Eliminate Sales Funnel Chokepoints

Professional salespeople take a lot of pride in their ability to help clients meet their individual goals and it is frustrating to everyone involved when we hit snags that slow the process down. When we proactively work to eliminate sales funnel chokepoints, we create smoother, more efficient transactions.  ‘Sales funnel chokepoints’ are areas where the sales process slows down, or has a high risk of failing whether you are in control of that step or not. Salespeople have a lot of control over the first few steps in the sales funnel, but start to lose control when we depend on others to help deliver the final product.

In the real estate world, Realtors spend years crafting their industry knowledge and reputation. Once they connect with a client they work hard to understand the clients needs and then search the market for homes that match their goals. Hours are spent viewing homes with the client and then they guide the transaction through a highly complicated and regulated process to help their client find their dream home.  It is infuriating to work so hard and then another party derails the whole process. We almost want to shout to our client “Brace yourself, a sales funnel chokepoint is coming up”.  Professionals can be caught in a situation where we want to warn our client away from certain situations, but legally cannot steer those decisions that rest solely on the clients shoulders. There is risk is offering advice to avoid or use a certain vendor and then that vendor performs poorly which reflects back on the referrer.

An ‘aha!” moment happened to me early in my career that gave me the idea that I could find a way to help my clients without taking any liability on to my own shoulders.  Have you ever been to a Trader Joes? They have a dozen different types of Bananas (plantains). The first time my wife asked me to pick up bananas, I bought the cute little ones. I bought them because I did not know any better and soon realize I had bought little potato tasting plantains. I quickly learned that there are what I call ‘Bananas’ that are sweet and there ‘plantains’ which can have a variety of tastes and textures.  The second time I asked an employee for advice, and while they did not say to choose a particular one they did describe the taste and cooking style needed for each and empowered me to make my own decision. Without the background to make decisions, we can easily make poor ones.

My “Aha” was to provide my clients with tools they can use to make their own best decisions. As I went through my sales process step by step, I identified frustration points and then brainstormed on how I could help my clients and myself get past those points.  The mortgage pre-qualification process is a perfect example. Sellers and buyers were frustrated with the process of finding a home and then later finding out whether they qualified to make that purchase or not. It has become the industry standard that buyers should now be pre-qualified with a mortgage company before they even start looking at homes. This saves everyone time and effort.

Go over your sales process step by step. Find the frustrating points and work to fix them. A professional sales consultant strives to help their client meet their individual goals and that means that when it comes to helping your client make good decisions, we provide them with the education and tools to facilitate those good choices.  When you eliminate sales funnel chokepoints you become more efficient, your clients see a smoother process, and everyone experiences a higher rate of success.

Evergreen Property Inspectors is a member of ASHI, InterNACHI, and in the State of Illinois adhere to the Illinois Standards of Practice. Evergreen has inspectors living around the St. Louis area in Missouri and Illinois where we perform commercial and residential inspections for home buyers, home sellers, property investors and lenders. View our Reviews on Google My Business . 877-805-5255 or 618-531-9482 or 314-620-6822