The main aim of any organisation is to generate revenue, make profits and build a sustainable business. For all of these elements to connect and move forward “Pipeline Management” plays a very crucial role. 

Pipeline Management is all about qualifying the right customer.

Now where do we pocket these potential customers from? Where are they present? How do we identify them? How do we increase leads? To make it simple, I would like to categorise these potential customers into two segments:

1. Existing Customers, and
2. New Customers  

How Do We Classify Opportunities With Existing Customers?

In this segment multiple leads can be generated by obtaining more sales from existing customers based on what they are buying. Cross sell at least another offering, add the next level offering, or show them the total portfolio with the highest productivity benefit.

I would like to put them in the below three categories:

Category 1 – Incremental Selling:  Customers buy the same product again and again every year with a higher wallet share. We can call them ‘active customers’. If you are not connecting with these customers at regular intervals, they will soon switch to the competition and become inactive for the existing brand.

Category 2 – Engagement Selling: Here customers like our product offering. They would like to take another product line offering that can benefit their organisation, provided we create value for them.  

Category 3 – High Engagement Selling:  The customer is confident about the brand and is satisfied with the support and service. They are receiving value from the product offerings and have high acceptance for cross selling. The customer wants to use the entire portfolio of solutions which the brand has to offer. The customer is unwilling to shift to the competition as they have built a strong relationship.

The split of business from the existing customer =  20% (Highly Engagement Customer) + 60% (Engagement Customer) + 20% (Active Customers) 

Sixty percent of revenue is generated from 20% of Highly Engaged Customers whose volumes are high. The remaining 40% of revenue is distributed between the engaged and active customers. 

You will always have to remember that there will be customers who will move out and do business with another brand, or they have challenges and may choose to close down their business, or the companies are cutting their costs.  It is expected that 20% will be the churn rate and could also include inactive customers.

To fill this gap of lost customers there must always be a continuously running New Customers Lead Generation Plan. In a year, business from Total Customers = 70% (Existing Customers) + 30% (New Customers) 

When Would Customers Look For A New Brand?

1. The customer is unhappy with the specific current brand due to a lack of proper service and response time, or due to an outdated product offering.

2. The customer does not have the right solution from the market that fits their organisation’s needs. The existing products are not able to solve their challenges and they are looking for innovative and upgraded solutions.

3. The customer is looking for a 360 degree offering, a portfolio of solutions, or multi-dimensional expertise. This way, the customer need not go to different vendors to seek solutions for their problems at different stages in that specific segment. 

If any of the above 3 criteria are identified and mapped for a new partnership – we will be able to solve the customer’s challenges, give the right solutions as per the organisation’s needs, and ensure that 360 degree valuation and support is created. In this situation, onboarding a new customer is high. 

Various Types Of Lead Generation To Be Initiated For Acquiring New Customers 

1. Right campaigning on social media 
2. Existing customer referral 
3. Active participation in industry events 
4. Understanding active influencers in the domain and aligning podcast and live interviews

My Views

With more than a decade of experience in sales, I have worked for many brands in different channels. These include – 1. Dealer Distribution Model 2. Dual Brand Model 3. Key Accounts / Strategic Account Model 4. Direct Customer Model.  

One common thread among all of them was strategizing a lead generation plan.

Strategizing your lead generation depends on a few factors: 

1. Have you established your brand over a period of time or are you new to the market?

2. How many new products do you innovate in a year?  How relevant are your products when it comes to your customer’s needs?

3. Are you a leader in your product offering with very less competition or with no competition? 

For New Brands – Lead generation from new customers is a mandate. The time taken from acquisition, right through the sales cycle, leading to qualification and revenue generation is quite high. 

For Established Brands – You have the liberty and the extra mile to generate leads from existing customers and bring in new customers. Strong planning and innovative strategies for these two areas is very important. Eighty percent of business should be from existing customers and 20% from new customers. 

If there are no new offerings or innovative solutions in your product basket, then existing customers will be inactive, and you must rely on new customers only. You cannot expect repeat business until and unless you have a strong relationship and price edge with the customer.

Examples Based On My Experience With Lead Generation Initiatives

The entire experience of working with two extreme sides of different brands helped me understand the value of lead generation for existing customers. It also taught me the importance of developing existing customers by understanding their wallet share, business opportunity, their growth opportunities and their vision to evolve as a brand.