We’ve seen it all. Business owners are hungry for leads. They need sales now! But when the lead engine comes alive the client fails to close deals. This leads to all manner of questioning the leads, the ads, and even marketing in general.
Unlike product companies that offer a clear path to an online purchase, companies that sell a service have a sales funnel that involves multiple steps to closing a deal. This sales process must be dialed in if you want to take a sales qualified lead and convert it into a sale.
Running PPC ads without a solid sales process is like handing out coupons for free pizza but forgetting to open your shop. Before you pour money into ads, you need to ensure your sales process is ready to close deals. Here’s why:
The PPC Reality Check
Let’s be blunt: PPC can generate a flood of potential customers. That’s fantastic! But if your sales process isn’t ready to catch and convert those leads, you’re just paying for a fancy light show with no fireworks at the end.
Between setup costs, management fees, and your ad budget, you can spend money quickly with PPC advertising. The good news is that it can also generate sales qualified leads in a very short amount of time.
Your marketing partner should work closely with you to confirm that the targeting is correct, the keywords are dialed in, and all manner of data is being collected for future insights and optimizations. Anything less is a fast track journey to failure.
But PPC ads can only take you so far. The real work begins once a lead expresses interest.
Does your website offer multiple ways for a person to share their information? Signup forms, lead magnets, click-to-call buttons, white papers, interactive tools, gated content… there are countless ways to bring a user across the finish line. But what happens then?
The Cost of an Inefficient Sales Process
Every click costs money, and every lead that slips through the cracks represents a lost opportunity.
We’ve encountered clients who complain about the quality of leads from PPC campaigns, only to discover their sales process was broken from the get go. The sales team isn’t following up promptly, they lack a clear follow-up strategy, or they simply aren’t prepared to engage and convert leads into buyers.
One of the first things we ask you before starting a PPC campaign to advertise a service is, “Tell us about your sales process.”
From there, we’ll ask you tough questions about your close ratio, the lifetime value of your customers, and your customer service. These things matter.
Our CEO spent his career (prior to Divining Point) as a sales manager himself. He understands how difficult it is to close deals, and he can detect issues in the process that can impact your success with PPC ads.
Optimize Your Sales Funnel
We advise you to think about your sales funnel as it exists today. Where can you make improvements quickly to handle a higher lead volume?
Here’s what we suggest:
Training
Ensure your sales team is trained to handle incoming leads with urgency and expertise. This includes the people who answer the phones.
Follow-Up Strategy
Develop a clear, step-by-step follow-up plan that keeps leads engaged and moving down the funnel.
Lead Management Systems
Use a CRM or some kind of tracker to manage leads effectively, ensuring no lead is forgotten or neglected.
Consistent Messaging
Align your sales pitch with your marketing message to ensure a seamless transition from interest to conversion.
Aligning Marketing and Sales
Your marketing and sales teams need to work together like a well-oiled machine. It doesn’t do anyone any good if marketing is kept in the dark about the quality of incoming leads or when you’re sold out in one of your categories.
Regular marketing meetings may be inconvenient to busy sales-oriented professionals, but they can make all the difference in realizing a greater ROI from your PPC advertising.
Remember that bit about data up above? All the information you give your marketing partner will help them improve your advertising, which in turn helps your sales.
We prefer to set up as many data feeds as possible to improve performance. We are a team – you and us, and we are invested in making sure you’re getting the very best information to make improvements across the board.
Sales Isn’t Easy
We get it. Sales is a tough business. But you should “always be closing”. Plain and simple.
By dialing in your sales process you will be able to efficiently capture every lead from a PPC campaign and take them through the sales funnel to close. Anything less is wasting money and squandering opportunities for revenue.
At Divining Point, we don’t just manage your PPC campaigns, we help you get your entire sales funnel primed for success. Don’t leave money on the table. Get your sales game on point, and let’s drive some real results together.