Category: Prospecting

[Week 3] 5-week Daily Plan To Fill Your Pipeline, Regain Control , & Master Your Sales Role

In continuation of the 5-week Daily Plan series, this blog post aims to provide specific tactics for building strong relationships with customers in sales.

Readers will learn practical strategies to understand customer needs, establish rapport, personalize interactions, follow up after a sale, and leverage digital channels for customer engagement.

I’ll continue breaking down the topic into specific tactics for each day of the week.

Day 11: Actively listen to understand customer needs and pain points.

Task: Actively listen to customers.


Over the last 15 years, I have averaged three to four ride-alongs a week. That would be around 2,800 sales appointments where I have witnessed a sales rep in action, with a portion of those having me actively involved in the sales interaction. In this time, there have been reoccurring themes with many new and old (by tenure) sales professionals. One that I’ll focus on for the purpose of this article is a rep’s excitement to talk about their company, product, or service before truly understanding and acknowledging a customer’s need or existence thereof. Many assumptions are made early in sales interactions, and it’s these assumptions that lead to many stalled sales and ineffective sales calls.

On one particular sales call, Mark was a new rep selling in the B2B space for a small local company. He was able to get a meeting with a CEO that had been on his target list. During Mark’s call to the CEO to get a discovery appointment set, the CEO remarked that he was currently using a larger competitor that initially offered a lot of resources for his growing business. In preparing for this meeting, Mark expressed his concern about being a smaller player in his space when the prospect had many other bigger companies to select from. Mark built his initial conversation around giving this prospect the impression that his company was far larger and could compete with as much agility as his competitors. At the end of the meeting, the CEO thanked Mark for his time but went on to share that they previously worked with a larger firm and felt ignored due to the perception that the CEO’s company wasn’t as large, thus less important, and didn’t receive the attention he felt the company needed.

In my coaching conversation afterwards, I asked Mark where his belief is that being a smaller competitor equates to being disadvantaged. Mark stated he’s gotten that objection from other prospects and assumed this CEO would have felt the same. Voila, an inaccurate assumption was carried into a conversation where the conversation was built around Mark’s company and capabilities rather than a conversation focused on the problems and needs of the customer. This miss was that Mark didn’t engage the CEO on whether he felt better served by a larger firm or even if that was a requisite for choosing another provider. By engaging and actively listening to customers, sales professionals can gain a deeper understanding of their needs and pain points, leading to more effective solutions.

Take-away: Actively listening helps sales professionals uncover valuable insights and tailor their approach to meet customer needs.

Application: There are numerous resources and sales conversation templates available, and I won’t go into great detail outlining specific sales methodologies.

For a list of resources, visit a previous post here

However, a lot of bad sales calls and conversations could have been prevented with a process of pre-call planning. Below is a sales call checklist from Rain Group that I have personally used and trained other sales reps on how to use.

By focusing on the questions above, a rep can be better prepared to focus solely on the buyer and the impact of the problems they are experiencing. Acknowledging relative strengths and weaknesses prior to an important sales call can eliminate negative emotions driven by being caught off guard and will help deliver a professional conversation.

Day 12: Build rapport with customers and apply techniques in sales.

Task: Build rapport with customers.

Oftentimes, during a ride-along, I have a skills analyzer where I take notes on important aspects of the conversation and points of the sales call. Typically, before the ride-along, I have determined a specific area on which I’ll be focusing based on prior coaching conversations. This prevents me from having to detail an entire conversation and keeps me honed in on what the customer may be saying. If I’m on a ride-along for the first time with a rep or listening in on a prospect call, there is typically only one thing that I am paying attention to, and that is the rep’s ability to build rapport. Now granted, not every prospecting call will give a rep time to build good rapport, but there’s usually an opening to do so at some point in the conversation.

A common mistake that I see reps make is that they are so excited to have an opening to discuss their company, product, features, and benefits that they completely overlook the importance of establishing rapport with the prospect. Depending on the type of selling (transactional vs. consultative) that is taking place, it will determine how much rapport may be needed. Building rapport can happen at the beginning of the conversation or throughout, but make no mistake, people will often buy from people that they like. All things being equal, the rapport that is built may determine who a prospect selects.

For building rapport, I like to follow a simple acronym: F.O.R.M., where F stands for family, O stands for occupation, R stands for recreation, and M stands for message. Using a bio page on the company’s website, social media profiles, or recent company announcements are all great resources to use in finding context clues on what may be good to build rapport on or around. Doing a little research can prevent rapport from seeming like small talk and make it more productive. A good rule of thumb that I’ve found over the years is that when a prospect begins asking questions about you, it’s a good sign that you have built good rapport so far in the conversation.

