Filling up a shared venue may seem to be a challenge that needs to be addressed by adopting a viable plan on how to attract and retain new clients. Effective sales are determined by coherent sales strategies and techniques which help close deals and reach the desired revenue growth. But the task of turning prospects into long-term clients is a tough nut to crack. Defining your customers, having an effective sales pitch, applying storytelling, identifying your prospects’ needs, defining your competitive advantage, using referrals, and making a tour are only some of the sales strategies that can be helpful in improving product sales.

However, without methodology and analysis, you may learn that all your attempts at sales are futile especially if you apply those strategies chaotically. That’s when the sales pipeline comes in handy. A sales pipeline is a particular string of actions that need to be taken to convert a new lead into a customer.

Although specific case by case, a sales pipeline for a coworking space might include the following steps:

1) Connecting with a prospect

2) Setting up a tour of your space

3) Completing of the tour

4) Making a proposal

5) Sending a proposal

6) Closing the deal

The sales cycle mentioned here can be altered (expanded or shortened) depending on the complexity of your product. In this post, we will go over the points outlined above.

You can connect with potential clients through a variety of channels including social media, running Google AdWords or referrals campaigns or via an online platform that lists various coworking spaces. However, it should not escape your mind that seeing is believing and that some of the most effective leads can be built during an event that you organize at your coworking space.

Once a prospect shows interest in your venue, invite them for a tour. Make the best one you can. Ensure that everything is tip-top, from a friendly smile at the reception to the available facilities that look impeccable. While making a tour, engage your potential client in a brief conversation to find out what they look for in a place. This will help you identify their primary needs.

After the tour is over, make a tailor-made proposal based on the information you found out from your prospect emphasizing your strengths and the value-added services that your customer is looking for. If your prospect has any further questions, be quick to answer them.

Once an offer has been made, give your potential client some time to make a decision. Follow up on them if they don’t send any feedback regarding your commercial offer. If a client is eager to sign a service agreement with you, it is more convenient that you send them the contract and T&Cs via email before they come and sign the documents in person.

For effective sales, regularly create a pipeline report. It should show the number of deals in each of the steps at the moment when the report is done. Your sales team should also become aware of the length of each stage of the sales pipeline to predict which deals are likely to close soon and to identify those that have been stuck for a while.

To sum it up, thanks to a sales pipeline you can clearly define stages of your sales cycle, apply relevant strategies and techniques depending on a stage and create metrics that will provide you with valuable insights.