Jaarvanvermeer

Every year brings new challenges and obstacles. We must plan our course to overcome them in order for our businesses to grow and sell more. We cannot control the market’s downward pressure, increased competition, or loss of market leaders. There are other things that we can control, such as proper goal setting, consistent prospecting activity, and high percentage sales (you control your own sales process, not the prospective client).
My sales training workshops are consistent with my mission to mentor and train salespeople. People will succeed if they are able to understand their customers, their competitors, and their business. Today, it’s survival of the fittest in sales.

It takes a lot to achieve sustainable and scalable sales performance. You can make next year a great year if you are willing to work hard, change and grow every day. There are still opportunities for business.

Here are five proven ways to increase your sales chances and drive more qualified prospects through the sales funnel faster. These tried-and-true methods and practices worked yesterday. They work today, and they will continue to work tomorrow. You can do the rest.

1) Cold-calling to book an appointment

is an excellent way to get “pain points” only. Face-to-face meetings take approximately 4 hours per day. This is almost half of the workday. Time is money, as we all know. By asking tough questions to prospective clients, I help people generate qualified leads through cold-calling. It is essential to determine if there is actually a need. It’s not done by product dumping during the call. We’ll simply ask them what their problems are and where they hurt, how it affects their business today. And what they plan on doing about it. The call should not last more than 5 minutes. “Mr. Jones: As an expert in widget manufacturing, what is your #1 problem with your marketing department right now?” It’s pretty simple.

2) Don’t allow your prospect to rush you through the sale process.

A sales process is essential for any salesperson. It serves as your sales roadmap and focal point. When dealing with potential customers, there are two agendas: yours and theirs. You might end up spending hours trying to get dollars if you let your prospect rush the process by submitting a proposal without qualifying them or performing a specific discovery step. Over the years, we have found that candidates value salespeople who are consistent and follow a process. They will be more likely to choose a weak or inept salesman over someone who jumps. Keep to your strategy, and don’t let them dictate your decisions. Everything is about the sales process.

3) Never present to a non-decision maker.

There are no gray areas in this subject. non-decision makers can only say “NO”; they cannot give you a “YES.” Salespeople are drawn to the world of possibility or “hopium” because it is easy to be optimistic. This is what happens: We lose the courage and ask who was involved in the decision-making process that led to the creation of the relationship. Fear of hearing the NO or any other form of resistance. We believe that talking to someone is better than talking to nothing. We have a YES or NO mindset. Not surprisingly, there are more Noes than Yeses. Do not put yourself in a position to fail; instead, play for the YES. It is a good idea to identify the decision-makers early on in the process. You might hear it as: “Mr. Jones. Thank you for coming to see me today. I look forward to our meeting.” If we decide to take things forward after today, I will return to present solutions. Who else but you are involved in the decision-making process? It’s easy. Do it!

4) Get a date/time at each step from hello to close.

Dates and times are viewed as mini-commitments. If you are unable to get a date and time, then go back to the prospective client to discuss the possibility of moving them through your sales funnel. We don’t really have a prospect, and we only have an opportunity. You are not on a prospect’s calendar if you don’t have a date. It will dramatically speed up your sales process and disqualify suspects quicker by obtaining a date and time. Real prospects have time on their calendar to meet you again. A suspect can’t wait seven weeks because they are too busy. At the end of each call or meeting, get the date and the time.

5) Keep an activity log, track your call ratios and take your temperature.

Once you know where your past is, you won’t be able to see where you are going. You should track your call ratios every day if your sales duties include cold-calling to generate leads. It is essential to know your percentages and data points. This includes how many calls you make each day, how many people reach you, and how many of them give you appointments. These metrics can be tracked daily, and you will end up with more prospects to call and sell. Do you take notes on any difficult prospecting calls or face-to-face visits? Not taking notes on calls that don’t result in new business or second meetings will encourage healthy self-correction. Successful salespeople use benchmarking. Get started now.