Sales Progress Blog

Behind every great sales team, there is a sales manager that helped them achieve their numbers and their success. They helped inspire their team and motivated them to enhance their performance in every way possible. They coached their reps through the tough times and gave them the tools to help them meet their bottom line. Great sales managers are hard to come by, but they all share a couple common characteristics:

They build and support.
Great sales managers know how to build their teams up and keep them there. They give them the tools they need to effectively sell, and furthermore, they are there when their sales team needs help. If a sales person comes to them for assistance, they do not just give their employee the answer. They sit them down and have the rep go through their problem, and they figure out a solution through teaching and coaching.

Read on…

admin Sales Training coaching techniques, communication skills, great sales manager, linkedin, sales coaching, sales techniques, sales tips

You may be the top salesperson in your company, but you had to start somewhere. Sales is not an easy job, and it is difficult because of preconceived notions about salespeople, which makes it difficult to get that first meeting with a potential client. Here are some sales techniques that you can use to help your chances of closing that sale when you do actually land that meeting:
Believe in what you sell.
No one wants to buy a product from someone who doesn’t believe in the excellence of what they’re selling. If you aren’t excited about your product then your customer won’t be either. You need to be upbeat and positive. If you have difficulties in this area, then focus on the features, advantages and benefits of your product since these are what make your product great, and they often answer the, “What’s in it for me?” question.

Be able to define and engage with your target audience.

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admin Sales Training active learning, business opportunities, linkedin, prospecting, referrals, Sales Progress, sales techniques, sales tips

Writing thank-you notes has been an idea that has been so reinforced throughout my life that it has just become second nature. As a child, my mom made me write a thank-you card as soon as I opened a gift. There was no exception to this rule. In college, my business classes taught me that it is extremely important to write a card after a job interview. I was told that it would give me an extra edge when the company sat down to consider applicants. We have been taught these things growing up, but it seems that we forget this simple rule the longer we are in the business world.

If writing a thank-you note could possibly help you get a job, what’s to stop it from landing that potential customer or closing a sale? Writing a note is a simple and effective way to impact the amount of sales that your reps make each year. There are multiple different reasons to write thank-yous to clients:

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admin Sales Management business coaching, effective coaching, inside sales team, linkedin, prospecting, Results, revenue, sales, sales coaching techniques, Sales Representative, Sales Success, sales techniques, thank you

Throughout most of our blogs, we have discussed the importance of learning reinforcement. It important to know as much information about your product as you can, and it is equally as important to learn new techniques that are arising in the sales world. We have always stressed that you should constantly be learning, and it has become apparent that this old adage is necessary as more and more younger generations come into the workplace.

We all know by now that there are four generations working side by side in most businesses, but what does that mean from a learning standpoint?

Generational Learning Requirements

As a society, we have slowly progressed into an era where technology is starting to become the forefront of most industries, and as this transition is happening, generation X and generation Y are being taught how to successfully harness the tool. Veterans and baby boomers should be given online training because technology is second nature to the younger generations, as professional speaker Garrison Wynn puts it,

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admin Sales Management, Sales Training business coaching, business coaching tools, effective coaching, Employee Coaching, Enhance Performance, Facebook, generation gaps, Leadership, learning strategies, learning techniques, linkedin, online learning, Sales Manager, sales techniques, training and development, training reinforcement, training techniques

We often speak about utilizing group discussions and best practices as a part of your employee coaching program, to help improve your sales team.  Now we propose you to take it one step further, and actually document these best practices, to create the greatest sales handbook your team could ask for.

You can read hundreds of books and articles about selling, but who better to learn sales tips from than your own team of people who are selling your same products or services, experiencing the same type of marketplace, and getting the same objections.

Get your team to write down their best work both for their own good and the good of their fellow employees.  Examples of useful information:

-    Their best elevator pitch
-    Their best “break the ice” opener
-    Their best response to specific objections
-    Their best sales close
-    Etc.

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Shannon Gburzynski Sales Management, Sales Training employee coaching program, sales techniques, sales tips, Sales Training, sustainable sales training, tailored sales training

Trade shows can be a very successful lead generation tool, often though they are not as successful as they could be because companies don’t prepare enough.  To effectively prepare for a successful trade show you must role-play and practice your skills, and then follow up after the event.

Leading up to the event you must have your team practice their skills.  Working a trade show is different than working a typical sales call, while the talking points may be the same the process is slightly different. Trade shows are full of businesses all competing for the attention of the same prospects over the same time period, it’s easy for a prospect to become bombarded by too many companies, so it’s vital that you are on your game.  Some companies may practice their elevator pitch for people already at their booth, but rarely do they practice how they will get people to stop and talk to them in the first place.

