It is true that the shape of the journey of the buyer toward making a purchase is less about looking like a traditional funnel and more about a cloud or MindMap type of drawing. Even so, I was thrilled to receive this funnel in the mail from one of the attendees at my talk on productivity for inside sales professionals at the AA-ISP Leadership Summit a couple weeks ago.
Thanks to Sean from Park Place Technologies who was nice enough to actually drop a funnel in the mail to me. Here is what Sean told me they do with these at his office:
When a sales rep is working within a block of time to make outbound calls, they put their sales funnel (with the dollar sign) on their cube wall so others walking by know not to stop and chat or interrupt for any reason.
I love this idea! Reps stay more focused and productive without interruptions, saving probably hundreds of hours a quarter, I'd bet. What visual do YOU give to let others around you know that you're focused on revenue activities so that you don't get disturbed?
CONGRATULATIONS GOES TO: Rachel Longley of BuyerZone who won a $50 Starbucks Gift Card from our last blog contest. Rachel is in marketing and often posts on the BuyerZone blog About Leads, in addition to being a loyal Score More Sales blog reader. I asked her what she likes about her job:
I love that I am able to work on so many different projects in the course of a week. There is also a great mix of the creative and analytical. And seeing campaigns from conception to completion is great as well. I think that email and nurturing campaigns are particularly interesting because they can often surprise you - what you think might not perform well might be a huge success (and vice versa).
Congratulations, Rachel - enjoy some beverages on us. Stay tuned for our next contest.
Lori Richardson is recognized as one of the “Top 25 Sales Influencers for 2012″ and one of “20 Women to Watch in Sales Lead Management”. Lori speaks, writes, trains, and consults with inside and outbound sellers in technology and services companies. Subscribe to the award-winning blog and the “Sales Ideas In A Minute” newsletter for tips and strategies in selling.