Another important aspect of building rapport, outside of establishing a connection, is that during the process of building rapport, a sales professional can begin to determine the personality style of your prospect. Getting training on personality assessments such as the DISC, Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI), or Predictive Index can be really useful in picking up additional context clues on how to communicate with the prospect. Many sales managers understand the importance of these assessments in hiring talent but fall short in training sales reps on how to use these same tools in adapting communications with high value clients. This article will not service to be an exhaustive description of these tools or how to apply them in conversations, but more so to reinforce the usefulness of these tools in the context of rapport building and facilitating better sales conversations. For example, below will be a description of the DISC profile with tendencies and behaviors.


Takeaway: Building rapport helps sales professionals establish trust, understand customer preferences, and adapt their approach accordingly.


Application: Sales professionals should show genuine interest, use active listening skills, find common ground, use positive language, and adapt their communication style to match the customer’s preferences.

Day 13: Personalize interactions to make customers feel valued and understood.


Task: Personalize interactions with customers.


According to The Salesforce State of Connected Customers Report, which polled over 6700 consumers and business buyers, 72% of business buyers expect vendors to personalize engagements to their needs. In fact, 67% of B2B buyers have switched to vendors who provide a more consumer-like experience. Early in my selling career, I worked for a national training provider. I called on C-level executives, HR managers, and senior department managers. My goals were to understand the specific staff development issues and sell either an off-the-shelf course or customize a course that addressed the specific needs of the employees. This was before online training had really taken hold, and many companies relied on in-person training for all of their staff development. There are common issues that face all teams and companies that span change management, transitioning from contributor to manager, dealing with difficult people, and many others. The point is that it is really easy to take a cookie-cutter approach to discussing these issues and how they affect all employees. However, at the same time that I was working at this company, I was taking college courses at night in an effort to complete my degree. One of my courses was in finance and accounting. During this course, an assignment was to look at the accounting statements of publicly traded companies. My territory at this time was San Francisco, and I had many high-profile clients with whom I was able to pour over their financial statements. I ordered all of my top 20 clients 10-K reports and began familiarizing myself with all of their financial statements, many of which contained forward-looking statements. This gave me the insight and ability to tie the financial numbers to department goals and employee development. Personalized interactions go beyond just getting the correct name for the “to” line in a cold email campaign. Understanding customer issues and personalizing your conversation to the customer will enhance their experience, making them feel valued and understood.

I am not suggesting that you need an accounting degree or an advanced understanding of financial statements; this was just an example of how I began personalizing my outreach to a customer base at that time. Some readers will not have access to this level of information on a potential customer; however, that does not mean that information cannot be found to personalize communications. Any Google search today can just about get you all of the information you need on a business or contact within a company. A great exercise to deepen your level of personalization is to use “Mackay 66“, developed by author, sales professional, and business owner Harvey Mackay. He details 66 questions that sales professionals should know about their customers. Since trust and loyalty are built over time, a sales professional can use these questions to broaden customer relationships.

mackay-66_updated-2018Download

Takeaway: Personalization fosters stronger customer relationships and increases customer loyalty.


Application: Sales professionals should use multiple resources to learn more about their customers, tailor recommendations, remember previous interactions, offer customization, and express appreciation for the customer’s business.

Day 14: Follow up with customers after a sale for satisfaction and long-term relationship building.


Task: Follow up with customers after a sale.

Never underestimate the impact a quick post-sales follow-up can have. The level of follow-up will vary depending on the product or service that is being sold, but post-sale follow-up is nonetheless important. For lower-ticket, high-transactional sales, it might only require a thank-you card or a brief phone call thanking them for their business. When an on-going service or system is sold, whereas there will be ongoing purchases or usage of a product, it is important to understand that a change is the “way of doing things” is taking place. Oftentimes, this will involve changes within multiple areas of the business, from onboarding new employees, changes in purchasing, field implementation, and IT deployment, among many others. While many of these areas can be discussed during the purchase process, it’s important to schedule follow-up touch points post-sale to keep a pulse on how these potential roadblocks affect a positive customer experience.


Takeaway: Post-sale follow-up ensures customer satisfaction, addresses concerns, and strengthens the customer relationship.


Application: Sales professionals should send personalized thank-you notes or emails, check in with customers, address concerns promptly, offer post-sale support, and maintain regular communication.

For a list of 40+ Email Templates for Thanking, Upselling, Onboarding, & Account Handoffs, leave a comment below “templates” and I’ll send to your inbox

Day 15: Leverage social media and digital channels for customer connection and engagement.


Task: Leverage social media and digital channels.


It is highly likely that readers of this blog have found it via a social media post; therefore, it would not be necessary to describe the importance of social media today and how useful it can be. However, I will say this: I am shocked to this day at how many people I run into don’t utilize social media for prospecting, networking, competitive intelligence, and customer engagement. Those who are currently using social platforms have an opportunity to improve, and that is a topic that I am currently doing a lot of coaching around. Those who recognize the importance but haven’t taken the leap in leveraging social media are an area in which I have developed a course to help sales professionals begin developing their personal brand and profiles. If that is something that interests you, feel free to reach out, and I would be happy to schedule a call to discuss. Utilizing social media and digital channels allows sales professionals to connect with and engage customers on platforms they frequent.

