A Handful of Tips to Improve Sales Probability
A Handful of Tips to Improve Sales Probability
First, have you uncovered a true pain that impacts the entire organization you’re selling to? If the solution you are proposing is merely an easier way to do things yet doesn’t contribute directly to a primary business objective (i.e. increase revenue, decrease cost, and/or minimize risk), it is unlikely to expedite the sales process. Focus your selling efforts on selling solutions which contribute most to helping your customer achieve their business objectives. There isn’t a company around that wouldn’t want to generate more sales, cut costs, or minimize their exposure to risk. The questions you should help your customer answer are “how much will it cost me to achieve my objectives by implementing your solution, and how long until returns are noticeable?”
After uncovering a potential pain, it’s time to validate it with any and all organizational stakeholders involved. Very few organizations leave major decisions to just one person these days. Even if you are dealing with an owner of a small company, that owner will likely have a desire to involve others if for no other reason than to keep from alienating anyone. Never assume everyone will be on board just because the “head cheese” favors your solution. Plus, the more people who express an approval of your solution, the better leverage you have when it’s time to sign the deal.
You’ve now uncovered a true pain and validated that pain with other stakeholders within your customer’s company, now what? Do you have a definitive budget approved for your solution? If you’ve heard something along the lines of “don’t worry about funding, the money will be there for this project,” you’re in trouble! If your customer is serious about implementing your solution, access to funding should be clearly established early in the process. If it is not, expect the sales cycle to expand. If you are entering the sales cycle at the very beginning, however, and you are able to help the customer establish a hard budget along with criteria, that’s fantastic—you’re in the driver’s seat. Just be sure not to mash the accelerator in hopes of closing the sale according to your timeframe. Maintain patience and work at your customer’s pace to keep things on track and in your favor.
After establishing a solid budget, it’s time to establish a timeframe to implement your proposed solution. When does your customer desire to have the solution implemented? What impacts does this have on your own organization—can they meet the deadline without investing an abnormal amount of resources? Make doubly sure your organization can support the desired timeline as proposed—there’s nothing worse than crafting a deal your customer is fired up about only to have your organization pull the plug because they weren’t able to deliver because of an overly aggressive timeline or a resources conflict. Keep in regular contact with your support people throughout your negotiations so there are no surprises come deal time.
Once the timeline is established, it is now, the time to project a potential sale on your sales forecast because it is likely to become reality, and you’ll have a good idea as to when you’ll receive payment for the implementation. Far too often sales reps leave an introductory meeting with a prospect and immediately forecast potential sales on their sales reports. This is asinine—you don’t know the likelihood of a potential sale until you’ve worked through the steps discussed thus far and have a good idea of when your customer actually wants your solution implemented. Do yourself, your company, and your customers a favor and work with them to outline a realistic timeline. You’ll save everyone involved a lot of headaches. Your customer will be happy to share this information with you provided you step through the process in a logical fashion and keep the communication channels open throughout.
Exposing a true pain is the key to sales success. When status quo is no longer an option, your customer is forced to act, and this is the time for you to shine by working through the process just defined.
A Handful of Tips to Improve Sales Probability - To learn more about this author, visit Roger Bauer's Website.
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At the beginning of every sales process, there is some form of needs assessment performed by the buyer and seller. When sales reps are tasked with “opportunity creation,” uncovering a pain which forces the customer to take immediate action is the key to sustained success. Let’s look at some ways you can utilize pain to further the sales process.
First, have you uncovered a true pain that impacts the entire organization you’re selling to? If the solution you are proposing is merely an easier way to do things yet doesn’t contribute directly to a primary business objective (i.e. increase revenue, decrease cost, and/or minimize risk), it is unlikely to expedite the sales process. Focus your selling efforts on selling solutions which contribute most to helping your customer achieve their business objectives. There isn’t a company around that wouldn’t want to generate more sales, cut costs, or minimize their exposure to risk. The questions you should help your customer answer are “how much will it cost me to achieve my objectives by implementing your solution, and how long until returns are noticeable?”
After uncovering a potential pain, it’s time to validate it with any and all organizational stakeholders involved. Very few organizations leave major decisions to just one person these days. Even if you are dealing with an owner of a small company, that owner will likely have a desire to involve others if for no other reason than to keep from alienating anyone. Never assume everyone will be on board just because the “head cheese” favors your solution. Plus, the more people who express an approval of your solution, the better leverage you have when it’s time to sign the deal.
You’ve now uncovered a true pain and validated that pain with other stakeholders within your customer’s company, now what? Do you have a definitive budget approved for your solution? If you’ve heard something along the lines of “don’t worry about funding, the money will be there for this project,” you’re in trouble! If your customer is serious about implementing your solution, access to funding should be clearly established early in the process. If it is not, expect the sales cycle to expand. If you are entering the sales cycle at the very beginning, however, and you are able to help the customer establish a hard budget along with criteria, that’s fantastic—you’re in the driver’s seat. Just be sure not to mash the accelerator in hopes of closing the sale according to your timeframe. Maintain patience and work at your customer’s pace to keep things on track and in your favor.
After establishing a solid budget, it’s time to establish a timeframe to implement your proposed solution. When does your customer desire to have the solution implemented? What impacts does this have on your own organization—can they meet the deadline without investing an abnormal amount of resources? Make doubly sure your organization can support the desired timeline as proposed—there’s nothing worse than crafting a deal your customer is fired up about only to have your organization pull the plug because they weren’t able to deliver because of an overly aggressive timeline or a resources conflict. Keep in regular contact with your support people throughout your negotiations so there are no surprises come deal time.
Once the timeline is established, it is now, the time to project a potential sale on your sales forecast because it is likely to become reality, and you’ll have a good idea as to when you’ll receive payment for the implementation. Far too often sales reps leave an introductory meeting with a prospect and immediately forecast potential sales on their sales reports. This is asinine—you don’t know the likelihood of a potential sale until you’ve worked through the steps discussed thus far and have a good idea of when your customer actually wants your solution implemented. Do yourself, your company, and your customers a favor and work with them to outline a realistic timeline. You’ll save everyone involved a lot of headaches. Your customer will be happy to share this information with you provided you step through the process in a logical fashion and keep the communication channels open throughout.
Exposing a true pain is the key to sales success. When status quo is no longer an option, your customer is forced to act, and this is the time for you to shine by working through the process just defined.
A Handful of Tips to Improve Sales Probability - To learn more about this author, visit Roger Bauer's Website.
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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