Potential and Positioning
What is a lead? According to Wikipedia, a lead is a potential customer; an individual who may or may not be interested in what you are selling. Anyone who has ever sold anything knows what it’s like to fumble around inside that ‘Potential Zone’. When you first talk to a lead, you land in a specific spot on the ‘likelihood of conversion’ continuum. You are somewhere in the ‘Potential Zone’. As you talk, you feel this potential increase or decrease. Being great at selling means being great at functioning in the ‘Potential Zone’. You turn a little potential into more and more until you close.
Lead management software is a solution that specifically addresses this ‘potential zone.’ It specifically addresses the task of increasing the potential of a potential customer. It works in an area that email and CRM do not.
Lead Management Software is the right tool for working with potential
It’s easy to look at the tools you already have for dealing with your potential customers and to think that they will do the trick. But no matter what task is at hand, using the right tool for the job will always yield better results.
Email is a communication tool. Use it to communicate with people. Communicating is part of increasing a leads potential. But it’s not the whole solution.
CRM is customer relationship management tool. Use it to manage your customer relationships. Just understand that this tool was created for you to manage relationships that already exist, with customers that you already have.
Positioning the person on the other side
Your business benefits from the use of email and CRM for sure. But one thing these solutions do not do is position the person on the other end of the communication as someone with potential. Lead management software is designed specifically to increase potential with a suite of strategic tools. Leveraging speed to contact, nurture communication, performance metrics, and best practices, these tools tilt the slippery slope of the ‘Potential Zone’ in the direction of the close.
The unique value add of lead management software is that it positions the person it is reaching out to as person with potential. And it uses proven tools to increase this potential. Best of all, this potential is increased partly through automated processes. Getting more customers? Closing more deals? Is that what you’re after? Lead management software is the right tool for that job.
