There are many highs and frequent lows. Constant pressure to reach sales targets, customer and prospects that are more demanding, and changes in the marketplace all make sales a tough career.
If you are serious about maintaining a long-term career in sales, here are 14 things you should never stop doing. If by chance, you haven’t started doing some of these, I suggest that you do start…the sooner, the better.
1. Prospect.
If you do nothing else but prospect for new business every day the chances are you will always be busy and seldom, if ever, experience peaks and valleys in your sales.
2. Improve your skill.
Professionals in many industries require regular upgrading up skills. Selling is no different. The marketplace has changed and what worked five years ago is no longer relevant. Make the time and invest in regular self-improvement programs (workshops, conferences, books, audio programs, etc).
3. Listen more than you talk.
People who listen more, learn more. The more you learn the more effectively you can position your solution or offering. Enough said.
4. Establish clear call objectives.
Whether it’s a face-to-face meeting or telephone call, you need to have a clear objective of what you want to accomplish. Closing the sale is NOT an objective.
5. Create plans (yearly, quarterly, monthly and weekly).
I know very few sales people who actually create a business plan for the entire year. What sales do you want to achieve? How will you reach those targets? What daily, weekly and monthly activities do you need to execute to achieve your goals?
6. Study your products.
How much time do you spend studying and learning your products? Do you know the key differences between similar products? Do you know how each product will actually benefit a customer?
7. Network.
Effective sales networking means attending the events that your key prospects attend, not the events you enjoy going to. A friend of mine deals with high-ranking executives so he attends high-profile fundraising dinners. The cost of entry can be expensive but the return can be excellent.
8. Ask awesome questions.
I’ve mentioned this…more than once! But the ability to ask great questions, tough probing questions…penetrating questions, is one of the most effective ways to increase your sales.
9. Deliver great presentations.
Don’t confuse this with the ability to stand up in front of several hundred people and deliver a keynote presentation. The key to delivering a great sales presentation is ensuring that it addresses your prospect’s key issues and that it focuses on their needs and objectives, not your agenda.
10. Adapt your approach.
Do you ever consider the personality style of the other person when planning your sales presentation? Do you know if your prospect prefers correspondence via email, texting, face-to-face or telephone? Is your prospect a 35,000 foot view person or do they like to know every detail? Adapt your approach accordingly and you will increase your sales.
11. Set high goals.
People with the highest goals tend to achieve more. Are your goals challenging and motivating? Do you even set your own goals or do you simply take what’s given to you by your boss?
12. Be persistent.
Four or five years ago it would take an average of seven calls to connect with a new prospect. Now it’s a safe bet to say that it can take as many as twelve or more, just to make that first contact. You need to be diligent and persistence.
13. Forge relationships.
Developing and maintaining great relationships with prospects, customers, friends and other people in your network is one activity that will ALWAYS pay off.
14. Show respect.
I have seen, firsthand, how poorly some sales people treat gatekeepers and receptionists and it always disappoints me because I am a firm believer in treating people with respect and dignity. Yes, that person may only be the receptionist in your eyes but they often hold the key to the Presidential Suite. Treat them accordingly.
What do you think? Are there other things that sales people need to keep doing that aren’t on this list?
Does your team need some brushing up on these activities? Maybe I can help. Contact me and we can discuss the best way to achieve this.
Several years ago Billy Bob Thornton played a high school football coach in the movie, Friday Night Lights. During the final game of the season he tells his players to be perfect. He didn’t mean that every play needed to be executed flawlessly or that mistakes were unacceptable. Instead, he expected that each player could look his teammates in the eye and be able to say that they played their best.
This concept is very relevant to selling.
If you want to achieve long term success in sales you need to give 100 percent in EVERY sales call, presentation, or meeting you have with clients and prospects. If you deliver anything less, you are not being perfect and you are missing valuable opportunities to make more sales and grow your business.
Before any sales interaction, I urge you to think of what you need to do to be perfect.
What research should you conduct before you call that new prospect?
Is your voice mail message or prospecting email on target and designed to capture their attention?
What preparation do you need to do before you meet with them?
What questions should you ask that will help you gain a better understanding of their current state of affairs?
Do you need to practice your presentation to ensure that you can deliver it flawlessly?
What can you do to stand out from your competition?
It is highly unlikely that you will ever execute a perfect sales call—I don’t think there is such a thing.
However, if you strive for that perfection, you will boost your performance and improve your ability to increase your sales.
