How to fill your sales pipeline

Let’s discuss filling your pipeline and talk about valuable tactics and resources. While some qualities of being a successful sales professional may be innate, many are learned. Salespeople who study their trade are often the ones who are most successful. Those who continue to learn and educate themselves naturally become more proactive in their approach to sales, which of course, has a direct positive impact on their income. A few other recommendations specific to sales are as follows: 

1. Connect with five new decision makers a day

2. Create an electronic newsletter to send to your prospects and customers

3. Call five existing customers a day and ask each of them for three referrals

4. Attend two networking meetings a month 

5. Give three referrals a week

Five tactics to fill your pipeline

Now, let’s take a closer look at these tactics to see how they can help gain opportunities and fill your pipeline.

Connect with five new decision makers a day

First, connect with 5 new decision makers a day, you can do this through email or by telephone. Keep in mind that sending an email or making a phone call does not constitute a connection. A connection is defined as those prospects who respond to you either by returning your email, engaging in conversation, or actually speaking to you live on the phone. Leaving a voicemail message does not count as a connection.

If you focus on 5 new connections a day with prospects, your pipeline will be so full of new opportunities that you create. You may just have to hire an assistant to help you maintain your current business so you can focus on growing your business. 

Create a newsletter for prospects and customers

Next, if your employer will allow this, either create your own electronic newsletter to send once a month to prospects and customers, or send the company created newsletter to your customers and add some of your own content as well. Staying in touch with them on a regular basis will keep you top of mind and they’ll think of you first when they need your product or service.

Call existing customers, ask for referrals

Third, call five existing customers a day and ask each of them for three referrals. Even if each of them only gives you one referral, that’s five new warm prospects a day for you to pursue, building your pipeline with new business. Most customers who are happy with the service you provided are more than happy to refer you to their contacts if you just ask.

Attend networking events

Fourth, attend two networking meetings a month and get your name out there. Let people know who you are and what you do. While you may not see immediate results from this activity, overtime, networking with other business contacts and associates will bring you far more business than you can imagine.

Offer your own referrals

Finally, as strange as it may sound, give three referrals a week as a way of being proactive in your sales approach. People respond in kind. In other words, when you reach out to help someone else and their business, they will appreciate it so much that they will most likely respond by doing the same for you.

The key in this technique is not to expect anything in return but to just give for the sake of giving. You’ll be amazed at what will happen in your own life, business and otherwise when you help someone else first.

Expand your opportunities

Using these five tactics is a great way to expand your network and build your pipeline. These are simple to implement strategies that you can start today to increase your success and grow in your career.

If you, your organization, or your partners engage in sales prospecting, another great way to expand your opportunities and fill your pipeline is through a structured BlitzMasters sales enablement workshop. BlitzMasters empowers, trains, and facilitates sales reps through call blitzes that gain immediate appointments. Our analytics tracking tool allows both the channel marketer and the channel partner to see performance in real-time, along with detailed reports to show ROI. Contact BlitzMasters today to learn more!