So often I meet salespeople who, in conversation, indicate that they would like improve their sales results by closing more sales. When I discuss their practices and techniques and offer some simple suggestions for improvement they resist - not even prepared to put them to the test.
('I couldn't do that'; 'That's not me'; 'I do it my way' are responses I hear frequently.)
It's natural for us as human beings to resist change and stick to the comfortable but it holds us back.
In my opinion it is the # 1 impediment to improving sales results.
Be open to suggestions and be prepared to put them to the test. Not everything will work for everyone but you owe it to yourself (if no-one else) to give new/different techniques a genuine, enthusiastic try.
Let's face it, if we hadn't been prepared to try another way we would still be creating fire by rubbing two sticks together.
(The up-coming post for Monday 2/2 is There are no magic words! It's a reminder that there are no shortcuts to sales success.)
Friday, January 30, 2015
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Four sales traps to avoid
The Sales Rep said to the Boss “Hey Boss, that sales idea you gave me last week worked a treat, can you give me another one”. The Boss thought for a second and replied “No, just keep on using the one I gave you”.
This wry anecdote illustrates just one of the traps salespeople can fall in to from time to time – in their eagerness to get to the next sale they make the mistake of seeking the new and exciting and not continuing to use already-known practices that work. They are lured away from the tried and true and, through carelessness, risk establishing poor practices rather than good ones.
Here are four examples of poor practices that can become established if salespeople become careless -
Failing to keep Activity records
Activity records are the Match Stats of the sales game. They must be maintained fastidiously; this means, as a minimum, counting the number of sales calls made (or received), the number of Sales Discussions held, the number of sales made, their value and their contribution to profit. This information needs to be recorded on a spreadsheet.
Only by doing this will you be able to easily and accurately calculate the key ratios within your sales process. This information is priceless when it comes to trouble-shooting in lean times or when planning for the future. You must have the means of calculating how much work needs to be done to achieve the goals you set for yourself and your business (or to get yourself out of trouble).
Failing to plan the next Action after every sales call
Too many sales opportunities slip through the cracks because of the lack of timely and appropriate follow-up. After each sales call two questions need to be asked in respect of the customer just spoken to. The first question is “What is the next step to be taken with that customer?” the second question is “When is the best time for that step to be taken?” The answers to these questions need to be recorded within your business’s CRM system in such a way that the customers requiring action on a particular day can be identified easily and, if necessary, a hard-copy list produced for sales action and supervision purposes. Your CRM software may need some tweaking to provide this.
Thinking that the key to the sale is in the Product (or Service) that you sell
The key to the sale is in the mind of the customer. Hopefully, a prospective customer has needs and wants that the benefits provided by your product (or service) can satisfy – if not, you don’t have a prospective customer at all. It is the salesperson’s job to get to understand the customer; the salesperson can do this only by asking relevant information-seeking questions in a conversational way. These information-seeking questions need to be structured so as to uncover the customer’s needs and wants. They also need to be well rehearsed so the salesperson doesn’t have to ‘wing it’ and can concentrate on understanding the customer's answers. When the customer’s needs and wants have been identified and understood by the salesperson it is much easier for an appropriate sale to be made in a professional manner.
Forgetting that customers are people first and customers second
We all prefer to do business with people we like. If we want people to like us we must be likeable. This means that, in your relationship with your customers, you must look for the person in the customer and deal with that person on a personal level. This is an attitude that must permeate your business from top to bottom. It requires speaking to customers by name, it means saying “Please” and “Thank You”, it means talking ‘with them’ not ‘at them’. This approach requires a little extra time and a little extra care but the rewards in the long run can be substantial. Remember - good people skills ‘cost’ a little more than poor ones but they make a lot more sales.
(The up-coming post for Friday 30/1 is Nothing changes if nothing changes. It's about the folly of expecting to achieve different results while continuing to do things in the same old way.)
This wry anecdote illustrates just one of the traps salespeople can fall in to from time to time – in their eagerness to get to the next sale they make the mistake of seeking the new and exciting and not continuing to use already-known practices that work. They are lured away from the tried and true and, through carelessness, risk establishing poor practices rather than good ones.
Here are four examples of poor practices that can become established if salespeople become careless -
Failing to keep Activity records
Activity records are the Match Stats of the sales game. They must be maintained fastidiously; this means, as a minimum, counting the number of sales calls made (or received), the number of Sales Discussions held, the number of sales made, their value and their contribution to profit. This information needs to be recorded on a spreadsheet.