In Case You Didn’t Know…
I help sales people master sales conversations so they can win more business and increase their sales. If you’re planning a sales meeting, conference or event and need an engaging & informative speaker, call me at: 905-633-7750 or Kelley@Fearless-Selling.ca. Here’s a video clip of a live presentation: http://bit.ly/ef5P5l
A few weeks ago I read a blog post by Jim Keenan that focused on making requests. Too many sales people don’t ask for the things they need or that could help them increase their sales and grow their business.
Here are a few situations that sales (and business) people need to be prepared to ask.
1. Ask for help.
First and foremost, if you need help it is essential that you ask. Ask the top sales person in your company for ideas, advice and feedback. Ask your boss for coaching or direction. Ask people in your network for insights and suggestions to improve your results.
2. Ask for the appointment.
Too many people beat around the bush and don’t ask a new prospect for an appointment. This strategy can result in more meetings which will lead to more sales. Try asking, “Does it make sense for us to meet?”
3. Ask more high-value questions.
After 15 years of training sales people, I have found that the majority simply don’t ask enough high-value questions. High-value questions force your prospect or customer to think and will give you insight to their current situation, problems and desired outcomes. It sounds simple but more people feel uncomfortable asking these types of questions because they think they are too probing and they feel that their prospect will be offended.
4. Ask for clarification.
When someone says something that is vague or unspecific, seek clarification. Ask, “Can you elaborate on that?” or “Tell me more” or “What do you mean by that?”
5. Ask for commitment.
When a prospect or customer says, “Call me next week” pursue that statement by asking, “What day should I call?” If they say, “Anytime is fine” ask, “Does next Tuesday work?” Then ask what time is the best to connect with them. If they respond with, “Anytime is good” ask, “Is mid-morning at 10:15 a good time?”
6. Ask them to schedule the call in their calendar.
Once they agree to a specific day and time, ask them to place that call in their calendar and follow up by sending them an Outlook (or other time management system) appointment.
7. Ask for the sale.
Many deals have been lost because the sale person did not want to ask for the sale so after every sales presentation, sales call, or meeting, make sure you ask for the sale. It’s as simple as asking, “May I have your business?”
8. Ask for a referral.
Whether you get the deal or not, you should ask you contact if they would be willing to refer you to someone in their network. It helps when you can clearly describe your ideal client.
9. Ask for a testimonial.
When you have completed your work with that client, ask them for a testimonial. Video testimonials work best followed by an audio recording. At the very least, get a written endorsement of your work.
10. Ask why a prospect does not want to do business with you.
If someone does not choose you as their vendor ask, “I’m always looking to improve. May I ask what influenced your decision?”
11. Ask what concerns they have.
Most sales people I have worked with hesitate to ask this because they don’t want to know if their prospect has any concerns. However, my perspective is that you need to know this upfront so an unexpected objection doesn’t derail your efforts.
12. Ask who else may be involved in the decision.
You can easily phrase this by asking, “Who else will you need to discuss this with?” or “Who else do you consult with on decisions of this nature?” When they tell you, ask, “Can we set up a day/time to collectively talk about this?”
Summon up the courage and start asking. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
What do you think? Do you have others to add?
About Kelley Robertson
Kelley helps sales people master sales conversations so they can win more business and increase their sales. If you’re planning a sales meeting, conference or event and need an engaging & informative speaker, call him at: 905-633-7750 or Kelley@Fearless-Selling.ca. Here’s a quick video of a partial presentation: http://bit.ly/ef5P5l
If you have been in sales for any length of time you have probably read literature (books, articles or blogs) or attended some type of sales training program (face-to-face, telephone or webinar). This means you know the importance of asking questions. But, how often do your prospects or customers say, “That’s a good question?” If you seldom or never hear that phrase, you probably need to improve the quality of your questions because high value, thought-provoking questions force your prospects to think.
Picture yourself on the receiving end of a sales conversation. What question(s) would cause you to sit up and pay attention to the salesperson? What questions would actually force you to think about your response? Those are the types of questions you need to start asking.
If you’re uncertain what questions would prompt this comment, ask a few of your best customers. Tell them your objective and find out what questions they would like other sales people to ask. A key is that they need to be high-level, 30,000 foot view, strategic and tough. Senior executives love to sink their teeth into a good challenge and tough questions achieve that.
When someone says, “That’s a good question” make note of that question and use it again with other prospects.
