The CRAP Report

One of my favorite episodes from Seinfeld was one where George’s girlfriend sits him down at Monk’s and tries to give him the old, “It’s not you, it’s me,” routine.  You know what that is, right?  When someone tries to break up with their significant other by saying that it has nothing to do with the S.O., but rather about the person doing the breaking up.  People say that because confrontation is never desirable; they never want to tell the other that it really IS them, or something that they’ve done or neglected to do, that is causing the break up.  George counters the move by saying, “I invented the, ‘it’s not you, it’s me’…nobody tells me it’s them and not me.  If it’s anybody – it’s me!”  How about in a failing teleprospecting campaign?  How do you know it’s really your fault and not your vendors?  There is someone to blame, no doubt, but how can you tell who’s owns the blame?

You know, I’d like to think that there is always a chance to succeed at a teleprospecting campaign, but sometimes there are just no leads to be found.  I know, however, from experience that it isn’t always the case.  I’ve done work with folks who thought that their target market desperately needed the software that they offered and had to tell them that it was perceived more as a “nice to have.”  There have been times, too, that I thought, “I’m NEVER going to find leads for these folks,” and low and behold, they become long time clients.  If you’ve partnered with an organization to find you sales qualified opportunities, or if you have an in-house team doing the same, there comes a time when you need to take a good long look in the mirror if the project is not successful.  The way I see it, there are three ways to tell it’s you and not your BDR’s to blame for a failing project: 

1. Your sales team is getting plenty of qualified opportunities, but none hit pipeline.
2. You keep tweaking and re-tweaking teleprospecting scripts.
3. You’re focusing on the wrong metrics.

One of the first ways to tell that it’s the client and not the teleprospecting team to blame is if your sales team is getting plenty of qualified opportunities, but none hit pipeline.  More than likely, before you’ve signed a contract to have someone generate sales leads for you, you’ve outlined with detail, what your definition of a “qualified lead” looks like.  You’ve given that definition to your vendor, and I’m betting that if a lead crossed your desk that didn’t fit that bill, that you’ve sent it back.  Your teleprospecting team takes that definition and finds you sales qualified leads, maybe even to the number per month that you were hoping for (hopefully more), yet none of them are hitting your sales team’s pipeline.  You see, with that, I would say that the problem starts with the way the qualified leads are being followed up upon.  If you’re receiving leads that fit the definition that has been predetermined (by you) from the beginning of the project and none (or only a few) are moving along in your sales process, then something is amiss, and more likely than not, it rests on your side.  If this is happening to you, do some investigation as to what your sales process is like and who is following up on the leads that your teleprospecting team is generating.

Another way to tell that it’s a client issue and not a teleprospecting issue is if the client keeps tweaking and re-tweaking teleprospecting scripts.  I’m not talking about the occasional edit here and there, especially if new software or service offerings are making their way into the market.  What I am talking about are those clients who, after a few days of a teleprospecting campaign, feel the need to change the script.  Not only do they do it a few days in, but they change it a few days after that.  After a couple of weeks, their target audience has heard several different messages from BDR’s and is not doubt thinking that they’re dealing with a bunch of hacks, because no one is saying anything with any level of consistency.  I’ve said it before, but you’ve got to give the message a chance, and one longer that three days.  Sometimes it takes a week before we generate a lead for a new project.  Sure, there are times when our BDR’s come across a low-hanging fruit and pass a lead on day one or day two, but that is not the norm.  If you find yourself constantly changing your teleprospectors script, it should be no wonder why you’re not seeing the level of leads you’re hoping for; they haven’t had the chance to bring any level of message-unification so that your market understands what you offer.

Lastly, if you’re focusing on the wrong metrics, it’s most definitely you, not your teleprospector.  For example, if you’re not getting the amount of leads you hoped for and none of the ones that have been passed to you have hit your pipeline, it is certainly a problem with your BDR’s.  However, if you have fewer opportunities, but those opportunities are hitting pipeline at a greater clip, what is the problem?  The focus should be, ultimately, on dollars closed, but depending on your sales cycle, you’ll have to wait six to twelve months before you utilize that statistic to gauge success.  Alternatively, though, you should be focusing on the amounts of money hitting your pipeline due to the leads that have been passed over.  Make sure you’re focusing on the right metrics.  Focus on conversations, not activity.  Focus on lead conversion from the conversations being had.  Focus on the percentage of positive results from leads passed, but most importantly, focus on what is being added to your pipeline on a monthly basis.

I know what you’re thinking – I’m just throwing blame off of the teleprospector.  Stay tuned, though, as I will be doing another post like this, only talking about ways to tell that it’s your BDR’s and not you who’s to blame for a failing project.