Another quarter is almost over and hopefully you’re in a good place where you’ll be blowing past your quota. However, if you’re not even sure you’ll hit your target, then it’s time to start making adjustments to ensure next month and quarter will be on point.
Unfortunately like in every other endeavor, there are no quick fixes to turn your selling fortune around instantly. But, there are several simple things you can start doing now that will make a significant impact down the road.
So what can you start doing today to improve your sales? Start with these 3 things:
1. Make more calls
While traditional cold calling as a prospecting technique is heading out the door, calling people is not.
It might not seem like the most efficient way to reach people, but paired with email and social networking outreach, it’s invaluable.
Did you just send a prospecting email? Great, good job! Now pick up the phone and start dialing.
Begin following up every email with a phone call. If someone on the other line picks up, then you’ve got their attention and can start a conversation right away. If the call goes to voicemail you have another chance to intrigue your prospect and reinforce the fact that there’s a real person behind the email you just sent.
Did Marketing hand off an inbound lead to you? Now’s the perfect time to get in touch! Don’t put off responding to them. It’s best that they hear from you while your company is still likely fresh in their mind. Do take a moment to do some research, but don’t hold off too long. You don’t want a warm lead to cool off.
In addition to reaching out to new prospects, calling to try and revive stalled sales will never be in vain. Whether or not they’re ready to take the next step, you’ll have peace of mind that you are maintaining contact.
2. Stop talking
Don’t take this point too literally. You don’t want to stop talking altogether, you just want to talk less.
As a seller it’s likely undeniable that you’re a great talker, but start being a thoughtful listener and asker.
When you’re on a call or in a meeting do you just pitch and try to squeeze in as much information as possible about your offering?
While it’s important to convey your value proposition and describe your offering with enough detail so that nothing’s ambiguous, it’s even more important to pause for reactions, questions, and comments from your prospect, in addition to asking them questions.
If you don’t give your prospects adequate time to digest and be able to relate everything you’re saying to how your product or service will impact them, you’re wasting your breath. Asking questions will also convey your interest and help you tailor your next steps and final proposal to what your prospect actually needs and wants.
When you’re familiar with a certain way of going about your sales calls, it might be difficult to stop yourself from talking too much. It’s essential to start noticing the balance of the discussion, so force yourself to add in pauses to allow time for a reaction or question.
Also, come up with questions to ask that will help you gain more information about what your prospect needs and how you can better serve them. Learn to add these naturally into the discussion instead of simply shooting them off one by one and making the conversation into an interrogation.
3. Set a goal
Sure, having your manager issue a demand for what your target is should be enough to motivate you. But honestly that’s not enough. If you’re only given one large goal of what the month or quarter’s quota is, what smaller goals are working to help get you there?
Let’s imagine you wanted to lose weight. Your goal may to lose 10 pounds. If that’s all you kept in your mind’s eye and focused on, you’d never really get anywhere.
However, if your ultimate goal was to lose 10 pounds and you set smaller goals of losing half a pound each week and exercising at the gym 4 times a week, you’d actually have a strategy of working towards reaching your primary objective.
So start improving your sales by setting one goal for yourself today.
Whether it’s to make 20 phone calls and send 50 prospecting emails by the end of the day or to schedule a follow up step for both of your first appointments, make sure you set mini goals for yourself that will ultimately make it easier for you to reach the end goal.
Challenging yourself and breaking down the bigger bullseye into smaller targets will help make your end result more attainable. It works by creating an actual plan of behaviors that lead you in the right direction.
Improving your sales isn’t going to happen overnight, but there are some basic things you can do today to set yourself up for success. Start by making more calls, listening more, and setting goals for yourself.
