FundingStrat

 

“In my opinion, client retention has never been more important during an ever-changing landscape.”

– Heather Francis

 

Altify’s 2017 Business Performance Benchmark Study found these to be B2B CEOs’ most important strategic focus:

 

87.3% – Customer Retention

86.5% – Revenue Growth

73.1% – Profit Growth

65.2% – Operational Efficiency

64.6% – Increased Market Share

38.0% – Cost Reduction

 

Customer Retention edged out all the others for the #1 most important strategic focus.

 

Why?

 

Because:

• Acquiring a new customer is 5-7x as expensive as retaining an existing customer.

• The success rate of selling to a customer you already have is 60-70%, while the success rate of selling to a new customer is 5-20%.

• Increasing customer retention rates by 5% can increase profits by 25-95%.

 

If all this sounds important, we need to remember that:

• 89% of businesses report their customers state that their user experience is the key factor in their loyalty.

 

The user experience is essentially customer service, how we serve and provide value to the customer (continually).

 

Well, what is the user experience that will drive customers away (to churn)?

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The late Dr. Stephen Covey synthesized the common patterns in the leaders he studied and worked with in his 1989 best-seller, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

 

At the core of his message is the belief that the way we see the world is entirely based on our own perceptions.  In order to change any given situation, we must change ourselves.  And, in order to change ourselves, we must be able to change our perceptions.

 

Put simply, in the context of this crisis:

 

In order to change/improve the state of things during this crisis, we must change/improve ourselves first.

 

In order to change/improve ourselves, we must change/improve our perceptions.

 

“The way we see the problem is the problem.”

-Covey

 

To undergo a paradigm shift and upgrade ourselves fundamentally, we must go beyond the surface level and alter our behavior for the long-term.

 

This is where the habits (7) come in:

1. Be Proactive
2. Begin with the End in Mind
3. Put First Things First
4. Think Win-Win
5. Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the Saw

 

6.  Synergize

 

Quick Hits:

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Recap:

On our Sales Process map, if each Stage is a mile marker on the highway to Funding, the roadways in between the markers are the Phases.

 

Here are all the Phases:

 

• Phase 1 – The Prospecting Phase

 

• Phase 2 – The Consulting Phase

 

• Phase 3 – The Application Sending Phase

 

• Phase 4 – The Application Reeling-in Phase

 

• Phase 5 – The Submitting Phase

 

• Phase 6 – The Closing Phase

 

• Phase 7 – The Contracting Phase

 

• Phase 8 – The Contract Reeling-in Phase

 

• Phase 9 – The Closing Stip Reeling-in Phase

 

• Phase 10 – The Funding Phase

 

Each one of these Phases has specific steps to complete to get to the next Stage, and there are Key Steps to take in each Stage to accelerate your sales cycles and closings.

This is what it looks like when we put it all together:

• Stage 0 – Start:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• We have prepared and are ready to engage our Lead, pick up the phone and make contact.

Next:  Phase 1 – The Prospecting Phase

 

• Stage 1 – The Prospected Stage:

            How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The Lead has been pre-qualified and confirmed to be a Prospect worth pursuing.

Next:  Phase 2 – The Consulting Phase

 

• Stage 2 – The Consulted Stage:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The Prospect has been consulted about their goals/needs/obstacles, how our solutions can help them achieve their outcome, and has confirmed they want a quote.

Next: Phase 3 – The Application Sending Phase

 

• Stage 3 – The Application Out Stage:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The Application has been sent to the Prospect, and it has been confirmed it was received.

Next: Phase 4 – The Application Reeling-in Phase 

 

• Stage 4 – The Application In Stage:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The Application is in with all supporting paperwork.

Next: Phase 5 – The Submitting Phase

 

• Stage 5 – The Submission Stage:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The Funding Package/Application has been submitted to Underwriting.

Next: Phase 6 – The Closing Phase

 

• Stage 6 – The Pitched Approval Stage:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The Approval(s) have been pitched and sold to the Prospect.

Next: Phase 7 – The Contracting Phase

 

• Stage 7 – The Contract Out Stage:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The Prospect has demonstrated intent to fund, requested contracts and we have sent them out.

Next: Phase 8 – The Contract Reeling-in Phase

 

• Stage 8 – The Contract In Stage:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The signed Contract is in.

Next: Phase 9 – The Closing Stip Reeling-in Phase

 

• Stage 9 – The Closing Stips In Stage:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• All closing stips UW need to fund are in.

Next: Phase 10 – The Funding Phase

 

• Stage 10 – The Funded Stage – End:

How do I know for sure I am at this Stage?

• The deal has funded, great work!

 

*Phase 7 – The Contracting Phase*

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In Zachary Ramirez’ video, Cold Call Basics!  What you need to know, he does a great job explaining how to greatly improve the effectiveness of every cold call.

 

From the first second of the video to the 4 minute mark you can see him deliver the first key takeaway from this talk.

 

Zach outlines his 3 Main Goals of a Cold Call:

1. Application
2. Get email
3. Schedule callback

 

In the spirit of starting with the end in mind, he is doing a great job separating out the tactics from the key objectives meant to be achieved on this call.

 

If you know exactly what specific result you are trying to accomplish with every single conversation you have, you will speed up sales cycles, maximize time, get to more deals, and fund more deals.

 

If you get stuck on tactics but aimlessly talk your way through calls, at best, you will waste time, and at worst you’ll lose deals.

 

Time kills deals.

 

At the 4:11 mark, Zach launches his first tip for a successful cold call:

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What is a Compelling Event?

 

A Sales Compelling Event is a customer’s business pain that needs to be solved/opportunity that must be captured by a certain date, or else.

 

In other words, a compelling event has an economic owner, a defined date and is a direct response to a business pressure.  The action to deliver a significant business result, either to capture opportunity or to reduce pain.  The event itself defines the reason for the economic owner to act now.

 

Why are Compelling Events important?

 

Merchants have many compelling events (business pressures and opportunities) that are routinely spread across every calendar year.  Some are variable (showing up almost unexpectedly) and some are fixed (consistently and predictably occurring at various date-points).

 

Compelling events drive buying decisions – drive funding decisions.

 

Knowing your way through the compelling events that are driving the funding decisions on the specific deal you are working on, as well as those that affect all of your prospects and customers routinely, allows you to consult them that much more effectively as their Trusted Advisor.

 

This in turn drives your efficiency on shortening sales cycles and helping more customers get funded.

 

Tax Day

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