AU2011201515A1

AU2011201515A1 - A system and method for monitoring sales leads

Info

Publication number: AU2011201515A1
Application number: AU2011201515A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Kevin Daly
Original assignee: COGNITIVE SELLING Pty Ltd
Current assignee: COGNITIVE SELLING Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2011-04-05
Filing date: 2011-04-05
Publication date: 2012-10-25

Abstract

A system for receiving and distributing sales leads, the system including: a lead storage database for receiving and storing data associated with sales leads; a characteristics database for storing a predetermined plurality of characteristics for each of a plurality of sales persons; a matching engine for determining which of the plurality of sales persons to assign each sales lead to, the determination being based at least in part on the plurality of characteristics. Special Campaign Orhas Offers x PROSPECTS 102 Matching Rules Based Engine 105 Sales Force Lead 106 Distribution 108 Emai S M S~ (PDF) Feedback 110 ---Measurement ==V Tracking Management 11 Info

Description

TITLE: A SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING SALES LEADS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the monitoring of sales leads and in particular to electronic systems for monitoring sales leads. It has been developed specifically to monitor leads in a corporate sales environment and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular field of use. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In this specification unless the contrary is expressly stated, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge; or known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned. Within a corporate environment, sales leads are generally handled on an adhoc basis with very little or no rationalisation given to the distribution of leads to the sales force. Leads can be distributed according to who is in the office, to friends or simply who the first available sales person is. Corporations spend large amounts of money in trying to get leads to come in to the company and handling leads in this manner can result in a loss of revenue for the company. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention overcomes or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative. A system for receiving and distributing sales leads, the system including: a lead storage database for receiving and storing data associated with sales leads; a characteristics database for storing a predetermined plurality of characteristics for each of a plurality of sales persons; a matching engine for determining which of the plurality of sales persons to assign each sales lead to, the determination being based at least in part on the plurality of characteristics. Preferably, upon determination, the matching engine distributes each lead to the assigned sales person. Preferably the distribution is done electronically via email; the internet; though the internet though a web portal; short message service (SMS); electronic voice 1 message; facsimile or the like. In some embodiments the distribution is by printout and mail although this is less preferred. Preferably the matching engine makes the determination and distributes the lead automatically. Preferably the assignment and distribution is done automatically without user intervention. Preferably the system includes a tracking database for storing tracking information associated with the success or failure of each sales lead. Preferably the tracking information is updated at the conclusion of each sales lead. Preferably the tracking information is updated by the sales person to which the lead was distributed. Preferably the characteristics database is updated for each sales person according to the tracking information after the conclusion of each sales lead. Preferably the sales lead is distributed to the sales person who is most likely to achieve the sale based on the characteristics database. Preferably the characteristics database includes information chosen from one or more of the following: age; sex; experience in role; experience in the company; business knowledge; product and/or service knowledge; product and/or service proficiency; ideal purchaser profile; historical sales statistics; location; sales style; sales success; and the like. It would be understood that any suitable characteristics can be used to better match the sales person with the sales lead. As would be understood, the better the match between sales person and sales lead, the more likelihood there is that the sales person will complete the sale. Preferably the sales leads database includes purchaser information on the potential purchaser. Preferably the purchaser information includes information chosen from one or more of the following: age; sex; prior purchasing history; proposed product and/or service to be purchased; client ID number; residential and/or business address; state of residence; size of business or household; personal and/or business income and the like. It would be understood that any suitable purchaser information can be used to better distribute the sales lead to the sales person and the list herein should not be considered exhaustive. Preferably if the purchaser is a repeat purchaser the sales lead is distributed to the sales person that successfully concluded the prior purchase. Preferably the sales lead is distributed to the sales person with highest proficiency in the product and/or service related to the sales lead. Preferably the sales lead is distributed to the sales person most likely to conclude a successful sale based on the characteristics of the sales person and the purchaser information. 2 Preferably the sales person provides feedback to the tracking database electronically. More preferably the feedback is provided online. In some embodiments the feedback is provided through email; online through a web portal; sms or the like. Preferably the feedback includes whether or not a sale was successfully concluded. Preferably the feedback includes reasons for a successful or unsuccessful sale. Throughout the specification and claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and other variations such as "comprises" and "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers of steps. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a conceptual diagram of a system according to the invention; Figure 2 shows a report generated by the system of Figure 1; and Figure 3 shows a screenshot of a web portal generated by the system of Figure 1. PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION The preferred embodiment of the invention provides a system for receiving and distributing sales leads. The system includes a lead storage database for receiving and storing data associated with sales leads. The system further includes a characteristics database for storing a predetermined plurality of characteristics for each of a plurality of sales persons. A matching engine determines which of the plurality of sales persons to assign each sales lead to, the determination being based at least in part on the plurality of characteristics. Upon determination, the matching engine distributes each lead to the assigned sales person in order to maximise the chance of a successful sale. In this embodiment the distribution is done electronically via email; short message service (SMS); electronic voice message; facsimile or the like but distribution could be by printout and mail in some instances. