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Volume X, Issue 1
January 13, 2012 |
| SalesFocusInc.com | 410.442.5600 |
| info@SalesFocusInc.com | toll free 866.840.8305 |
With small business owners and a tactical sales environment, the message that Time Kills can be a matter of hours, as small businesses change constantly. The decision makers, who are typically the owners, can change their minds in a flash. A bad week of sales, or just a bad week personally, can have them adjust their decisions. When you allow time to go by, that allows competitors to enter into the opportunity as well, which can change the selling dynamic immediately. If you are selling to individuals or small business, you need to close that day! Answer all the questions, solve all their concerns and close the deal. The quickest way to lose a deal is to allow the customer to delay the decision. If they delay the decision, it is typically because you as the sales person weren't solving their problems or did not sell to their personality traits. When selling larger opportunities, or strategic sales initiatives, you need to understand the entire sales cycle and operate as the Quarterback of the deal. Bring everyone together, sell to multiple personalities and traits, and understand the needs of the company and the individuals. Time is still extremely important, as delays allow for competition, changes in the market and new products to be introduced. The most important aspect of strategic sales is constant communication, for managing the deal and bringing together all the decision makers to reach a common understanding. 2. Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan My best sales people over the past 25 years were ALWAYS great planners. They were very organized, very process driven and very successful. They planned, they studied and they developed a sales process and repeated that process, leading to tremendous success. Most sales people have their own style of communication and relationship development, which is great, but the great sales people are organized planners that don't miss the target. Planning your day, your week and possibly a month in advance will allow you to take the time to be prepared for all meetings. At the end of each day, review the next day. Prepare in the evening so you are ready to start the day with an agenda and goals. If you wait and become a reactive sales person, you will miss many opportunities, you will lose deals and ultimately it will cost you money. Learn from your planning. Evaluate what worked and what hasn't worked and adjust accordingly, as consistency is developed by repetition. Most executives plan at least 1 year in advance. So should a sales person. If you begin the year evaluating your past, your market and your targets, you can plan the year in advance well. Plan your financials for the coming year, set goals and measure the goals constantly. If something is working, repeat it. If something isn't working, adjust immediately. We all know the definition of insanity...doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Planning and executing is extremely important; however, I have seen many people plan themselves to death. Understanding that your plan is flexible and will adjust is essential. Don't expect to have the perfect plan; it just doesn't happen. Plan, Measure, Adjust, and Execute...is a simple formula to success. 3. Inspect What You Expect Accountability is a word that I have been preaching for the past 30 years. Accountability is the key to individual and corporate success. Within every organization, processes are developed and rolled out to the management team, who roll them down to the sales and administrative teams, expecting full attention. Rarely does that happen unless you have a team of people that takes complete personal accountability. As a leader you need to be accountable, personally and for everyone reporting to you. If you roll out a plan or a process, you need to inspect what you expect. Just giving someone an order will rarely provide the expected results. Communication and evaluation of the desired outcomes is mandatory by all managers. As a sales person, you also need to be on top of everything that the customer sees; you have the responsibility and accountability for the relationship. We have become a society of victims, blaming others for mistakes and not taking accountability. Ownership of the outcome is required by successful people. Owning up to mistakes and living up to your responsibilities are essential, to grow as an individual and as a sales person. Always ask yourself, "What can I do to achieve my desired results?" Do not look for others to make you successful. You control your own destiny. Develop your expectations, develop your plan, execute your plan and inspect what you expect. 4. Focus on Success As a young person growing up in a blue collar environment, I always knew I would be successful. I focused on my dreams, set my goals and was driven to succeed. Success is measured in many ways and money is not at the top of my list. If your family is healthy and your children are good people, you have achieved success. Success needs to be defined by you, as everyone doesn't have the same dreams and goals. However, everyone does have dreams and goals. Everyone needs to write down their dreams and goals and develop a plan to achieve that success. Review your plan to become successful. Adjust as the years change and celebrate your achievements! A focused approach to achieving your goals will result in years of celebration. Have a laser approach to your goals and a focused target on achievement. Whether it's losing 25 pounds or landing the biggest commission check of your life...FOCUS! 5. Selling From a Position of Power Selling from a position of power sounds simple. It sounds almost expected; however, years of experience have shown me that the majority of sales professionals are too intimidated to sell from a position of power, or they lack the confidence and knowledge. What does it take to sell from a position of power?
I broke it down into 5 essential tools:
If you want to become a top selling professional, you must learn everything you possibly can about your product. Just becoming familiar with your product is not enough. You must know every aspect about the company you represent, and that includes all aspects of the product. Get involved and understand the production, back office operations, support, and everything about your company so that with any question a client asks, you can respond with certainty and clarity. This builds confidence with your client and shows them that you understand not just your product, but that you understand business and how it operates and how it can apply to them. Five Simple Sayings that have served me well for the past 25 plus years. Develop your own style, stay focused on success, always have a plan to execute and remember that Time Kills!
Sales Focus is driven towards a single goal: "Generating Immediate Revenue for our Clients!" Whether it's implementing our S.O.L.D. Methodology, Developing Lead Generation Programs or Launching an Outsourced Sales Force, we remain focused on the goal of TACTICALLY GENERATING RAPID REVENUE. Let us help you not only meet, but exceed your sales goals.
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