When you’re in sales, your leads are your lifeblood. It’s essential to have an effective system for managing them.
At Hatco, we provide Hatco sales rep groups with a lead management system called the Hatco Sales Lead Management System. It allows us to scan trade show leads and create a database file which will allow tracking of leads. Contact is almost immediate, but it’s a two-way street. Due diligence on everyone’s part leads to higher commissions and returning customers. Here’s a step-by-step walkthrough of our lead system process — from generation to close.
1. Generate the lead. When you meet the customer at a Hatco trade show, you can scan their trade show badge, thereby generating this as a lead.
2. The system sends a thank you. Our system will generate and send a thank you email to the lead along with any requested product information.
3. Customer and reps receive a notification. Two letters are generated from the lead management site. One letter is emailed to the customers with links to the literature they would like more information on. The second letter is emailed to the designated rep contact (same person as the rep locater contact from the Hatco website) for the lead.
4. Update the lead status. Once you update a lead’s status within the system, your Hatco designated rep group contact will receive an email with a link to the Hatco Sales Lead Management System. This will show the lead’s status. You will update the generated lead with one of the following statuses:
- OPEN, no action has been taken.
- PENDING, action taken but not concluded. Note the details of the contact, any progress made, and whether you’ve forwarded the leads to the dealer.
- CLOSED, history. For this status, include notes of whether you’ve completed a sale. If you haven’t, indicate whether the contact should be retained as a prospective lead.
5. The system sends weekly updates. Hatco regional managers receive weekly notifications for the open leads in their territory.
Make sure you don’t miss out.
Ideally, you’ll be able to close deals without a hitch, but as we all know, some scenarios prevent order completion. For example, you may not be able to reach the customer, or they’re unsure of what they need. To the extent possible, avoid these scenarios by doing the following:
- Make sure to capture accurate contact information. Confirm contact details with your leads at trade shows before sending them on their way.
- Be persistent with your follow-ups. Each of your leads have a preferred communication channel. Figure out what that is, and establish a regular (but reasonable) follow-up schedule. Following up by email once per week and phone once per month is a good rule of thumb.
- Serve as a resource. If customers are unsure of what they need, and you don’t have the answer, refer them to our customer service team.
- Don’t lose track of prospective leads. If prospects aren’t ready to buy right now, don’t forget about them. You have their information in the Hatco system, so make a plan to follow up with them down the road.
Get results.
Our lead management system sets you up for success, but to make the most of it, make sure you keep tabs on your leads and follow up diligently. By doing so, you’ll end up with happy customers, more closed deals, and increased commissions.
Still have lead-related questions? Check out our Hatco Lead Management System User Guide here.