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the system is not concerned with the manner in which leads are obtained but rather with the efficient and calculated distribution thereof in order to maximise the number of sales achieved. As would be understood, the system of the preferred embodiment has a matching engine that determines and distributes lead automatically without any user intervention to ensure sales persons can contact leads prior to the potential customer purchasing elsewhere. In 3 some less preferred embodiments a user may require an overview of the assignment and distribution so as to approve or reject proposed distributions but as would be understood this would slow the process down and reduce efficiency. This may however be advantageous when implementing a new system to gain management approval or to provide an overview of the functioning of the system. The systems is preferably a learning system which includes a tracking database for storing tracking information associated with the success or failure of each sales lead. In this way sales persons and lead generation campaigns can be analysed and their performance tracked. The tracking information is updated by the sales person to which the lead was distributed at the conclusion of each sales lead. Upon updating the tracking information, the characteristics database is also updated for that sales person so as to update their profile and their sales statistics. As would be understood, after time, the system learns which sales person is most likely to achieve the desired outcome of completing a sale and distributes appropriate leads to the sales person who is most likely to achieve the sale. Sales persons profiles in the characteristics database generally include information chosen from one or more of the following: age; sex; experience in role; experience in the company; business knowledge; product and/or service knowledge; product and/or service proficiency; ideal purchaser profile; historical sales statistics; location; sales style; sales success; product accreditation; customer segmentation and the like. It would be understood that this list is not exhaustive and any suitable characteristics can be used to better match the sales person with the sales lead. As would be understood, the better the match between sales person and sales lead, the more likelihood there is that the sales person will complete the sale. The preferred embodiment also includes information on the potential purchaser. The information is stored in the sales leads database and includes information chosen from one or more of the following: age; sex; prior purchasing history; proposed product and/or service to be purchased; client ID number; residential and/or business address; state of residence; size of business or household; personal and/or business income, geographic location; demographics information and the like. It would be understood that any suitable purchaser information can be used to better distribute the sales lead to the sales person and the list herein should not be considered exhaustive. In the preferred embodiment, if the purchaser is a repeat purchaser the sales lead is distributed to the sales person that successfully concluded the prior purchase. Alternatively the sales lead is distributed to the sales person with highest proficiency in the product and/or service related to the sales lead or the sales person most likely to conclude a successful sale based on the characteristics of the sales person and the purchaser information. 4 Upon the successful or unsuccessful completion of the sales process the sales person provides feedback to the tracking database electronically. In this embodiment the feedback is provided online and includes information on whether or not a sale was successfully concluded and includes reasons for a successful or unsuccessful sale. In the preferred embodiment the sales persons is required to provide feedback within a predetermine deadline. In some embodiments action is taken if a sales person does not provide feedback. Such action could include a reduced, or no, sales leads are allocated to that sales person. In the preferred embodiment SMS is used to inform sales persons of upcoming deadlines. The preferred embodiment of the system also allows the sending of an SMS to the potential customer to "warm them up" before the call is made, or to thank them for their ongoing support or to notify them of the status of the interaction. The sending of an SMS, or in some embodiments an automated phone call, email or the like, can be done at a predetermined time in the sales cycle according to when the lead is allocated to the appropriate sales person. The sales activity, including appoint making skills and closing skills, is measured and is displayed to a user using a web based reporting interface. This ensures that all leads are tracked and that no lead is lost or missed. Reports can provide detailed status report and summary reports of leads within a given period. Reports can be emailed to predetermined staff members on a scheduled basis such as daily, weekly or as required. Any number of reports can be created and customised according to the requirements of the implementation. Referring to Figure 1 there is shown an exemplary overview of a system 101 according to the preferred embodiment of the invention. Sales leads or prospects from various campaigns are received by the system at 102. The matching engine, using the sales force characteristics determines which sales person to assign the sales lead too and the lead is distributed at 106 to one of the sales persons 107. The distribution is by sms 108 or email 109 or online through a web portal or web site. The sales person then engages the potential client and provides feedback at 110. The feedback including measurement and tracking information is then used in management reports. The feedback is also provide back to the matching engine and sales force characteristics database to update the distribution rules according to the outcome achieved. In this way the system learns and can better match the sales person to the lead for future leads. Figure 2 is an example of reporting that can be produced using the system of the preferred embodiment. This is one example of the type of report that can be generated using embodiments of the invention. In this report the status of the leads received are shown in a pie graph. Figure 3 is an example of a screen shot of a web portal which shows the current status of each sales lead received by the system. The web page shows the date the lead was distributed, the deadline for actioning the lead, the lead status, the sales person to which 5 the lead was distributed, customer details and a comments field. As would be understood any further information stored by the system could be shown on the web page. It would be clear from the above that the system provides a number of advantages including the following: * All leads that enter the system and routed by the system are tracked and activity on them measured. Therefore there are no lost leads or lost opportunities. * The systems automates the allocation of leads based on organisational rules. This ensures that leads are delivered timeously to sales persons. * Sales activity can be measured and therefore managed consistently with organisation rules. This includes giving managers the necessary information to manage their sales team effectively. * The system provides management reporting features that can be used to proactively manage sales effectiveness in terms of getting an appointment "phone ratio" and closing the sale "closing skills". These reports are automated and can also be pushed on a regular basis to the manager to summarise the leads allocated within their area and highlight the status and activity associated with each lead. * The system provides a means to measure, manage and achieve distribution channel and campaign efficiencies. This allows the corporation to determine the value of promotional spend on actual sales that are generated from each source. * Effective lead management assists in initial sales person training as well as promoted employee retention. * The system can be implemented as a hosted software solution. There are hundreds of available computer languages that may be used to implement embodiments of the invention, among the more common being Ada; Algol; APL; awk; Basic; C; C++; Cobol; Delphi; Eiffel; Euphoria; Forth; Fortran; HTML; Icon; Java; Javascript; Lisp; Logo; Mathematica; MatLab; Miranda; Modula-2; Oberon; Pascal; Perl; PL/I; Prolog; Python; Rexx; SAS; Scheme; sed; Simula; Smalltalk; Snobol; SQL; Visual Basic; Visual C++; and XML. Any commercial processor may be used to implement the embodiments of the invention either as a single processor, serial or parallel set of processors in the system. Examples of commercial processors include, but are not limited to MercedTM, PentiumTM, Pentium JITM, XeonTM, CeleronTM, Pentium ProTM, EfficeonTM, Athlon, AMD and the like. Display screens may be segment display screen, analogue display screens, digital display screens, CRTs, LED screens, Plasma screens, liquid crystal diode screens, and the like. 6 Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms. 7