Only by doing this will you be able to easily and accurately calculate the key ratios within your sales process. This information is priceless when it comes to trouble-shooting in lean times or when planning for the future. You must have the means of calculating how much work needs to be done to achieve the goals you set for yourself and your business (or to get yourself out of trouble).
Failing to plan the next Action after every sales call
Too many sales opportunities slip through the cracks because of the lack of timely and appropriate follow-up. After each sales call two questions need to be asked in respect of the customer just spoken to. The first question is “What is the next step to be taken with that customer?” the second question is “When is the best time for that step to be taken?” The answers to these questions need to be recorded within your business’s CRM system in such a way that the customers requiring action on a particular day can be identified easily and, if necessary, a hard-copy list produced for sales action and supervision purposes. Your CRM software may need some tweaking to provide this.
Thinking that the key to the sale is in the Product (or Service) that you sell
The key to the sale is in the mind of the customer. Hopefully, a prospective customer has needs and wants that the benefits provided by your product (or service) can satisfy – if not, you don’t have a prospective customer at all. It is the salesperson’s job to get to understand the customer; the salesperson can do this only by asking relevant information-seeking questions in a conversational way. These information-seeking questions need to be structured so as to uncover the customer’s needs and wants. They also need to be well rehearsed so the salesperson doesn’t have to ‘wing it’ and can concentrate on understanding the customer's answers. When the customer’s needs and wants have been identified and understood by the salesperson it is much easier for an appropriate sale to be made in a professional manner.
Forgetting that customers are people first and customers second
We all prefer to do business with people we like. If we want people to like us we must be likeable. This means that, in your relationship with your customers, you must look for the person in the customer and deal with that person on a personal level. This is an attitude that must permeate your business from top to bottom. It requires speaking to customers by name, it means saying “Please” and “Thank You”, it means talking ‘with them’ not ‘at them’. This approach requires a little extra time and a little extra care but the rewards in the long run can be substantial. Remember - good people skills ‘cost’ a little more than poor ones but they make a lot more sales.
(The up-coming post for Friday 30/1 is Nothing changes if nothing changes. It's about the folly of expecting to achieve different results while continuing to do things in the same old way.)
Monday, January 26, 2015
About WIIFM
WIIFM stands for What’s In It For Me? That’s another question all your customers will be asking when they are involved in a sales discussion with you. They may not utter the words but you can be certain that the question is in their minds. Be sure, therefore, that you answer the question - using their language and not yours.
If you do a good enough job of answering the WIIFM question they will buy from you - no question!
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 28/1 is Four sales traps to avoid. It's about four important points that some salespeople overlook - contributing to lost sales.)
If you do a good enough job of answering the WIIFM question they will buy from you - no question!
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 28/1 is Four sales traps to avoid. It's about four important points that some salespeople overlook - contributing to lost sales.)
Friday, January 23, 2015
Planning with FOCUS
Many business people who acknowledge the value of planning, especially sales and marketing planning, still don’t get around to doing the planning they know they should do. Among the many reasons for this are lack of know-how and concerns about the amount of time and/or money that may need to be invested.
Here is a simple five-step process that will help you focus on your sales and marketing planning for the up-coming quarter and get it under control. (The acronym FOCUS will help you keep things in order.)
Step 1 - Find out the facts. Take stock of your current situation. You need to look at the key 80/20 relationships in your business in respect of your sales staff, your customers, your suppliers, your sales volumes and each product’s contribution to profit. Your customers need to be categorised and you need to do a SWOT analysis of your sales and marketing function. Other questions that need to be answered include “What markets are being targeted?” “What results have emerged from previous sales promotion activities? eg telemarketing, face-to-face calls, your website, any directories you may use, newspaper advertising, direct mail campaigns, flyer campaigns etc”
The activities and strategies of your competitors need to be analysed. An audit of your staff’s sales skills and activity levels needs to be conducted.
In addition, your business’s Positive Points of Difference need to be confirmed.
Step 2 - Outline your sales and marketing goals. When doing this it may be helpful to think of your goals as forming a pyramid-shaped hierarchy. At the top is your Primary goal for next quarter (“If you could achieve only one goal what would that goal be?”). At the next level down are the second-level goals, the achievement of which will lead to the achievement of the Primary goal. At the next level again are the third-level goals the achievement of which will lead to the achievement of the second-level goals.
