What is ANUM & How Can Chatbots Leverage This?

Stefan van der VlagBest Practice, Guides & Resources, Qualifying Leads

The ANUM Lead Qualification Framework
8 MIN READ

When it comes to adopting sales frameworks, the ANUM strategy has gained considerable traction in recent years. And yet, few business owners or salespeople seem to know what ANUM is or how to put it in their company. That’s why we’ve written this post to provide a comprehensive definition of what ANUM is. We’re going to highlight the individual meanings of each principle within the strategy. But, not only that! We highlight the significant ways in which this strategy can be followed by effectively using a chatbot. That way, you’ll be able to directly implement ANUM as a sales strategy in your business today.

ANUM: What Does It Mean?

ANUM is one of several different sales frameworks that serve as a method that can be used to generate leads for a business. Some other popular frameworks like ANUM are BANT and FAINT, but they all work slightly differently.

THE ANUM LEAD QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORK EXPLAINED

THE ANUM LEAD QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORK EXPLAINED

ANUM Refers To The Following When Defined:

The ANUM framework works as an acronym with each core principle defined as follows.

  • A – Authority. This refers to the investigation of whether the person you’re negotiating with has the authority to purchase.
  • N – Need. This refers to the specific needs and requirements of the individual or business you are negotiating with. And how this relates to your product or service.
  • U – Urgency. Referring to how urgent the need is for your product is to the individual or business you’re negotiating with.
  • M – Money. This applies to whether the person or company you’re dealing with can afford to buy what you’re selling.

Now that you know the basic definition of ANUM’s 4 fundamental principles, we’re going to go into greater detail on each and how they are implemented.

What Exactly is the ANUM Lead Qualification Framework?

ANUM is unique in that the sales framework priorities authority in negotiations. Other frameworks like BAN and FAINT focus on the financial status of a person before going into the authority they hold over the sale. Because of this, ANUM as a framework is communicated to the purchaser as a less financially-minded sales model. This can be helpful for businesses, as it makes the transaction itself feel less about the money and more about what’s being offered.

Cool, right? Let’s dive in a bit deeper into ANUM:

A – Authority

ANUM as a framework is communicated to the lead as a less financially-minded sales model. But, regardless of the lessening in the importance of money… ANUM acknowledges that authority remains of vital importance. You need to know who you’re dealing with before you go into a detailed sales strategy. Like with other frameworks… If you’re talking to a customer service employee… you’ll need to put you in touch with someone with higher authority. If you’re talking to the CEO, you know you’re already talking to the right person. When this is the case, you can focus all your energy on making the sale. As seen by these two examples, establishing authority early can help shape the entire sales process.

N – Need

After establishing the authority of who you’re selling to, ANUM dictates that you need to learn their needs next. This is an essential part of sales, as you need to figure out what you’re selling fits with what they want to buy. Think about how your product or service is perfect for their needs. For instance, if they’ve said they’re looking at a service that will generate more leads for them… you can focus on how your service does that. If instead, they have all the leads they need but are looking to start a new marketing campaign… you can adjust your pitch accordingly with a sales negotiation its all about finding out what the customer wants first. This is why ANUM places need so early in the process.

U – Urgency

The next logical step in the ANUM framework is urgency. In a sense, you need to find out how desperate your potential buyer is for your offer. Another unique aspect of ANUM is that this phase comes before you know anything financial about the buyer. Because of this, you can influence the last stage, Money, based on the information you receive in the Urgency stage. You can upsell a more advanced version if a company is in greater need of your product. If they’re less in need, then you can offer the basic package or look at any discounts that might persuade them. Regardless of how it affects the Money stage, Urgency is an essential part of the framework in its own right. It can affect how quickly you can timescale a sale and provide something to build off in future negotiations.

M – Money

The final Money stage of ANUM is relatively self-explanatory. But as we’ve said above… it is unique that ANUM only acknowledges the Money side of the sales process at the end of negotiations. In the Money stage, you need to establish whether the purchaser can afford what you’re selling them. As well as this, you can determine whether they can afford more than what you’re offering, and adapt accordingly. If they can afford it, this is where you can work to close the sale altogether, in turn fully generating a sales lead now and hopefully again in the future. ANUM makes the complex issue of talking money a far more natural part of the process.

Why ANUM Works

ANUM works well for businesses, thanks to this de-emphasized approach to money. It can be tough to start a sales pitch with cash. Because starting with money puts the cost of your product or service at the forefront of the buyer’s mind. If payment is only discussed later, you already had a chance to explain the many ways in which your product or service is perfect for them. And as a result, they will hopefully already be sold on what you’re offering! Making the actual cost more of a final formality than a driving point in the sale.

ANUM still priorities the Authority of the buyer to make sure you can close a sale in the first place. This can help a great deal in filtering potential sales. As well as for deciding what sales to focus on both now and when projecting future growth. Time-management is vital to sales, particularly in larger companies. You need to know that the deal you’re working on is worth the time you’re putting into it. If you haven’t assessed the Authority of the individual you’re talking to first, there’s no way of effectively doing that.