I have numerous examples where I have leveraged social media to close deals, network with dream accounts, engage with new customers, and build a network of referral partners. The numbers on social media today prove that it is no longer a fad. It is imperative that businesses have social media accounts, and their engagement with customers is a differentiator.

If you go to Google and search for all the different ways to grow your business and get clients, you’ll get thousands of different results telling you hundreds of different ways to get clients.

A great way to expand your customer base is by using social media platforms. Customers can easily connect with you and others who have similar interests, and it’s simple to keep them updated on what’s happening with your business. And tons of other inbound and outbound methods.

Not all social media are created equal. And if you’re in the business-to-business (B2B) space, there is one platform that reigns over all the others: LinkedIn.

Who’s on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is the premier B2B social media platform. And it is the best B2B platform because it did not start out as a social media platform. However, it has evolved over the years to become a powerful social media platform for businesses.

LinkedIn is not just another social media platform for you to connect with your friends and your family or to post pictures of your latest vacation. LinkedIn is designed to be a business networking tool.

Because of this, the users that engage on LinkedIn are usually high-income individuals. On average, people who use LinkedIn make more money than those using other social media accounts, and they’re much more likely to be receptive to any sort of business proposal.

LinkedIn is widely known as a platform to learn business secrets and sell/purchase services that help businesses grow. Therefore, LinkedIn is the perfect place to acquire new clients, as it is more accepted than other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

In a 2020 RAIN Group Center for Sales Research study of close to 500
buyers, they learned that the overwhelming majority—82%!—will look
up a seller on LinkedIn before replying to a seller’s prospecting efforts.
Compare that to back in 2005, when sellers told us social media
wasn’t important because enterprise-level decision makers couldn’t
be bothered using it. How times have changed!
Whatever means you use for prospecting, or any aspect of virtual
or face-to-face selling, know that eight out of every 10 buyers are
vetting you on LinkedIn before deciding whether to respond to you.
Reaching out to the C-level?
You may be surprised to learn the C-level is more likely than others to
connect with you on LinkedIn—even when they don’t know you.


Takeaway: Leveraging digital channels expands the reach and engagement with customers, boosting sales opportunities.


Application: Sales professionals should create an active presence on relevant social media platforms, share valuable content, respond promptly to customer inquiries, encourage feedback and reviews, and utilize targeted advertising or promotional campaigns. The goal is to move from a mindset of social media to social selling. My advice would be to start with LinkedIn, as it can be extremely beneficial for your business, but first you have to put in the work. It may seem like a lot at first, but if you just sit down and get started, you’ll see how easy it is. Follow the steps we talked about in this guide, and LinkedIn will help take your company to new heights.

If you would like some 1-on-1 guidance on setting up your profile, do’s & don’ts, networking tips, working with LinkedIn groups, and content creation, reach out to me personally, and I can set up a session or invite you to a live webinar.

By following the tactics outlined in this blog post, sales professionals can effectively build strong relationships with their customers, understand their needs, and enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Stay tuned for a follow-up post breaking down the strategies and tactics for Week 4. Improve your communication skills: Effective communication is the key to successful sales. Till then, I hope Week 3 brings a new level of confidence and focus on your path to finishing 2023 BIG!

[Week 1] 5-week Daily Plan To Fill Your Pipeline, Regain Control , & Master Your Sales Role

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

Over the next 5 weeks, I will be following up on a post that I made here, and diving deeper into each weekly and daily objective. My hope is that this helps you on your sales journey to finishing BIG for 2023 and beyond!

Week 1: Setting Clear and Specific Goals

Day 1: Refining Your Sales Goals

Task: Take some time to review your current sales goals and assess their specificity and measurability. If your goals are vague or difficult to measure, refine them to make them more actionable.

In my coaching, I see (I have been one too) many sales professionals who set their sales goals at the beginning of the year. In doing so they soon realize, once the year has begun, that their initial goals were too broad, like “increase sales” and “grow customer base”, or “hit bonus.” As a result, they hop on the struggle bus to staying motivated because they couldn’t track their progress effectively.

Takeaway: Specific and measurable goals provide clarity and direction. When you have clear objectives, you can break them down into actionable tasks, making it easier to stay motivated during down sales months. For example, let’s take the goal of increasing sales and break it down, make it actionable, and put a timeline on it. Let’s say that this rep wants to increase their close rate 33% by the end of the week.

