Building your
funnel
A sales funnel is a forward-looking tool that lets you forecast trends over time. Conversely, when you're planning it out, the key is to work backwards.
Start with a single question: how much new business do you want to win every month?
Put a concrete figure on it; don't just say 'as much as possible.'. Work out how much profit you make per client today and what level of billings produces it; call that 'one client'. Think about what resources you need to bring in that level of business (one fulltime salesman? A monthly mailing? Broadcast campaign?) then see if those resources are actually available and how fast you could increase them.
The final figure for new business might be quite modest - say, an incremental £2K every month. It might not sound much, but that annualises to twelve fresh clients paying £24K a year in the next 12 months. And that's where your funnel starts.
Working backwards, look at how many clients you enter negotiations with... and what proportion of those negotiations result in a sale or contract. 25%? That means you need to get four prospects into negotiations every month to deliver your one new client. How many proposals do you write that result in serious interest from those prospects? Twice as many? That means you need to write eight proposals a month. And so on back, until you've reached the end of the rainbow: the number of leads your marketing must deliver.
And that's where it starts: how you approach prospects.
Stages of the funnel
1. Approaching your prospects
2. Qualifying your prospects
3. Analysing their needs
4. Developing a value proposition
5. Making the proposal
6. Negotiating the contract
GET ME IN YOUR INBOX: blank email to
What I do for clients: sales[at]redpump.com
Rate card: rates[at]redpump.com
Book links: book[at]redpump.com
Contact info: contact[at]redpump.com
A sales funnel is a forward-looking tool that lets you forecast trends over time. Conversely, when you're planning it out, the key is to work backwards.
Start with a single question: how much new business do you want to win every month?
Put a concrete figure on it; don't just say 'as much as possible.'. Work out how much profit you make per client today and what level of billings produces it; call that 'one client'. Think about what resources you need to bring in that level of business (one fulltime salesman? A monthly mailing? Broadcast campaign?) then see if those resources are actually available and how fast you could increase them.
The final figure for new business might be quite modest - say, an incremental £2K every month. It might not sound much, but that annualises to twelve fresh clients paying £24K a year in the next 12 months. And that's where your funnel starts.
Working backwards, look at how many clients you enter negotiations with... and what proportion of those negotiations result in a sale or contract. 25%? That means you need to get four prospects into negotiations every month to deliver your one new client. How many proposals do you write that result in serious interest from those prospects? Twice as many? That means you need to write eight proposals a month. And so on back, until you've reached the end of the rainbow: the number of leads your marketing must deliver.
And that's where it starts: how you approach prospects.
Stages of the funnel
1. Approaching your prospects
2. Qualifying your prospects
3. Analysing their needs
4. Developing a value proposition
5. Making the proposal
6. Negotiating the contract
GET ME IN YOUR INBOX: blank email to
What I do for clients: sales[at]redpump.com
Rate card: rates[at]redpump.com
Book links: book[at]redpump.com
Contact info: contact[at]redpump.com