There are two overarching ways that businesses sell their products/services and close new deals. Either the customers/clients come to the business, or the business goes to them. When you approach a new deal, you’re doing outbound sales — you’re going to them. But if the deal comes to you, that’s called inbound sales! Inbound sales are really nice because it feels like the opportunity dropped into your lap. Now, how can you make the most of it so you’re likelier to close the deal? In this blog, we’ll talk about how to leverage inbound sales to their fullest potential.

6 Ways to Make the Most of Your Inbound Sales

Remember that if you get an inbound lead, then they’re already a little “warm” – meaning they’re at least somewhat familiar with who your company is and what it has to offer. Here are a few tips to keep in mind.

1. Ask Questions and Let Them Do All the Talking

In the beginning, you should be in listening mode. Many entrepreneurs and sales reps make the mistake of talking about themselves, which is understandable! However, this relationship needs to start with you asking important questions, letting the lead talk, and gathering as much information about them as possible. These questions might include:

• What motivated you to reach out to us?
• How did you first hear of us?
• What’s your biggest obstacle right now?
• What have you already done to try to fix it, and what were the results?
• Where would you like to be in three months? Six? A year?

Keep the questions low-pressure. It’s too early to talk about money, and it’s certainly too early to go in for the close. Think of yourself as a detective. You’re looking for clues about what the lead is struggling with and if you’re able to help them.

Speaking of helping them…

2. Help, Don’t Sell

Surprisingly, actively trying to sell will likely work against you. Nobody wants to be sold to… but they’re still willing to pay for a solution. So, if you want to master inbound sales, you need to focus on solving people’s problems — not trying to get their money. This is a huge turn-off for leads and makes them feel like they’re just another number.

If you can demonstrate that you can give them what they need, they’ll happily pay you. Stop selling, start helping. If you do, your revenue will increase as a natural (and wonderful!) byproduct.

3. Make Communication Convenient for Them

Taking a personalized approach to sales is always a good idea. You can make a great impression on your leads by asking them how they prefer to communicate with you — phone, email, etc.

And, even though they made the first move and reached out to you, avoid making them chase you down. If your conversation is ongoing, check in with them weekly or monthly (or at a frequency you agree on). Following up is a key part of both outbound and inbound sales. You probably won’t close the deal after one conversation. Most people don’t. It takes nurturing. Think of it like dating before you propose marriage.

Don’t let your leads go months and months without hearing from you, because they could easily forget and move on to a competitor.

4. Ask for Feedback

Asking your leads for input about how they feel about your relationship thus far is a win-win. They feel heard and also have the opportunity to voice their opinions. And you gain valuable information that might help you improve your sales process.

There are various ways to ask for feedback. It can be a form, an email, or you can slip it into a phone call. The main things you want to learn are:

• What are you doing right? What do they like and want to see more of?
• What could be better? Where might you be falling short?

5. View Rejection as Redirection

In sales, you either win or you learn. When you try something and it doesn’t work, don’t look at it as a failure. Instead, look at it as ruling out that approach — which helps you get one step closer to what does work.

For example, let’s say you spend a few weeks talking to a lead, but they ultimately decide to go with a competitor who’s cheaper. Or maybe that competitor offers a different suite of services or tools. This is valuable information that you should take note of. Moving forward, if similar leads have the same response, you might consider approaching different types of businesses — ones that will be more receptive to what you have to offer. (Or maybe you need to reconsider how your own business operates.)

Everything that goes “wrong” helps you further zero in on everything that’s “right.”

6. Always End on a Positive Note

Even if you’re not thrilled about the way the relationship ended, ending it in a positive way will work in your favor. You don’t want anyone’s last memory of you to be something negative and undesirable. Furthermore, sometimes, when a lead says “No,” it’s really, “Not right now, but maybe later.”

They absolutely could return in the future and express interest in working together. Or, even though you weren’t the right fit for them, they might refer someone else to you.

There are endless opportunities out there!

If your business gets a lot of phone calls from prospects, you have to know how to gently move them toward the close. High Converting Call Class will show you how to get up to 80% call conversion rates without sounding spammy or salesy. Conduct smoother calls, improve caller satisfaction, book more appointments, and make more sales.