Current state:

  • 10 opportunities a week
  • 30% close rate
  • $20,000 average deal size

So in the past week, this rep has closed three jobs. An increase of 33% would equate to four deals this week. Closing four deals out of 10 opportunities would put this rep’s closing rate at 40%. Just one extra contract! I know, this is just easy math, but this is the magic of taking vague goals and making them specific and measurable. To some, even increasing the closing rate by 33% seems a little abstract, but once you realize it’s just one additional contract per week, it seemingly becomes achievable just on it’s surface. When you take that one additional deal over weeks, months, and quarters, you begin to realize the commission impact that just a single deal per week can make, and that’s when this vague goal just became relevant.

Application: SMART goals ensure your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For example, instead of “increase sales,” make it “achieve a 33% increase in close rate by the end of the week.”

For more on SMART goals visit my previous post here

Day 2: Tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Task: Identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will help you track progress towards your sales goals. KPI’s are usually relegated to management for measuring important company metrics, but for sales reps, the important metrics are the ones that track selling effectiveness. These can vary greatly by industry or even by company, but for simplicity, let’s use closing percentage, average deal size, and net sales per lead issued. It is really important to be clear on the metrics by which performance is graded. Once the metrics are identified, a system can be created to consistently measure and analyze them.

I really enjoy sports and movies; combine those two, and there’s an audience in my home theater. One of my favorite movies is Moneyball with Brad Pitt. While it’s a great baseball movie, it really conveys the importance and impact of tracking the right metrics. If there’s one thing that baseball does not lack, it’s stats. The movie is very analogous to sales, in my opinion. Andy, another sales professional I had the opportunity to coach, realized the importance of tracking his KPIs after a slow sales month. We identified that he had a weak pipeline, but when I asked about his call numbers, he would extort that he called “plenty of people” but “couldn’t get ahold of anyone.” When pressed to quantify “plenty”, he always had a convenient number of around 20. My experience told me that it was probably closer to 10. Let’s face it, that’s not enough activity to fill any pipeline. We implemented a tracking system, and he started monitoring metrics like the number of dials, contact rate, lead conversion rate, and the number of prospect meetings scheduled. By doing so, he could identify which areas needed improvement and adjust his strategies accordingly. Most notably, what he found was that he was talking to prospects, but he just lacked the right skills to convert them into appointments.

Takeaway: KPIs provide valuable insights into your sales performance. Regularly analyzing these metrics will enable you to make data-driven decisions and maintain motivation during challenging times.

Application: Use a CRM system or sales tracking tool to monitor your KPIs consistently. Set aside time each day to review your progress and identify areas that require attention.

For more tips on prospecting visit my previous post here

Day 3: Setting Achievable Targets

Task: Break down your sales goals into smaller, more achievable targets. Develop a daily action plan to work toward these targets.

Prior to COVID my wife and I would go on a cruise every year. It’s usually our one big trip per year, with a few smaller trips in other months. Over the years our packing routine hasn’t changed one bit. It goes like this; the week leading up to the trip we begin to get anxious about everything that needs to get done before we leave- our dogs scheduled for the kennel, have I mowed the yard, have we purchased our travel necessities, have we done all of the laundry (who wants to come back to five loads of laundry to do??), have we gotten our suitcases out from storage, have we packed, printed our boarding passes etc., etc. It is without fail that we wait till the day before we leave to do the majority of these items and we are often checking off this list of to-do’s till midnight with a flight schedule for 6 am the next morning. By the time we are in bed we feel like we’ve done more in the past four hours than we have in the past four days. I share this story because I see sales reps engage in planning for their sales targets in very much the same way. While I can relate with my vacation planning, I can’t when it comes to sales planning. Too many sales reps begin planning and stressing about achieving their targets when they have only a week left in the month, and just like my vacations, it’s due to bad planning and procrastination.

To prevent this sales dilemma, start by breaking down the most important sales activities into daily time blocks. What gets scheduled often doesn’t get ignored. If a reps follow-up to close rate is only 20%, and she needs five more deals to hit her goal, then she will need 25 contacts in her follow up pipeline. However, if her call to contact ratio is only 15% then she’ll need 166 prospects in which to follow up. Since the best reps track their activity, like discussed in Day 2, this rep knows that they can only effectively contact 20 prospects per hour. So, this reps needs to plan their follow up activity over eight hours in the week. See how knowing the numbers can begin to tell the story of how to best plan the days, weeks, and month? This rep that I coached, Emily, created a daily schedule that included making a certain number of prospecting calls, sending personalized follow-up emails, and attending sales meetings. This structured approach helped her make steady progress even during slow sales months.

Takeaway: By breaking down your goals into smaller milestones, you can avoid feeling overwhelmed and maintain a sense of accomplishment with each achievement.

Application: Use the “divide and conquer” approach. Divide your monthly or quarterly sales goals into weekly or daily targets, and then plan your activities accordingly.

For more on planning & productivity visit a previous post here

Day 4: Accountability and Support

Task: Determine how you will hold yourself accountable for achieving your sales goals. Identify someone you can share your goals with and set up a system to track progress together.