While doing this also ask the questions like “Do we need new products in our range? If so, which products?” “Do we need to move to new markets? If so, which markets?” “Do we need to develop new strategies?’
Put your goals in writing, be specific, use numbers and dates to make them measurable; make sure that they are stretching but realistic.
Step 3 - Choose your ‘ways and means’. Do some brainstorming and generate a list of all the potential ways and means available that may assist you to achieve your goals.
When the brainstorming is complete select the most promising ways and means and organise them into written Action Plans.
Don’t throw out your rejected ideas just yet; you may need to use them later if things don’t work out as planned.
Step 4 - Unify your team in support. Enlist the support of both your formal team and your informal team. The membership of your formal team is fairly obvious and comprises business partners, shareholders and your employees. Your informal team may include members of your family. It may also include your landlord, banker, accountant, business mentor and other professional advisers as well as key suppliers and customers.
Your objective is to share ownership of your plans in order to enlist the support of your key team members. Ask your team for their comments and give them a genuine opportunity to offer their ideas for improvement. Be sure to listen carefully to their suggestions and incorporate their good ideas, giving credit where credit is due.
Step 5 - Systemise and supervise; make sure that you and your people adopt the goals and plans that you have set and agreed – be absolutely systematic in your approach and be prepared to ‘inspect what you expect’ in order to achieve your goals.
As you do this your resolve to improve the results of your business may be tested. There are reasons for this. Sales and marketing is more art than science. Therefore, things do not always happen in a nice predictable way. As a result you must be prepared for some ‘trial and error’ learning. This means maintaining your commitment to success even if, initially, things do not work out as planned.
Remember also that human beings tend to resist change. This means that, because you are changing things, you can expect resistance. You may even feel some resistance within yourself. The remedy is patient, persistent, positive supervision of your team (and yourself). Hang in there! Eventually, good things will start to happen and the results you want will start to emerge.
When good things start to happen remember to give feedback to your team and celebrate your victories with them. They’ll be excited and want to continue with their support.
(The up-coming post for Monday 26/1 is About WIIFM. It's about a key question that customers want answered.)
Here is a simple five-step process that will help you focus on your sales and marketing planning for the up-coming quarter and get it under control. (The acronym FOCUS will help you keep things in order.)
Step 1 - Find out the facts. Take stock of your current situation. You need to look at the key 80/20 relationships in your business in respect of your sales staff, your customers, your suppliers, your sales volumes and each product’s contribution to profit. Your customers need to be categorised and you need to do a SWOT analysis of your sales and marketing function. Other questions that need to be answered include “What markets are being targeted?” “What results have emerged from previous sales promotion activities? eg telemarketing, face-to-face calls, your website, any directories you may use, newspaper advertising, direct mail campaigns, flyer campaigns etc”
The activities and strategies of your competitors need to be analysed. An audit of your staff’s sales skills and activity levels needs to be conducted.
In addition, your business’s Positive Points of Difference need to be confirmed.
Step 2 - Outline your sales and marketing goals. When doing this it may be helpful to think of your goals as forming a pyramid-shaped hierarchy. At the top is your Primary goal for next quarter (“If you could achieve only one goal what would that goal be?”). At the next level down are the second-level goals, the achievement of which will lead to the achievement of the Primary goal. At the next level again are the third-level goals the achievement of which will lead to the achievement of the second-level goals.
While doing this also ask the questions like “Do we need new products in our range? If so, which products?” “Do we need to move to new markets? If so, which markets?” “Do we need to develop new strategies?’
Put your goals in writing, be specific, use numbers and dates to make them measurable; make sure that they are stretching but realistic.
Step 3 - Choose your ‘ways and means’. Do some brainstorming and generate a list of all the potential ways and means available that may assist you to achieve your goals.
When the brainstorming is complete select the most promising ways and means and organise them into written Action Plans.
Don’t throw out your rejected ideas just yet; you may need to use them later if things don’t work out as planned.
Step 4 - Unify your team in support. Enlist the support of both your formal team and your informal team. The membership of your formal team is fairly obvious and comprises business partners, shareholders and your employees. Your informal team may include members of your family. It may also include your landlord, banker, accountant, business mentor and other professional advisers as well as key suppliers and customers.
Your objective is to share ownership of your plans in order to enlist the support of your key team members. Ask your team for their comments and give them a genuine opportunity to offer their ideas for improvement. Be sure to listen carefully to their suggestions and incorporate their good ideas, giving credit where credit is due.