By prioritizing the Need stage, ANUM allows you to let your product or service speak for itself. This can be brilliant for businesses selling something with a lot of different USPs! As these can be the crux of a sales negotiation.

How An Effective Chatbot Can Adopt the ANUM Sales Framework

A fundamental way in which businesses can adopt ANUM in their operations is through the use of an effective chatbot. A bot can be suitably personalized and programmed to respond to users based on the framework. This means that the question of authority can be asked early on in discussion by an automated system. Not only that, but an adequately programmed bot can also go one step further. Because it can figure out the Need of the person, it’s communicating with. This can be through leading questions that you’ve set out in a “programming phase”.

The bot can then link to the right pages, I.E., product pages to show how your product or service meets the user’s needs. At this point in the framework, a chatbot can also notify your sales team of this user. Your team can get a signal, a message if you will, containing how much authority the person has and what their needs are. If required, the chatbot can find urgency by asking how soon the user needs a solution. And while the bot is communicating, your sales team can do more research. This allows them to get a headstart on the Money phase of the framework. This way, they are fully informed to negotiate the right price or service offering for the buyer ahead of time.

Getting a chatbot included in this process is a smart way. Not only is this a quicker and more efficient way of planning out the framework… it also saves both time and money in regards to your sales team. With the right bot, the whole process can be customized to ensure it meets your specific business needs.

Where Can I Find a Chatbot That Can Use the ANUM Sales Framework?

Now that you know what ANUM is… and what the benefits of using a bot are… you’re probably wondering where to find this chatbot.

We’re pleased to let you know that you’re already in the right place! Clepher can provide you with a smart, yet customizable chatbot. All geared towards capturing leads and engaging with customers. Not only that, but this customizability doesn’t need any knowledge of coding! If you’re interested in finding out more about how a bot created with Clepher can help your business grow… make sure to sign up and get started today!

Time to Use ANUM to Improve Sales (Through Chatbots)

If you got to this point in the article, you already know you need to improve your sales. At the very least, you know you want to improve them. And with a lead qualification framework like ANUM, you can do just that. You’re no longer asking, “What is ANUM?” you should now be asking, “how can a chatbot system help me implement ANUM?” 

Here at Clever, it’s precisely one of the things we do best… Creating DFY Systems that make your business thrive.

Here’s what to expect: 

We’ve created a Lead Qualification ANUM Flow for you—Respectively Lead Qualification ANUM Flow #1.

Lead Qualification ANUM Flow: 

THE ANUM LEAD QUALIFICATION FLOW IN CLEPHER

THE ANUM LEAD QUALIFICATION FLOW IN CLEPHER

>> Demo the ANUM Lead Qualification Flow here! <<

Here’s how to install this ANUM Flow on your Chatbot:

  • Get access to Clepher (if you didn’t already)
  • Log in to Clepher.
  • Navigate to your desired page
  • Hover over the Automation Tab and click “Flows”.
  • Then, click on “Create New”. Give your Flow a name and Select the Type Promotional.
    • You’re redirected to the Composer.
  • A Window Pops-up asking if you would like to Import a Flow, Click “Import a Flow”.
    • If you want to Import a Flow in an existing Flow, click the 3 dots in the right upper corner.
  • A new Pop-up appears
    • The drop-down contains all your Flows you’ve cross pages, but also contains Premium Flows
  • Search for “Lead Qualification ANUM”, or “ANUM”, and it should show the Flow!
  • Click on Premium – Lead Qualification ANUM Flow #1 to import the Flow!

ANUM Chatbot Pro Tips:

Pro Tip #1: Add your third-party tool card at the end to siphon the data to your CRM. You can also use Zapier or Webhook Cards. Or coming Google Sheets integration to add data to a spreadsheet. This way, you get an excellent overview of your leads.

Pro Tip #2: Be creative with your questions. The questions inside the Flow are there for demonstration purposes only. There are other questions you can ask to get to the answer you want. Also, make sure you customize the Flow, so it speaks on behalf of your brand. Mucho Importante!

Pro Tip #3: When it comes to chatbots on Messenger, if you can skip specific questions, create a path of lesser resistance… it’s definitely recommended to do so. If you’re using a targeting system as comprehensive as FB Ads targeting system… you can get away by not asking specific questions. For example, with the incredibly accurate audience demographics FB allows you to tap into… do you really need to ask the Budget question? Because you can ensure your ads are only seen by certain business owners with certain sized businesses! In some cases, you can also target decision-makers… Which helps you get rid of another question. In that case, simply remove the questions from the Flow, and you’re good to go.

In Conclusion

You can sign up for a Clepher account here. See how we can help you create a simple follow-up system to narrow your field of cold leads. And then use your messages to turn these cold leads into warm prospects ready to buy your product or service. The future is yours!


Click Here to Discover how to use ANUM with Facebook Messenger Chatbots

 

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