In my 24 years of selling, managing, coaching, and leading high-performing sales teams, I have noticed a few things. There is a common misperception that top salespeople do not need accountability. That is simply not true; however, it is often the case that accountability looks different from one rep to the next. While one rep finds accountability with a team member, another with a sales manager, others with a mentor, and another with performance metrics, Accountability isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. The reps that last and become high performers test many approaches until they find what works best for them. My advice is to spend some time thinking about the qualities that would be important to look for in an accountability partner. Are they optimistic? Are they constructive? Do they need to have more experience? Can they be similar in terms of tenure? Asking these questions beforehand can help you avoid some potential landmines that could do more harm than good.

Takeaway: Having someone hold you accountable and provide support can significantly impact your motivation and determination to achieve important sales goals.

Application: Find an accountability partner within the organization or a mentor who can provide guidance and encouragement. Schedule regular check-ins to discuss progress and challenges.

Here’s a Weekly Accountability Plan template that I use with my coaching clients: Leave a comment (“accountability plan”) and I’ll be happy to send you the excel workbook

For more on finding a mentor and maintaining motivation visit a previous post here

Day 5: Celebrating Small Wins

Task: Identify how you will celebrate small wins and milestones along the way to achieving your sales goals. Consider ways to use these celebrations as motivation to keep going.

A veteran rep that I had the privilege to coach and mentor was Alex. He’s a seasoned sales professional, and I encouraged him to implement a reward system for himself. Whenever he achieved a significant milestone or exceeded his weekly targets, he would treat himself to something he enjoyed, like a nice dinner or a relaxing weekend getaway. He had my full support! If it meant me taking calls from his accounts during his getaway, then I was happy to do it. These celebrations not only boosted his motivation but also created a positive feedback loop.

Takeaway: Celebrating your achievements, no matter how small, reinforces a sense of accomplishment and keeps you motivated throughout the down sales months.

Application: Create a rewards system that aligns with your goals. Treat yourself to something special whenever you reach a target or milestone. It can be as simple as taking a break to enjoy a favorite snack after a successful day of prospecting. It will be very easy to fall into a routine over time in sales, and at times that can become monotonous. These small celebrations help keep the process fun and more enjoyable over a career.

In conclusion, staying motivated during down sales months requires a proactive and structured approach. By setting clear and specific goals, tracking your performance with KPIs, breaking down targets, seeking accountability, and celebrating small wins, you can maintain your motivation and drive towards achieving success in your sales career. Remember, highs and lows are natural in every sales professional’s journey, but with a consistent sales strategy and continuous improvement, you can navigate through the tough times and come out stronger on the other side.

Stay tuned for a follow up post breaking down the strategies and tactics for Week 2: Developing a Sales Plan. Till then, I hope Week 1 brings a new level of confidence and focus on your path to finishing 2023 BIG!

Featured

5-week Daily Plan To Fill Your Pipeline, Regain Control , & Master Your Sales Role

Staying motivated during down sales months can be challenging, but it’s important to remember that every sales professional experiences highs and lows in their career. The key to success is to develop a consistent sales strategy and continuously work to improve your sales techniques. Below, I have outlined a 5-week plan with objectives broken down into daily action items:

Week 1. Set clear and specific goals: Create measurable goals that are achievable and align with your overall sales strategy. This will help you stay focused and motivated even during the downswing months.

  • Day 1: What are your current sales goals? Are they specific and measurable? If not, how can you refine them to make them more actionable?
  • Day 2: What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will help you track progress towards your sales goals? How can you ensure that you are consistently measuring and analyzing these metrics?
  • Day 3: How can you break down your sales goals into smaller, achievable targets? What steps can you take each day to work towards these targets?
  • Day 4: How can you stay accountable for achieving your sales goals? Who can you share them with, and how can you track progress together?
  • Day 5: How can you celebrate small wins and milestones along the way to achieving your sales goals? How can you use these celebrations as motivation to keep going?

For a deep dive into Week 1 tactics and strategies, visit my post here

Week 2. Develop a sales plan: Create a sales plan that outlines your target audience, sales approach, and key metrics. This will help you stay organized and focused on achieving your sales goals.

  • Day 6: Who is your target audience? What are their pain points and challenges, and how can you address them with your product or service?
  • Day 7: What is your unique selling proposition (USP)? How can you communicate this effectively to potential customers?
  • Day 8: What is your sales approach? How can you tailor it to different types of customers and situations?
  • Day 9: How can you use data and analytics to inform your sales plan? What insights can you gain from previous sales performance and customer behavior?
  • Day 10: How can you consistently review and update your sales plan to ensure it remains relevant and effective?

For a deep dive into Week 2 tactics and strategies, visit my post here

Week 3. Build relationships with your customers: Building strong relationships with your customers is essential for long-term success in sales. Focus on understanding their needs and pain points, and offer solutions that address their specific challenges.

