For many Business Owners there is a blur between Marketing and Sales, and in Sales the plan and focus is just “sell more”. Looking at results, many Business Owners will then recognize the highly erratic and volatile sales trends month to month.
But let’s be real— the “sell more” mindset doesn’t always lead to success. It’s too broad, vague, and fails to drive real progress. What is required and often desired is reliability and consistency in sales, and that is going to take something more.
1. Aim to solve pain points:
Develop a deeper understanding of your customers problems and challenges. Knowledge is power. A great place to start is asking more questions of your existing customers.
2. Focus on how to solve their problem:
Shift your focus away from selling your features and benefits. Increase your focus on explaining and showing how your product or service solves their problem
3. Keep your sales strategy one step ahead of your competition:
After big wins or years of relative success, you may be tempted to take a break, slow down, and relish your accomplishments. But always remember, your competition is right behind you – so don’t get complacent.
Always look for ways to improve your sales techniques and sales processes and to grow your personal sales performance.
4. Create a sales plan that identifies specific actions:
Assuming that you have a Sales Strategy, you then need to put a plan in place, that outlines the specific actions, tasks and activities that need to take place.
These might be things like:
- calls per day
- sales assets to create
- communication steps
- cadence for proposals and sales prospects.
Your plans allows you to track progress, and focus your attention.
5. Practice the basics of “how to sell” :
We all have weaknesses, and we all have room for improvement. Decide to improve your sales skills and set goals that force you to begin doing things you don’t like to do.
Overcoming these obstacles can help you find new creative ways to prospect, fact-find, and present, and will ensure you master the basics of selling from every angle.
6. Always sell with purpose:
Take every step with meaning and intent. Be clear about the purpose of every step in your sales process.
Ask: how does this help to move the customer to a good buying decision. How will you guide them to saying yes?
7. Know your Conversion numbers:
Know your sales target but also know your conversion numbers. The sale is the output. The inputs [the work] is how many contacts, leads, conversations, and quotes do you need to create a sale.
8. Leverage sales technology:
Getting on top of your sales pipeline can easily get complicated and overwhelming. Technology rarely wins deals. You need tech that makes you faster, smarter, more effective, more efficient. You’re not looking for software to do your job for you. You want technology that will help you be the best salesperson you can be.
9. Know your audience:
Thoroughly research and learn about your audience to the point that you truly know them. The more information you have, the more opportunities there are for you to relate to your clients and provide experiences they really appreciate.
10. Know your product:
Knowing your product goes far deeper than the specifications, price, and functions it performs. Knowing too much can actually become a problem. Focus on knowing more about how customers use your product or service.
11. Be an active listener
Active listening is a technique that keeps both people engaged in the conversation, even if only one is speaking. Active listening will change the nature of your conversations with your customers, allowing them to lead you to a place where you can close more deals.
12. Quality over quantity:
Chasing unqualified leads can be a huge time commitment that results in only a small return in actual sales. While it can feel like it’s your duty to pursue every lead, no matter how small, it’s not a good business practice. Properly qualified leads may be fewer in numbers, but they will provide larger and more consistent revenue to your company in the long run.
You are not alone:
I’ve never come across a Business Owner who does not want or in fact NEED more sales. Invariably achieving that is very elusive, so, you are not alone. Improving your sales skills, processes and systems and trying to do this alone can be intimidating and overwhelming.
We work with our clients on Sales Optimisation, and the very specific goal is to increase and improve sales through building skills and supporting this with better processes and systems. Improving sales conversion, creating stability and consistency.
We achieve better sales through the process of highly focussed weekly sessions where we train, coach, and help put in place those essential processes and systems. Systematically building a sales engine. Custom built to your purpose.
NEVER GIVE UP!
If you desire for sales success then your mind-set needs to be “never give up!”
Becoming discouraged and tired is common in sales and it can happen after only a few bad calls or meetings.
Never giving up is crucial to success. You cannot let a few bad experiences determine your skills and value as a salesperson.
Are you open to an informal, no obligation chat to find out how this might benefit you?