Top 3 2009 Sales Resolutions
Top 3 2009 Sales Resolutions
While I’m ranked as a top sales performer I always believe I can do better.
So it’ll be no surprise to you that I recently asked a group of top sellers to share their top three sales resolutions for success in 2009’s challenging sales environment. I wanted to see what new ideas I could glean to outshine myself this year and thought I’d share them with you, too.
See how closely they align with your resolutions.
1. Build a Brick Wall Around Your Clients
Most sellers close deals and look for the next opportunity. What distinguishes the most successful reps from the rest of the pack in a tough economy are those who stay connected to their clients after the sale. They talk frequently and make recommendations, letting their clients know they’re always top of mind. No competitor can penetrate these sellers’ accounts and when the next need presents itself, they have it locked in.
Create a strategy to stay close to your customers. Consider weekly calls to top clients, bi-monthly or monthly emails to others. Put them all on your newsletter list. Watch for tidbits to share that’ll help their businesses in a unique way. Introduce them to contacts that’ll improve their network.
Yesterday I ran across a reporter searching for an expert in IT trends. I alerted several of my clients I know are focused on increasing their PR activities, providing them the opportunity to be featured in an article.
In a competitive marketplace, old-fashioned personalized service is the new way to leave an impression. Send personalized thank-you notes – handwritten on stationary. Return calls within a few hours. Respond to emails promptly – and today that means within 2 hours or less whenever possible, including weekends. Focus on providing top customer service.
2. Prospect!
There are never enough leads, especially when companies are putting off decisions. If your closing ratio was one out of four, today it may be one out of six. That means you need prospecting goals to keep your funnel overflowing with new opportunities.
Top sellers set weekly goals to ensure they always have new leads, regardless of how much they are already working. Many of them track their activities against their weekly objectives and step up their prospecting if they aren’t seeing the results they know they need.
I’m currently working eight significant deals and nineteen small ones, knowing that it’s possible most will be delayed. Knowing the challenges we’re grappling with in sales today, I’m still spending an hour a day prospecting and don’t plan to change it any time soon.
Set aside 30-60 minutes a day to work a lead generation plan that will attract new prospects to you. Set weekly prospecting goals including the number of completed calls, emails and conversations you want to target.
If you’d like to formalize your prospecting goals and track your results, I’ve put together a quick and easy tool to guide you. Check out the resources section of our website to download your free copy.
3. Ask for referrals
Customer affidavits are critical today. Clients are cautiously making investments choosing to work with proven companies referred to them after checking references. Make this work to your advantage.
Your customer base is a gold mine. You’ll be surprised by how many are delighted and can point to business within other groups if only you’d ask.
Gather testimonials and references for use in proposals, value propositions, email prospecting, newsletters, marketing offers, and events.
Whenever anyone praises our work, I immediately ask if I can quote them. Whether it’s in response to a newsletter article, an audio conference, or training, I ask if we can use it. After large projects I request a testimonial or case study.
Then be sure to ask for - and follow-up on - referrals.
Customers who willingly offer quotes will also happily provide referrals. Frame your request so they know the types of referrals you want. I always describe the situation that a strong referral might be experiencing, the size company, and their title. This helps my clients visualize who to suggest. It also gives me more information so I know what to say when I call the new referral.
Top 3 2009 Sales Resolutions - To learn more about this author, visit Kendra Lee's Website.
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It’s a new year, with a fresh sales quota and a new set of sales resolutions. I’m always looking for ways to improve and January consistently finds me evaluating my performance from the previous year then setting goals for the coming one.
While I’m ranked as a top sales performer I always believe I can do better.
So it’ll be no surprise to you that I recently asked a group of top sellers to share their top three sales resolutions for success in 2009’s challenging sales environment. I wanted to see what new ideas I could glean to outshine myself this year and thought I’d share them with you, too.
See how closely they align with your resolutions.
1. Build a Brick Wall Around Your Clients
Most sellers close deals and look for the next opportunity. What distinguishes the most successful reps from the rest of the pack in a tough economy are those who stay connected to their clients after the sale. They talk frequently and make recommendations, letting their clients know they’re always top of mind. No competitor can penetrate these sellers’ accounts and when the next need presents itself, they have it locked in.
Create a strategy to stay close to your customers. Consider weekly calls to top clients, bi-monthly or monthly emails to others. Put them all on your newsletter list. Watch for tidbits to share that’ll help their businesses in a unique way. Introduce them to contacts that’ll improve their network.
Yesterday I ran across a reporter searching for an expert in IT trends. I alerted several of my clients I know are focused on increasing their PR activities, providing them the opportunity to be featured in an article.
In a competitive marketplace, old-fashioned personalized service is the new way to leave an impression. Send personalized thank-you notes – handwritten on stationary. Return calls within a few hours. Respond to emails promptly – and today that means within 2 hours or less whenever possible, including weekends. Focus on providing top customer service.
2. Prospect!
There are never enough leads, especially when companies are putting off decisions. If your closing ratio was one out of four, today it may be one out of six. That means you need prospecting goals to keep your funnel overflowing with new opportunities.
Top sellers set weekly goals to ensure they always have new leads, regardless of how much they are already working. Many of them track their activities against their weekly objectives and step up their prospecting if they aren’t seeing the results they know they need.
I’m currently working eight significant deals and nineteen small ones, knowing that it’s possible most will be delayed. Knowing the challenges we’re grappling with in sales today, I’m still spending an hour a day prospecting and don’t plan to change it any time soon.
Set aside 30-60 minutes a day to work a lead generation plan that will attract new prospects to you. Set weekly prospecting goals including the number of completed calls, emails and conversations you want to target.
If you’d like to formalize your prospecting goals and track your results, I’ve put together a quick and easy tool to guide you. Check out the resources section of our website to download your free copy.
3. Ask for referrals
Customer affidavits are critical today. Clients are cautiously making investments choosing to work with proven companies referred to them after checking references. Make this work to your advantage.
Your customer base is a gold mine. You’ll be surprised by how many are delighted and can point to business within other groups if only you’d ask.
Gather testimonials and references for use in proposals, value propositions, email prospecting, newsletters, marketing offers, and events.
Whenever anyone praises our work, I immediately ask if I can quote them. Whether it’s in response to a newsletter article, an audio conference, or training, I ask if we can use it. After large projects I request a testimonial or case study.
Then be sure to ask for - and follow-up on - referrals.
Customers who willingly offer quotes will also happily provide referrals. Frame your request so they know the types of referrals you want. I always describe the situation that a strong referral might be experiencing, the size company, and their title. This helps my clients visualize who to suggest. It also gives me more information so I know what to say when I call the new referral.
Top 3 2009 Sales Resolutions - To learn more about this author, visit Kendra Lee'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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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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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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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton'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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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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