  • Day 11: How can you actively listen to your customers to understand their needs and pain points?
  • Day 12: What are some effective ways to build rapport with customers? How can you use these techniques in your sales approach?
  • Day 13: How can you personalize your interactions with customers to make them feel valued and understood?
  • Day 14: How can you follow up with customers after a sale to ensure their satisfaction and build a long-term relationship?
  • Day 15: How can you leverage social media and other digital channels to connect with and engage customers?

For a deep dive into Week 3 tactics and strategies, visit my post here

Week 4. Improve your communication skills: Effective communication is key to successful sales. Work on improving your listening and communication skills, and focus on building rapport with your customers.

  • Day 16: What are some effective techniques for active listening? How can you incorporate these into your sales approach?
  • Day 17: How can you use storytelling to communicate the value of your product or service to customers?
  • Day 18: How can you use body language and nonverbal cues to establish trust and build rapport with customers?
  • Day 19: What are some effective questioning techniques that can help you better understand customer needs and pain points?
  • Day 20: How can you stay up-to-date with the latest sales trends and techniques? What resources and training programs can you access to continuously improve your sales approach?

For a deep dive into Week 4 tactics and strategies, visit my post here

Week 5: Continuously learn and adapt: The sales industry is always changing, and it’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and techniques. Attend sales training programs, read industry publications, and seek feedback from your colleagues and customers to continuously improve your sales approach.

  • Day 21: Reflect on your recent sales interactions. What worked well? What could have been improved? Identify specific areas where you can enhance your sales techniques.
  • Day 22: Review industry publications, blogs, or podcasts to stay updated on the latest trends in your field. Identify one key insight or strategy that you can incorporate into your sales approach.
  • Day 23: Seek feedback from your colleagues or mentors. Ask them to evaluate your sales techniques and provide suggestions for improvement. Consider their input and determine actionable steps to enhance your approach.
  • Day 24: Attend a sales training or webinar. Choose a topic that aligns with your development needs, such as negotiation skills or objection handling. Apply the knowledge gained to your sales practice.
  • Day 25: Analyze customer feedback and testimonials. Identify common themes or areas of improvement mentioned by customers. Use this feedback to refine your sales approach and better address customer needs.
  • Day 26: Experiment with a new sales technique or approach. Step out of your comfort zone and try something different to see how it resonates with customers. Evaluate the results and determine if it’s worth incorporating into your regular practice.
  • Day 27: Engage in role-playing exercises with a colleague or mentor. Practice different sales scenarios and receive constructive feedback on your performance. Use this opportunity to refine your communication and persuasion skills.
  • Day 28: Reflect on your overall progress throughout the month. Celebrate your accomplishments and identify any remaining areas for improvement. Set new learning goals for the upcoming month to continue your professional growth.

Remember that sales success takes time and effort, and it’s important to stay motivated and focused even during the down months. With the right approach and mindset, you can achieve your sales goals and build a successful career.

☎️ Ace Your Follow-Up Game: Best Practices for Following Up After a Cold Call

Cold calling is an essential aspect of sales, but it’s only half the battle. Following up after a cold call is equally important, if not more, to close the deal. However, following up can be a daunting task, especially if you don’t have a plan in place. In this article, we’ll discuss the best practices for following up after a cold call to increase your chances of success.

The Importance of Following Up After a Cold Call

Before we dive into best practices, let’s understand why following up after a cold call is crucial. Here are a few reasons:

  1. Keeps you on top of mind: Following up regularly reminds the prospect of your product or service. This way, when they are considering a purchase, your business will be the first one that comes to their mind.
  2. Builds credibility: Regular follow-ups show that you are serious about your business and are willing to put in the effort to close the deal. This builds credibility and trust with the prospect.
  3. Provides additional information: Following up gives you the opportunity to provide additional information or answer any questions the prospect may have. This can help address any concerns and move them further down the sales funnel.

Best Practices for Following Up After a Cold Call

Now that we understand the importance of following up after a cold call let’s discuss the best practices to maximize your chances of success.

1. Have a Plan

Before making the cold call, have a follow-up plan in place. This will help you stay organized and ensure that you don’t miss any follow-up opportunities. Make sure to note down the prospect’s contact information, the date of the call, and any other relevant details.

2. Send a Thank You Email

After the cold call, send a thank-you email to the prospect. This shows that you appreciate their time and are interested in continuing the conversation. The email should be brief, to the point, and personalized.

3. Follow Up Within 24-48 Hours

Timing is crucial when it comes to following up after a cold call. Follow up within 24-48 hours to keep the conversation fresh in the prospect’s mind. This also shows that you are proactive and serious about closing the deal.

4. Use Multiple Channels

Don’t rely solely on email to follow up. Use multiple channels such as phone, social media, and text message to stay in touch with the prospect. This will increase your chances of getting a response and closing the deal.