Step 5 - Systemise and supervise; make sure that you and your people adopt the goals and plans that you have set and agreed – be absolutely systematic in your approach and be prepared to ‘inspect what you expect’ in order to achieve your goals.
As you do this your resolve to improve the results of your business may be tested. There are reasons for this. Sales and marketing is more art than science. Therefore, things do not always happen in a nice predictable way. As a result you must be prepared for some ‘trial and error’ learning. This means maintaining your commitment to success even if, initially, things do not work out as planned.
Remember also that human beings tend to resist change. This means that, because you are changing things, you can expect resistance. You may even feel some resistance within yourself. The remedy is patient, persistent, positive supervision of your team (and yourself). Hang in there! Eventually, good things will start to happen and the results you want will start to emerge.
When good things start to happen remember to give feedback to your team and celebrate your victories with them. They’ll be excited and want to continue with their support.
(The up-coming post for Monday 26/1 is About WIIFM. It's about a key question that customers want answered.)
Monday, January 19, 2015
The 80/20 rule and time
The 80/20 Rule applies in many areas of business and certainly in the area of time management for sales people.
Generally 20% of your time (let’s call it A class time) will lead you to 80% of your results. The other 80 % of your time (let’s call it B class time) will lead you to 20% of your results. Be sure therefore not to get your A class time mixed up with your B class time. Make sure that you spend your A class time on A class activities.
The best way to do this is to use some simple time management techniques like The Ideal Week, Daily To Do Lists and by learning to use a Diary properly.
(The up-coming post for Friday 23/1 is Planning with FOCUS. It's about a simple five-step process for more effective planning.)
Generally 20% of your time (let’s call it A class time) will lead you to 80% of your results. The other 80 % of your time (let’s call it B class time) will lead you to 20% of your results. Be sure therefore not to get your A class time mixed up with your B class time. Make sure that you spend your A class time on A class activities.
The best way to do this is to use some simple time management techniques like The Ideal Week, Daily To Do Lists and by learning to use a Diary properly.
(The up-coming post for Friday 23/1 is Planning with FOCUS. It's about a simple five-step process for more effective planning.)
Friday, January 16, 2015
It's about 'contribution to profit'
It is easy for business-owners, their managers and salespeople to be seduced by good-looking sales turnover figures.
It is possible to achieve high turnover figures and yet still return a less-than-satisfactory profit.
The way to avoid this trap is to focus on 'contribution to profit' as one of the critical KPIs in all areas of your business.
By doing this you may be able to identify products and/or suppliers who are loss-creators rather than profit-makers. You may also highlight marketing initiatives and programmes that are not paying their way. Then you can do something about them.
Remember, if a business is profitable it can do lots of good things; if a business is unprofitable it won't be around very long.
(The up-coming post for Monday 16/1 is The 80/20 rule and time. It's about getting best value from your A class time.)
It is possible to achieve high turnover figures and yet still return a less-than-satisfactory profit.
The way to avoid this trap is to focus on 'contribution to profit' as one of the critical KPIs in all areas of your business.
By doing this you may be able to identify products and/or suppliers who are loss-creators rather than profit-makers. You may also highlight marketing initiatives and programmes that are not paying their way. Then you can do something about them.
Remember, if a business is profitable it can do lots of good things; if a business is unprofitable it won't be around very long.
(The up-coming post for Monday 16/1 is The 80/20 rule and time. It's about getting best value from your A class time.)
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Closing the sale
Sam was a wise and experienced salesperson who was often asked the question “What is the best way to close a sale?” Sam’s answer to this question was always “The best way to close a sale is to ‘open’ it properly first”.
This answer always led to a request for more information to which Sam would respond
“The main reason that salespeople have trouble closing is that they don’t lead up to it properly. Closing is simply the natural conclusion to a sales discussion - provided the discussion was opened properly and handled properly to its conclusion.
The best salespeople, when in a sales discussion, put themselves in a position where they can show their customer a relevant and acceptable product (or service). This may take a little extra time; however, it’s the secret to successful closing.
Here’s a four-step process that you may like to use to help you get your opening right and make closing easier. The first two steps, where the sale is opened, are called Engage and Ask; the final two steps are called Show and Encourage commitment. Let’s look at each step.
Step 1 - Engage
The purpose of this step is to create the opportunity for relaxed and clear communication. In some situations it may be helpful use a little small talk (mentioning referrer, mutual friend or mutual interest if you can) to help establish rapport.
