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By admin

Solving the Sales Conundrum

Solving the Sales Conundrum

 

What has happened to your team’s sales effectiveness? Just what are they doing wrong? Many company sales leaders and CEOs ask themselves this when turnover isn’t what it should be. And it’s why they automatically assume they need a course in sales training. But is that really the case? Could their current lack of sales be down to something more than just poor sales performance?

And, anyway, wouldn’t it make more sense to find out exactly what the underlying problem really is before going ahead and spending hundreds – or thousands – of pounds on something that could be solved much easier (and at far less cost) at home instead? In this post we’ll go some way to attempting to help you solve that sales effectiveness puzzle of yours by yourself. For instance, we’ll get you to ask yourself the following questions:

What is the real problem with sales?

The reason your sales staff aren’t doing too well could be for any number of reasons, not necessarily simply their sales performance. Could the answer be, for instance, down to a lack of knowledge about the product they are trying to sell? Then again, it could be that you, as a company, haven’t provided them with the right sales tools in the first place i.e. they may have a poor Customer Relationship Management system or poor sales materials. Is the data base any good? And on that note, is the sales coach doing his job properly? Another reason could be that your selling incentives just aren’t motivating your staff enough for them to go out and give the performance of their lives.

 

Analyse sales performance

One way to find out for sure why your sales performance is down is to analyse the performance of your sales people – do you have the right people in the right positions to begin with? Then again, you could look at the sales pipeline to find out where exactly you need to introduce some form of training and, finally, review your sales turnover. These are the three main aspects of sales activity that an analysis of should certainly start to throw light on where it’s all going wrong.

 

Find out what’s missing from sales performance

Go out on the road with your sales team and find out individually how each of them really performs. Are they, for instance, as good at closing a sale as they say they are? Is there something they are missing from their sales performance? What skills are they lacking in this arena?

Get your sales staff to be fluent

If they are lacking and embark on sales effectiveness training, then encourage your staff to practice their new sales technique. It’s the only way for a sales person to achieve fluency i.e. so they are never back-footed by a question and can answer queries instantly. By practicing they will build up that particular ‘sales muscle’ and won’t be tempted to fall back into bad habits. Golfing is an analogy which is frequently referred to in this respect i.e. it can take a golfer up to 500 swings before he or she has learned a new technique.

It’s all down to role-playing and is definitely a lot like being an actor; repeating your lines until they’re word perfect. Then again, perhaps an improvisation comedian is a better analogy – they don’t know what’s coming so they’ll have several practiced scenarios up their sleeve at the one time.

Role-playing and improvisation acting also help your sales people remain present in their conversation with potential buyers – a skill that is pretty much essential when it comes to tackling a tough sale. Not only that, but it instills confidence. Knowing he or she is not going to get wrong-footed by a customer because they have already rehearsed all the possible answers, gives your sales person an added advantage.

So, how’s your team’s sales effectiveness? If poor, could it be time to give it a proper analysis, rather than just pick up the phone and order more sales performance training? Contact us at WIN Programs for more information

By admin

How can a long sales cycle be shortened?

How can a long sales cycle be shortened?

timepiece by Robert Couse-Baker (Flickr)

The challenges of closing sales and reaching your yearly target are numerous. Are you under pressure to increase your average sales size? Would you expect an incentive if you achieve this goal, and most importantly, would the sales cycle of your product allow you to do so within the time frame allocated?

Let us explore in the article below some tools that have often proved beneficial.

1.Clarify the target Market

Once you start your research, you will initially need to find the influencers and decision makers you need to help you achieve your goal. Invite them, as well as several prospects, to a 1-day seminar held at your office. There you can explain to them what you do in greater detail and discuss the solutions your company can offer. 

2. Create a mutual action plan to reach your prospect’s goals

Start connecting with every person that will take part in the decision management. Identify their objectives, whether personal and professional. You can then start connecting with employees of the targeted companies that will likely benefit from using your solutions. Build a trusting relationship and recognize challenges that could be solved by working together as a team.  Building a strong relationship with your prospects can significantly shorten your sales cycle.

3. Select challenges you can solve

The correct systems and processes, as well as developing your sales teams’ skills, ultimately all have an impact on the shortening of the sales cycle.  The responsibility lies heavily on the Sales managers’ shoulders as statistics show that only 20% of salespeople have the skills necessary to sell successfully.  

Salespeople need to have a structured strategic approach when they operate. Breaking the sales process into sections allows them to analyze challenges and weaknesses.  The sales process can be compared to a GPS system on a car.  Once we provide the destination post code (goal to be achieved) the GPS provides the route to take (sales process) and the time needed (Sales cycle) to arrive to your destination.

4. Align your activities around your prospects

Establishing a time frame for your next step is crucial.  If you don’t confirm your next meeting or call time with your qualified client, you will find it may extend your sales cycle by an extra 2 weeks.  Be on top of the customers’ mind to maintain the momentum.  Getting the buy in and the “yes” is important at all stages; small yesses are just as significant. 

If you are skipping stages by jumping straight to the end contract or proposal and then face an objection, this means the client didn’t see your value or didn’t understand the full process.  Make sure you ask clearly: “Are you ready for the next stage or do we need to talk through any other details?”. 

5. Monitor your pipeline

Plan your pipeline flow versus your timeline. Is the speed of the qualified and potential deals in line with the date your want to close the deal?

Daily pipeline monitoring is essential if you need to manage prospects: is the size of your pipeline is satisfactory? Are the stages of your sales cycle optimized? Do you have enough prospects to reach your targets?

Answers to these questions will help you prioritize your visits to clients, prepare focused offers and follow up on pending matters with potential clients.

6. Master your self-limiting beliefs

One of the non-supportive beliefs usually sounds like this: “I don’t need to speak with the actual decision maker because my contact will take care of it.”

Our beliefs and emotions may sometimes negatively impact our sale. Thoughts like the following ones are self-limiting:

  • “In the markets I sell to, it is well known that the sales cycle is long.”
  • “The companies I target have long sales cycles.”
  • “The companies I target take a long time to respond.”
  • “Nothing moves fast in our industry.”
  • “New customers need more time to think about how they spend their budget.”

If the salesperson believes it is ok to think it over, analyze and research and accepts that the environment needs time, then the result can only translate in lengthier cycles and delay closing. The salesperson must understand the sensitive nature of the impact of self-confidence and speed on the sales procedure.

7. Deal with managerial pressure

Senior managers will always test their sales leaders’ capabilities and stretch their capacity towards better results every day. To make sure you will be amongst the successful salespeople, you need to create a sales effectiveness process that will insure you reach the required targets. The consultative selling approach has regularly proved highly successful in that respect

If you want to get more information, please access to following the following link. We will be more than happy to assist you.