5. Provide Value

When following up, provide value to the prospect. Share relevant industry insights, news, or resources that can help them make an informed decision. This shows that you are invested in their success, not just making a sale.

6. Keep the Conversation Going

Following up is not a one-time event. Keep the conversation going by scheduling regular check-ins with the prospect. This will help build a relationship and increase the likelihood of closing the deal.

Following up after a cold call is a critical aspect of sales. It helps keep you on top of mind, builds credibility, and provides additional information to the prospect. By implementing the best practices we’ve discussed, you can increase your chances of success and close more deals. Remember to have a plan, send a thank-you email, follow up within 24-48 hours, use multiple channels, provide value, and keep the conversation going.

Happy selling!

FAQs

Q: How often should I follow up after a cold call?

A: Follow up within 24-48 hours of the call, then continue to schedule regular check-ins with the prospect.

Q: What if the prospect doesn’t respond to my follow-up?

A: If the prospect doesn’t respond, try a different channel or provide additional value in your follow-up communication. If you still don’t hear back, it may be time to move on to other prospects and revisit this one at a later date.

Q: What should I do if the prospect says they’re not interested?

A: Respect their decision and thank them for their time. However, don’t completely give up on them. Continue to stay in touch and provide value. You never know when their needs or circumstances may change, and they may become interested in your product or service.

Do More With Less: Consistency in Prospecting

Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash

While most sales professionals know that it takes at least five contacts to convert a prospect, the figures show that majority don’t make it past two. That should serve as a strong reminder to any salesperson who is having trouble. Of course, there are a variety of reasons why salespeople fail to follow up with prospects in order to increase their chances of making another happy customer. One of the reasons might be that they have no process in place after they discover a new prospect, they have too many difficult clients, or they are just too preoccupied with following up on too many prospects who waste their time.

However, it appears that the main issue is a lack of a prospecting process. A salesperson should have a method of communicating with their prospects that has been proven. Real estate agents, Financial advisors, and insurance providers that deliver value on a regular basis are excellent examples. It may appear to be a difficult task to remember, but any decent CRM software makes it feasible. Even without a CRM program, with today’s cell phones it’s as simple as telling Siri to set a reminder on your calendar. You may outline the steps you want a prospect to take with the help of good prospecting software. I like to use the W.I.N. method of notation structure in my CRM. List what was discussed, any insights you or the customer gain from the conversation, and based on those insights, what are the best next steps. With the help of a decent CRM software, you can keep things moving along in your pipeline and maintain your prospecting cadence. 

In addition to putting in notes outlining your prospecting efforts, a prospecting cadence that has worked well for me is the 3-2-4 sequence. After every interaction I want to follow-up within three days, over the course of two weeks, I have reached out four times. This has proven to work really well for me. Naturally some prospects may need more contacts, but this is a great rule of thumb for me and following this method will put you ahead of most your competitors. After four contacts and no measurable forward progression on the prospects behalf has been taken my conversations turn more towards disqualifying the customer. 

While consistent prospecting is half the battle having prospects that take up too much of our time or too many prospects who aren’t your target client is still an issue for many sales professionals. One thing that every salesperson should do is clean up their prospect list to identify just those prospects that have a lot of upside potential. You will be effective in bringing in more sales to your organization if you combine this with a strong prospecting process that you can follow.

Below is a link to a slideshare titled: Ultimate Follow-Up Checklist to Boost Sales

Feel free to check it out and keep it handy next time you’re about prospect for your next dream client!

https://www.slideshare.net/secret/xrT0uk14RLqukS

Don’t Take Selling Personal

Photo by Ryan Snaadt on Unsplash

Selling may be one of the most lucrative and exciting careers in the world when you’re closing sales and hitting your sales targets. However, if sales are down and prospects aren’t returning your calls, you may begin to doubt yourself and take it personally. So, let’s look at what it takes to stay motivated in order to bring in additional clients.

In order to get more clients and expand your business, follow these three steps.

1. Identifying and cultivating new customers.

2. Investing more time and effort into existing customers to increase referrals and business.

3. Making contact with higher-level decision-makers in order to gain larger deals. 

As a sales professional, we recognize the significance of reaching these goals. Why, then, do so many sales professionals struggle to get over the first hurdle? It appears that, as much as we want to succeed in sales, we also want to avoid rejection while calling on prospects and customers.

Let’s take a look at how rejection affects sales performance. Fear of rejection and failure might make you lose your excitement, confidence, and initiative. When you are rejected, it can be damaging to your ego. You may get disillusioned, upset, and defensive if you take the negativity personally.

We may take rejection personally for three reasons. Each of them is linked to one of the three goals. They are as follows:

Frequency: Studies have shown that reaching decision makers takes at least five attempts or more. You may be irritated, disheartened, and uncertain of yourself if you’ve been calling prospects all week and they haven’t responded. It’s difficult not to take it personally and believe you’ve done something wrong.