It will be helpful to (i) establish the credibility of yourself and your company and (ii) maybe explain your agenda for the discussion and the amount of time the discussion is likely to take.
(From time to time you may feel a bit pressured yourself so make sure that you relax also.)
Step 2 – Ask
This step is critical. You must use it to ‘tune in’ to the customer’s needs and wants so that you can later show them a relevant and acceptable product.
Take the opportunity to discover more about your customer by asking them some well-planned questions. Let them tell you where they’re ‘coming from’ so you can identify the features of your product that will provide the most benefits to them. Use a ‘conversational questioning’ technique to keep the discussion going so you can learn about their current position/usage, their experiences (good and bad) with similar products and suppliers, what they want, what they don’t want, any ideas they have and so on.
If you haven’t done so already take the opportunity to qualify them as to budget, timeframe and to confirm the ‘decision-maker’.
During this step avoid using Yes/No questions; instead use Information-seeking questions. These are questions that start with the words what, when, where, who, how or why. Watch the customer’s eyes and body language; listen to the tone of their voice so you can tune in to their feelings as well as the facts.
Be sure to take the necessary time to plan and rehearse the key questions in this step.
Step 3 – Show
This is the presentation (or demonstration) step where you show your customer how your product can help them.
This can only be done if you have done a sound job of understanding your customer’s needs, wants, preferences and prejudices via the Ask step.
Go through your Show enthusiastically; tie your product’s features and benefits to the customer’s identified needs and wants.
Again, watch your customer’s eyes and body language; this time for ‘buying signals’. Be sure to use Trial Closes to confirm that you are on the right track.
Step 4 – Encourage commitment
The purpose of this step is to secure the order - it will be easier for both you and your customer if you have done your job properly.
To make your Final Close, use an alternative. However, to avoid procrastination, only ever give your customer a choice between two. A Final Close can be made by offering a choice of product, colour, payment options, delivery/start times, ‘lease or buy’, cash or credit etc.
Try to build your close around a small decision that your customer will need to make anyhow. ‘Would delivery this week suit you or would next week suit you better?’ is an example of a good closing question.
It’s now time to ‘shut up’ and listen to the answer. Remember that it’s still possible to talk yourself out of the sale by talking too much after the end of this step. You should be able to simply start the paperwork.”
(The up-coming post for Friday 16/1 is It's about contribution to profit. It's a short reminder of the importance of looking past sales turnover figures towards 'contribution to profit'.
This answer always led to a request for more information to which Sam would respond
“The main reason that salespeople have trouble closing is that they don’t lead up to it properly. Closing is simply the natural conclusion to a sales discussion - provided the discussion was opened properly and handled properly to its conclusion.
The best salespeople, when in a sales discussion, put themselves in a position where they can show their customer a relevant and acceptable product (or service). This may take a little extra time; however, it’s the secret to successful closing.
Here’s a four-step process that you may like to use to help you get your opening right and make closing easier. The first two steps, where the sale is opened, are called Engage and Ask; the final two steps are called Show and Encourage commitment. Let’s look at each step.
Step 1 - Engage
The purpose of this step is to create the opportunity for relaxed and clear communication. In some situations it may be helpful use a little small talk (mentioning referrer, mutual friend or mutual interest if you can) to help establish rapport.
It will be helpful to (i) establish the credibility of yourself and your company and (ii) maybe explain your agenda for the discussion and the amount of time the discussion is likely to take.
(From time to time you may feel a bit pressured yourself so make sure that you relax also.)
Step 2 – Ask
This step is critical. You must use it to ‘tune in’ to the customer’s needs and wants so that you can later show them a relevant and acceptable product.
Take the opportunity to discover more about your customer by asking them some well-planned questions. Let them tell you where they’re ‘coming from’ so you can identify the features of your product that will provide the most benefits to them. Use a ‘conversational questioning’ technique to keep the discussion going so you can learn about their current position/usage, their experiences (good and bad) with similar products and suppliers, what they want, what they don’t want, any ideas they have and so on.
If you haven’t done so already take the opportunity to qualify them as to budget, timeframe and to confirm the ‘decision-maker’.
During this step avoid using Yes/No questions; instead use Information-seeking questions. These are questions that start with the words what, when, where, who, how or why. Watch the customer’s eyes and body language; listen to the tone of their voice so you can tune in to their feelings as well as the facts.
Be sure to take the necessary time to plan and rehearse the key questions in this step.
Step 3 – Show
This is the presentation (or demonstration) step where you show your customer how your product can help them.
