacity are now using their smart phones or tablets to manage their pipelines. If your smart phone has e-mail, list and calendaring capabilities, it is the perfect choice for the task. If your phone has voice-activated commands or you can download an application for voice activation, all the better: Voice activation lets you manage, update and communicate with your contacts with ease.

Communication

Now let's turn to the appropriate communication method and timeframe. First, give your contacts the labels of your choice. Some contacts may have more than one label, such as both client and referral source, and that is fine. The more labels or roles a contact has within your pipeline, the more important it is that you stay in touch with that contact frequently. I used the labels listed above to provide a sample communication schedule.

Cold leads ' Invite them to join your social media network(s) so you can provide valuable industry information and other information that you regularly share. If you are added to their network, reach out via e-mail to begin a discussion. Ask about their businesses and practices before providing information about your firm and practice. Also, ask if you can add them to your firm's contact database so they can receive e-blasts and/or newsletters that are pertinent to their businesses that might originate with someone in your firm other than yourself. Keep your cold leads on a bi-annual or quarterly schedule, depending on their potential need for your services.

Contacts ' Follow up the initial introduction with an e-mail and add them to your social network(s) and firm's contact database. If the contact is local, ask if you can briefly visit their office to discuss mutually beneficial business activities, or invite them for coffee or lunch. Try starting out with quarterly touches by e-mail and/or in person.'

Acquaintances ' Ideally, you will see these individuals at industry and trade networking functions several times each year. Reach out to these contacts every other month and plan an in-person connection quarterly.

Close contacts/Referral sources ' These are the easiest to stay in touch with, unless you get really busy. Try to touch base with these contacts monthly, even it it's just a quick e-mail or call to say hello. These people are your bread and butter when it comes to referral business, so plan in-person connections, lunches, etc., several times each year.

Warm leads ' Stay in touch monthly via e-mail and phone call and always plan on next steps before closing the discussion. The goal is to get an in-person meeting as soon as possible.

Lead in progress ' Communicate with this type of contact as frequently as is practicable. Don't let the lead get cold by letting too much time pass. Unless the contact is out of the office, touch base once a week.

As discussed above, you can track your communications in any way that works for you, but be sure to track them by date, communication type and notes regarding the topics covered. I like to use my iPhone for this process. I use the calendar to schedule communications and notes function to capture the information, and can call or dictate a note using voice activation.

Conclusion

The secret to success in keeping your sales pipeline flowing is paying attention to it every day. Even if you cannot make calls every day, you can quickly post to your social media networks and send a brief e-mail or two.

Finally, here's a quick tip on actually getting the communications tasks done: Try the “Kiss the Frog” method. Each morning or evening (whichever works best for your schedule), review your pipeline to determine the two or three must-make-contact communications for the day/next day. Some will be easy calls ' to an acquaintance or close contact, to catch up and stay in touch. Others may be tougher, such as reaching out to a cold lead to establish or further solidify the professional relationship. Complete the least-attractive activity first, i.e., “kiss the frog.” Get that activity off your plate and off your mind so you can focus on the more-attractive tasks at hand.

Remember to check your pipeline every week and plan those touches that will keep things moving smoothly.

Sue Remley, Senior Vice President, Marketing Consulting at Jaffe PR, has worked in legal services marketing for over 20 years. Named by Lawdragon as one of the top 100 legal consultants in the country, she can be reached at [email protected].'