…when you do it by the numbers.
by ty hendrickson
inovautus consulting
it’s well known throughout the accounting and advisory industry that business development and sales terrify accountants, who also are quick to say it’s not what they were trained to do.
the reality is number manipulation, which is what accountants do best, is the fundamental building block for sales.
once the framework of sales is broken down into a numbers game, it becomes fun and exciting – some would say almost easy.
so much of the sales process is tied to the sales funnel, which is the framework you need to follow to obtain new business.
at a very basic level, the top of your sales funnel includes potential clients, followed by meetings and proposals, then ending with the grand prize – new clients. the key is understanding what happens at each stage and being intentional with your processes to see results.
let’s break it down by section.
potential clients
the top of the funnel is the biggest section of the sales funnel because that is where you should have the most people/prospects in your funnel. identifying potential new clients is the first and most important step to gaining new business.
consider these questions to fill your funnel:
- do you have a list of prospects you currently targeting?
- are you being intentional with this step in the process?
- how are you identifying prospects and with what criteria?
- where are you looking for prospects?
- do you have a process in place to consistently add to the list?
meetings/proposals
once you have identified your prospects, you have to get in front of them to pitch your services. this section of the funnel is not quite as big as the top because not everyone you identify as a prospect will take a meeting with you. some questions to consider in strengthening the meetings/proposals section of your funnel include:
- what steps are you taking to schedule a meeting with your prospect?
- how many of your prospects have you been able to get in front of with a pitch or a proposal?
- for those you haven’t been successful with, determine why you couldn’t get a meeting.
- how can you better prepare for a meeting to increase your chances of landing the engagement?
new client
congratulations! the bottom section of the funnel is all of your new business. this is the smallest section of your funnel because, just like moving from “potential clients” to “meetings/proposals,” a number of your prospects will fall out of the funnel. this leaves you with the right clients to grow your practice.
some things to consider to solidify your new client base include:
- how many of your proposal meetings actually result in a new client?
- what objections do you face from your potential clients?
as you can see, it all starts with intentionally finding potential new clients. when you load your sales funnel with enough potential clients, statistically, you will end up with new clients.
once you start to work with your sales funnel, you can easily put numbers behind each stage in the process and set the targets you need to achieve your business development goals. if you want to grow, add more to the top of your funnel.
that is just the beginning of the mathematical fun, though. your funnel should be constantly evaluated for ways to improve your efficiency at each stage.
- where can you find more prospects that are likely to take a meeting?
- how can you win more clients after presenting a proposal?
- how can you improve your pitch to land more proposal meetings?
the possibilities are endless once you put the right framework in place and improve your processes behind each step. all of this is an accountant’s dream – number manipulation and efficiency!
whether you are just starting a business development initiative in your career or you have been working somewhat aimlessly towards business development goals for years, it is always important to take a step back and look at the basics.
while there are a lot of factors that can impact the efficiency of your sales funnel, the bottom line is that if you put this framework in place and start to build a sales funnel, you will see success.