This can only be done if you have done a sound job of understanding your customer’s needs, wants, preferences and prejudices via the Ask step.
Go through your Show enthusiastically; tie your product’s features and benefits to the customer’s identified needs and wants.
Again, watch your customer’s eyes and body language; this time for ‘buying signals’. Be sure to use Trial Closes to confirm that you are on the right track.
Step 4 – Encourage commitment
The purpose of this step is to secure the order - it will be easier for both you and your customer if you have done your job properly.
To make your Final Close, use an alternative. However, to avoid procrastination, only ever give your customer a choice between two. A Final Close can be made by offering a choice of product, colour, payment options, delivery/start times, ‘lease or buy’, cash or credit etc.
Try to build your close around a small decision that your customer will need to make anyhow. ‘Would delivery this week suit you or would next week suit you better?’ is an example of a good closing question.
It’s now time to ‘shut up’ and listen to the answer. Remember that it’s still possible to talk yourself out of the sale by talking too much after the end of this step. You should be able to simply start the paperwork.”
(The up-coming post for Friday 16/1 is It's about contribution to profit. It's a short reminder of the importance of looking past sales turnover figures towards 'contribution to profit'.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Let your people shine
It's not always easy for a business to establish a Point of Difference.
To me this is especially so for businesses that sell much the same products as other businesses do, at much the same, or higher, prices.
Sometimes it's the people alone who can make the difference; remember that people like to do business with people like.
With that in mind hire the nicest people you can. Make sure that they have a customer focus, have good product knowledge and are well-presented. Let their 'nice-ness' shine through.
Prepare for an upsurge in return customers.
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 14/1 is Closing the sale. Its title says it all!)
To me this is especially so for businesses that sell much the same products as other businesses do, at much the same, or higher, prices.
Sometimes it's the people alone who can make the difference; remember that people like to do business with people like.
With that in mind hire the nicest people you can. Make sure that they have a customer focus, have good product knowledge and are well-presented. Let their 'nice-ness' shine through.
Prepare for an upsurge in return customers.
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 14/1 is Closing the sale. Its title says it all!)
Friday, January 9, 2015
Five days to a better sales quarter
If you are looking for improved sales results in your business during the next quarter now is the time to put in place some improvement strategies to help achieve the results you want.
Here are five things that you can do over the next five days to get some ideas.
Review your sales data from the last few quarters
Where did your sales come from? Where did your sales not come from? What products made the largest contribution to profit? What products were disappointments? How many sales leads did your business generate? What were the sources of these leads? How many of these leads turned into customers? What ‘conversion rate’ does this represent? As far as you know, why did the buyers buy? Why did the non-buyers not buy? Are you overly-dependent on one or two major customers (or suppliers) for your sales?
As you answer these questions (and others that come to mind as you go through the process) you will find information that confirms what you already ‘knew’ – you may also discover information that surprises you. Some of this information will please you; other information will disturb you.
Nevertheless, the question then becomes ‘What ideas does this information give me that I can use to try to get a better result in the up-coming quarter?’
Look at your Lead Generation systems
If a business is not generating enough of the right sort of sales leads it has a serious problem that, unless fixed, will lead to the death of the business.
Are you getting enough leads? Are the leads you are getting also the sorts of leads that you want? What Lead Generation strategies are working satisfactorily? What strategies are not working? What strategies have you wanted to try but not yet got around to?
The key to successful Lead Generation in any business is to find those elusive mixtures of Offer, presentation and media that work for that particular business. Diversification is important; it’s dangerous to rely on one strategy (or one market) because of the vulnerability that it creates.
Check on how your salespeople are structuring their sales discussions
Does your business have a preferred, or required, structure to be followed during sales discussions with prospective customers? Do your salespeople use it? Or are your salespeople allowed to ‘wing it’ and handle things any way they like?
What questions are your salespeople in the habit of asking to help them identify prospective customers’ needs, wants, interests and prejudices?
What questions are your salespeople in the habit of using to qualify prospective customers as to budget and time-frame?
If there is no preferred, or required, structure to the qualifying and discussion process maybe you should institute one – it will surely improve your conversion ratio.
Review your Customer Relations strategies
Maintaining an appropriate level of contact with your customers is a balancing act. It requires matching the importance of each customer, and their requirements, with the resources that you have available in your business. It stands to reason that your best, most profitable, customers should get most of your attention.
