Did you know that the likelihood of a sale decreases when a customer meets a sales rep for the first time?
It’s true. After the first meeting with a sales person, the likelihood of the customer buying from the supplier is lower than it was when the customer made initial contact with the supplier’s web site, advertising, blog, or other media (see Forum research report, Navigating the Sales Funnel: Understanding How Customers Buy). Somehow salespeople are failing to meet important buyer expectations in their very first encounter. This gap lengthens sales cycles, reduces lead conversion rates, and provides an opening for competitors to enter.
So, did the salespeople in our research sample forget to wear deodorant? What does this statistic mean—and why should you care?
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