Claims

1. A system for receiving and distributing sales leads, the system including: a lead storage database for receiving and storing data associated with sales leads; a characteristics database for storing a predetermined plurality of characteristics for each of a plurality of sales persons; a matching engine for determining which of the plurality of sales persons to assign each sales lead to, the determination being based at least in part on the plurality of characteristics.

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein, upon determination, the matching engine distributes each lead to the assigned sales person.

3. A system according to claim 2 wherein the distribution is done electronically via email; short message service (SMS); electronic voice message; facsimile or the like.

4. A system according to claim 3 wherein the matching engine makes the determination and distributes the lead automatically.

5. A system according to claim 4 wherein the system includes a tracking database for storing tracking information associated with the success or failure of each sales lead.

6. A system according to claim 5 wherein the tracking information is updated at the conclusion of each sales lead.

7. A system according to claim 6 wherein the tracking information is updated by the sales person to which the lead was distributed.

8. A system according to claim 7 wherein the characteristics database is updated for each sales person according to the tracking information after the conclusion of each sales lead.

9. A system according to claim 8 wherein the sales lead is distributed to the sales person who is most likely to achieve the sale based on the characteristics database.

10. A system according to claim 9 wherein the characteristics database includes information chosen from one or more of the following: age; sex; experience in role; experience in the company; business knowledge; product and/or service knowledge; product and/or service proficiency; ideal purchaser profile; historical sales statistics; location; sales style; sales success; and the like.

11. A system according to claim 10 wherein the sales leads database includes purchaser information on the potential purchaser. 8

12. A system according to claim 11 wherein the purchaser information includes information chosen from one or more of the following: age; sex; prior purchasing history; proposed product and/or service to be purchased; client ID number; residential and/or business address; state of residence; size of business or household; personal and/or business income and the like.

13. A system according to claim 12 wherein if the purchaser is a repeat purchaser the sales lead is distributed to the sales person that successfully concluded the prior purchase.

14. A system according to claim 13 wherein the sales lead is distributed to the sales person with highest proficiency in the product and/or service related to the sales lead.

15. A system according to claim 14 wherein the sales lead is distributed to the sales person most likely to conclude a successful sale based on the characteristics of the sales person and the purchaser information.

16. A system according to claim 15 wherein the sales person provides feedback to the tracking database electronically.

17. A system according to claim 16 wherein the feedback is provided online.

18. A system receiving and distributing sales leads substantially as herein described with reference to the attached drawings. 9