With this thought in mind, have you categorised your business’s customers into A’s, B’s or C’s (or something similar)? If so, how long is it since you reviewed each customer’s categorisation? Have you set a customer service and contact routine that reflects the importance of each customer category? Does your staff know who your VIP customers are and treat then accordingly?
Review the Time Management practices used in your business
The more time that is devoted to A-class sales and marketing activities, the better the sales result
you can expect. If you allow A-class sales time to be frittered away on B-class activities you can expect to under-perform in your sales results.
Good time management is not a skill that comes naturally to most people. However, there are four strategies that can lead to a marked improvement. They are; the adherence to an Ideal Week time-allocation format by each staff member, the effective use of Diaries, the use of To Do Lists, and the use of To Do Books.
The Ideal Week concept supports the allocation of A-class activities to the most appropriate time-slots in the working week. This allocation improves the chances that the A-class activities will be carried out with adequate time for their successful completion. B-class and C-class activities are allocated to non-prime-time slots. This means that they still get done (or at least most of them do) but that they aren’t allowed to interfere with the achievement of the A-class activities.
How long is it since you discussed Diary use with your sales staff? Do they all use the same system? Or do you allow them to do their own thing? How long is it since you discussed the use of To Do Lists and To Do Books with your sales staff? Should you set a minimum standard for the use of these time management tools so your people understand your expectations?
A final comment
Improved sales results over the next quarter are unlikely to come from a single stroke of luck or brilliance. It’s more likely that they will emerge from the synergy of a number of marginal improvements in key areas; one way to achieve these marginal improvements is by the systematic application of ideas developed through careful review.
(The up-coming post for Monday 12/1 is Let your people shine. It's a short reminder about how your people can make the difference.)
Here are five things that you can do over the next five days to get some ideas.
Review your sales data from the last few quarters
Where did your sales come from? Where did your sales not come from? What products made the largest contribution to profit? What products were disappointments? How many sales leads did your business generate? What were the sources of these leads? How many of these leads turned into customers? What ‘conversion rate’ does this represent? As far as you know, why did the buyers buy? Why did the non-buyers not buy? Are you overly-dependent on one or two major customers (or suppliers) for your sales?
As you answer these questions (and others that come to mind as you go through the process) you will find information that confirms what you already ‘knew’ – you may also discover information that surprises you. Some of this information will please you; other information will disturb you.
Nevertheless, the question then becomes ‘What ideas does this information give me that I can use to try to get a better result in the up-coming quarter?’
Look at your Lead Generation systems
If a business is not generating enough of the right sort of sales leads it has a serious problem that, unless fixed, will lead to the death of the business.
Are you getting enough leads? Are the leads you are getting also the sorts of leads that you want? What Lead Generation strategies are working satisfactorily? What strategies are not working? What strategies have you wanted to try but not yet got around to?
The key to successful Lead Generation in any business is to find those elusive mixtures of Offer, presentation and media that work for that particular business. Diversification is important; it’s dangerous to rely on one strategy (or one market) because of the vulnerability that it creates.
Check on how your salespeople are structuring their sales discussions
Does your business have a preferred, or required, structure to be followed during sales discussions with prospective customers? Do your salespeople use it? Or are your salespeople allowed to ‘wing it’ and handle things any way they like?
What questions are your salespeople in the habit of asking to help them identify prospective customers’ needs, wants, interests and prejudices?
What questions are your salespeople in the habit of using to qualify prospective customers as to budget and time-frame?
If there is no preferred, or required, structure to the qualifying and discussion process maybe you should institute one – it will surely improve your conversion ratio.
Review your Customer Relations strategies
Maintaining an appropriate level of contact with your customers is a balancing act. It requires matching the importance of each customer, and their requirements, with the resources that you have available in your business. It stands to reason that your best, most profitable, customers should get most of your attention.
With this thought in mind, have you categorised your business’s customers into A’s, B’s or C’s (or something similar)? If so, how long is it since you reviewed each customer’s categorisation? Have you set a customer service and contact routine that reflects the importance of each customer category? Does your staff know who your VIP customers are and treat then accordingly?
Review the Time Management practices used in your business
The more time that is devoted to A-class sales and marketing activities, the better the sales result
you can expect. If you allow A-class sales time to be frittered away on B-class activities you can expect to under-perform in your sales results.
Good time management is not a skill that comes naturally to most people. However, there are four strategies that can lead to a marked improvement. They are; the adherence to an Ideal Week time-allocation format by each staff member, the effective use of Diaries, the use of To Do Lists, and the use of To Do Books.