Emotional Involvement: You’ve had a long-term business relationship with a client. You put a lot of effort into building the relationship. You want to ask for referral business from them, but you’re terrified of putting them on the spot or getting a negative response. You’re worried that this may harm the connection you’ve fought so hard to build.

Perceived Importance: You may choose to call on prospects with whom you are most familiar. You may be hesitant to contact decision makers higher up the ladder in a company because you believe you lack the experience and confidence to engage with a seasoned senior executive. If you believe you have nothing in common with a company’s CEO, you are unlikely to contact him or her.

If we believe that in order to feel good about our work, we must be accepted by others, we will be vulnerable to failure and rejection. Because self-esteem is built on ones own sense of self-worth, successful sales professionals see failure as a chance to learn and improve. They feel that failure may teach them more than success, and that every mistake is an opportunity to learn and grow. This is why successful sales professionals are generally in a positive mind-set, whether they achieve or fail, whether they are liked or rejected.

So, what’s the secret to coping with rejection in a constructive way? It can be summed up in five terms… “Don’t take anything too seriously.” Shit happens Things take place. People get overworked. Customers are possibly having a rough day. The economy rises and falls. You have a decision to make. You may either take it personally and use it as an excuse for failure, or you can concentrate on the four things you have control over: your beliefs, attitude, emotions, and performance. Take care of those four things, and the rest will fall into place.

Change your thoughts to “My customer is extremely satisfied with my service and is eager to suggest me to others with similar challenges!” the next time you have a limiting thought like “I can’t ask for referrals because I don’t want my client to think I’m too pushy!” Shifting your thoughts is the first step toward changing your beliefs, but it’s not the end of the process. Begin by stating it out loud to yourself and then sharing it with others. It will become more real for you if you do so.

ASSIGNMENT:

Choose one of the three objectives in which you’d want to make a breakthrough:

1. Identifying and cultivating new clients.

2. Investing extra time in customers in order to earn referrals or new business.

3. Obtaining larger orders or contacting higher-level decision makers.

  • Cut a 3″ x 5″ index card in half. On one side of the card, put down all of your negative thoughts regarding achieving that goal. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind.
  • Reverse the negative thinking and write good thoughts on the other side of each index card. This is the first step toward changing a negative belief.
  • Begin by speaking the new affirmation aloud to yourself and sharing it with others to practice changing that thought.

Make a list of action items to take, and take one step toward achieving the goal today!

Warning signs that you’re not doing enough prospecting.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Prospecting can help almost any salesperson enhance their performance. Prospecting takes up a substantial portion of a salesperson’s time when they are completely new to the company because they have no ongoing transactions to work on. However, if salespeople aren’t engaged and focusing on prospecting activities, they may fall out of the habit of prospecting on a regular basis. The difficulty is that being busy does not always generate more sales, leaving salespeople unhappy as to why their results aren’t increasing.

When asked how much their income would grow over the following 12 months if they invested 10-12 hours a week prospecting, the majority of salespeople believe it would double, some say triple, and nearly everyone believes it would increase by at least 25%.

So, if you’re wondering if you’re prospecting enough in your business right now, keep an eye out for these three warning signs that may suggest that you need to up your prospecting game.

Warning Sign #1

You’re still doing a lot of cold calling, not warm calling, after many years in the business.

If, after years in the industry, individuals still don’t know who you are when you call them, you’re not prospecting them enough to create the sorts of connections that can quickly lead to additional business. Many of the calls made by salespeople who prospect often become “warm calls,” meaning they are speaking with people they’ve already spoken with. So, if you’ve been in a particular industry for a while and aren’t getting a lot of warm calls, it might be because you’re not prospecting enough.

Warning Sign #2

You’re finding prospects with needs, but it’s too late to start working with them.

One of the worst scenarios a salesperson may have is this, y ou’ve found someone who is eager to help, but they’ve previously agreed to work with someone else…your competition. So why weren’t you in touch with these folks months ago when they first realized they needed to speak with a salesperson? It’s possible that it’s because you haven’t done enough prospecting throughout the year.

Warning Sign #3

You hear of deals closing in your market that you were completely unaware of.

If you learn through others that someone has bought, sold, or developed in the region you work in and you were unaware that the opportunity was available or that the individuals or firm were seeking a solution, it’s another clue that you’re not prospecting enough.

So, how did you do? Did any of these three warning signs seem to apply to you?

Prospecting is one of the most challenging activities for many of us to keep up with. Who wants to put yourself out there in a position where they can be rejected nine times out of ten or wind up chatting to individuals who aren’t interested in accomplishing anything at all?

The point is that the one call out of ten where individuals could be interested in doing something is the one that will bring you closer to your goals. 

So, take a look at where you are in terms of prospecting right now. And if you believe that prospecting for 10-12 hours or more every week will significantly increase your revenue, do whatever it takes to make sure you get this prospecting done.