No matter what your business is, the industry in which you operate, or the market where you serve, you need sales to survive. If your team isn’t closing deals, your company is in big trouble. Rather than wait for your books to slide in the red, be proactive and get ahead of the ball with these tips to improve your sales.
Storytelling
One of the biggest reasons that salespeople fail is because they aren’t good storytellers. While good communication skills are something of a prerequisite for getting into sales, some people need work with how they structure the sell. However, this is not a matter of crafting a better script. Instead, you need to teach your team to prompt their leads for information and tell a story about your product that meets those parameters.
Understanding the Buyer
In order to craft a compelling story, your people need to understand their buyers’ pain points instead of assuming what their specific needs are and asserting how your company’s products or services can create value. Correct this issue by spending some time dissecting your sales funnel and monitoring where your prospects may be falling through the cracks. Help guide your salespeople to have meaningful conversations with prospects before jumping into a sales pitch.
Value and Differentiation
Also, look at how well your sales team understands the unique value your products or services offer and what makes you stand apart from your competitors. The better your people can articulate what makes your company different, the better they will be able to craft a story that resonates with your prospects.
Lead Qualification
Lead qualification can be another issue. Having a name and a phone number or email is not enough reason to try to make a sale. Your sales team should be qualifying each prospect by researching those people and working to predict some of the pain points they will have. It doesn’t have to be at the level of a private investigator, but your salespeople should know something about their prospects before they make contact, even if it is just demographic information.
Getting Referrals
Make sure your people are working for referrals too. In more than 50% of all cases, referrals are the best way to get to go from prospect to sale. When one of your existing customers refers a lead to your company, that person is already sold when they contact you. He or she heard what your customer had to say about their experience and want the same thing for themselves. Facilitate referrals in any way you can to access this potential market.
Organization
Finally, look at the way your sales team is organized. While you want your salespeople to be able to make cold calls when necessary, they will attract more sales through regular, consistent contact with their accounts, prospects who are on the fence, and leads if they organize those efforts. Having a CRM system in place will help them do that, so be sure to invest in a good one.
If you are experiencing low sales numbers or just want the chance to grow your business, take the time to really examine your sales process. Perfecting your sales strategy requires consistently assessing mistakes and making adjustments. If you notice any of these missteps in your business, take action. Help guide your salespeople to more effective sales strategies and give them the CRM tools they need to see it through.