The Ideal Week concept supports the allocation of A-class activities to the most appropriate time-slots in the working week. This allocation improves the chances that the A-class activities will be carried out with adequate time for their successful completion. B-class and C-class activities are allocated to non-prime-time slots. This means that they still get done (or at least most of them do) but that they aren’t allowed to interfere with the achievement of the A-class activities.
How long is it since you discussed Diary use with your sales staff? Do they all use the same system? Or do you allow them to do their own thing? How long is it since you discussed the use of To Do Lists and To Do Books with your sales staff? Should you set a minimum standard for the use of these time management tools so your people understand your expectations?
A final comment
Improved sales results over the next quarter are unlikely to come from a single stroke of luck or brilliance. It’s more likely that they will emerge from the synergy of a number of marginal improvements in key areas; one way to achieve these marginal improvements is by the systematic application of ideas developed through careful review.
(The up-coming post for Monday 12/1 is Let your people shine. It's a short reminder about how your people can make the difference.)
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Creating good word-of-mouth
Most people in business know the value of good ‘word-of-mouth’. Good ‘word-of-mouth’ is about getting people to say positive things about you and your business.
Sometimes having a great product or service is not enough!
One very effective way of getting people to say nice things about you is to give them a really pleasant and unconditional surprise. For example, give each new customer a gift basket. Simply as a ‘Thank you’ with no strings attached. Make sure that such a ‘Thank you’ is a surprise and that it carries with it a note from you, the proprietor or manager.
(The up-coming post for Friday 9/1 is Five days to a better sales quarter. Even though the new year has already started there is still time to improve results in the first quarter - this post will give you five tips on how to do this.)
Sometimes having a great product or service is not enough!
One very effective way of getting people to say nice things about you is to give them a really pleasant and unconditional surprise. For example, give each new customer a gift basket. Simply as a ‘Thank you’ with no strings attached. Make sure that such a ‘Thank you’ is a surprise and that it carries with it a note from you, the proprietor or manager.
(The up-coming post for Friday 9/1 is Five days to a better sales quarter. Even though the new year has already started there is still time to improve results in the first quarter - this post will give you five tips on how to do this.)
Monday, January 5, 2015
The 'un-asked' question
Regardless of your product or service, every prospective customer you meet for the first time has a question in mind at the initial meeting. The question is “Why should I even consider talking to this person – let alone buy anything from them?’ Even though this question is rarely asked it needs to be answered.
This means that you need to, as soon as you can, satisfy your prospective customer that you are a person worth talking to who represents a business worth knowing about.
Do this by, as part of the Engage step of the EASE sales format, taking the opportunity to sell yourself and your ‘brand’ (in this context your brand is the business you represent).
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 7/1 is Creating good word-of-mouth. It's about one way to set about getting customers saying positive things about you and your business.)
This means that you need to, as soon as you can, satisfy your prospective customer that you are a person worth talking to who represents a business worth knowing about.
Do this by, as part of the Engage step of the EASE sales format, taking the opportunity to sell yourself and your ‘brand’ (in this context your brand is the business you represent).
(The up-coming post for Wednesday 7/1 is Creating good word-of-mouth. It's about one way to set about getting customers saying positive things about you and your business.)
Friday, January 2, 2015
What do your customers think?
To find out do a yearly customer satisfaction survey
Most people love to give feedback when asked. Be sure to survey your customers (and your best prospects) at least once a year. Although it's easily done on-line I prefer the hard-copy approach. Make it easy for them to respond by creating a ‘tick the box’ response device. Make sure your questions are sensible and also allow space for customers to add their own comments. Invite them to fax-back the survey or include a Reply Paid Envelope.
Not only will you get some very valuable information; you will also be developing the relationship you have with each customer.
(The up-coming post for Monday 5/1 is The 'un-asked' question. It's about the question that most prospective customers have that they rarely ask.)
Most people love to give feedback when asked. Be sure to survey your customers (and your best prospects) at least once a year. Although it's easily done on-line I prefer the hard-copy approach. Make it easy for them to respond by creating a ‘tick the box’ response device. Make sure your questions are sensible and also allow space for customers to add their own comments. Invite them to fax-back the survey or include a Reply Paid Envelope.
Not only will you get some very valuable information; you will also be developing the relationship you have with each customer.
(The up-coming post for Monday 5/1 is The 'un-asked' question. It's about the question that most prospective customers have that they rarely ask.)
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