Role-playing will be your most successful route.  Have your staff practice pulling people in as they walk by as well as their elevator pitch once people are in the booth.  Being able to effectively pull people in will be just as important as keeping their attention once they stop, so practicing both will be very important to your success.

Pulling people in and keeping their attention is like a live prospecting call, and prospecting can be a difficult skill to master.  Have your sales team practice 1-2 times per week over the few weeks leading up to the event.  To get the most out of the practice have your staff score each other or offer specific feedback to the other team member.  Two heads are always better than one, so by collaborating and offering up feedback your team will come up with better tactics than if they just made them up on the fly once at the event.

Second FOLLOW UP .  I recently read an article that said on average 80% of leads from trade shows are never followed up on.  If you don’t go into the show with a follow up plan already in place, you will be less likely to get around to it later.  Many times leads are forgotten about till months later and by then your prospect has probably lost their initial interest.  Come up with a follow up plan and communicate it to your leads during the show.  For example: " Thanks Mr. Smith for stopping by our booth, look for a call from myself or my partner next week  with more details on the special we are offering and how it can help your company do xyz ."  Your prospect may be contacted by dozens of other exhibitors from the event the following week, but by warning them you will be reaching out they will be expecting to hear from you and will be more likely to respond back.

Practice and follow up are two easy and FREE tools to ensure that your trade show experience is a successful one.  Make sure you take advantage of them.

Tim Hagen Sales Training business opportunities, Enhance Performance, free sales training, lead generation, lead nurturing, networking, prospecting, sales skills, Sales Staff, sales techniques

Below are three top sales objections along with strategies to overcome them and improve your sales skills.

Your competitor’s pricing is better than yours.
Make sure you are asking enough questions to get a good look at their buying criteria.  You don’t have to lower your price if you can prove your product will better fit their needs.  Also look to other selling points such as better customer service that can make your product more appealing.

By asking more questions to better align your product with their needs you can make the sale without discounting, which is your opportunity over your competition.

Your competitors have a strong existing relationship.
Establish with this new prospect that you are not looking to replace but rather complement what they are already doing with your competitor.  This will put them at ease with you, and help you get your foot in the door with a smaller sale.  Then use that opportunity to really wow them, in the future they may decide to switch entirely.

Whether you initially get in the door or not, begin building a relationship by helping them and asking for nothing in return.  Forward them a free lead or an articles relevant to their industry.  These self-less acts take just a few minutes of your time and by asking for nothing in return you begin to develop a relationship.

Your competitor’s product is better than yours.
Again ask a lot of open ended questions, and find out more information about their needs. Are they paying for features or services from your competitor that they don’t need?  Your competitors product may be better, but show your prospect that your product is all they need and you could convince them to switch over.

admin Sales Training sales closing techniques, sales skills, sales techniques, sales tips, Sales Training

You have worked your butt off all week and you made it to Friday, now it’s time to enjoy the weekend… Isn’t It?  For many professionals the weekend doesn’t equate to 48 hours of pure personal time, it’s actually quite clouded with work.  If you are a working weekend warrior there are a few things to think about, before spending your Saturday afternoon working instead of relaxing.time management, business opportunities, sales skills

1. Are you using weekend time to make up for slacking off at work, or poor time management?  You may think you are the hardest worker in the office because you are one of the only ones doing work on weekends, but if you are one of the only ones this could be a good sign you aren’t using your time during the 9-5 work day effectively.  Try to become conscious of how much time you spend socializing, or checking non-urgent email.  Maybe your spending a little too much time checking your Facebook or LinkedIn accounts.  Schedule your days out the night before, giving yourself the right amount of time it SHOULD take you to finish a task, then stick to the schedule.  You may find you get everything done when you don’t allow yourself the distraction of tasks not on your schedule.  Who knows maybe you could start enjoying your weekends again?
2. Does what your working on REALLY have to get done.  Weekends are meant to refresh you to make it through another hard working workweek, but if your spending your weekends also working you aren’t getting the break you need.  Before you fire up your computer or drag yourself into an empty office, ask yourself, “Could this wait till Monday?”  If it can wait and get done first thing Monday morning, then wait.

By taking a look at WHY your working weekends, it may lead to a great opportunity to develop your skills to further increase your productivity, business opportunities,and getting your weekend back.

Shannon Gburzynski Sales Training business opportunities, Enhance Performance, sales skills, sales techniques, time management, workplace training

Download this FREE whitepaper now for a 4-Step process to creating your own social media strategy for selling, including a look at specific ways to use popular social media sites to increase leads and sale.  Use these sales techniques to increase sales now.

Download:

Shannon Gburzynski Sales Training lead generation, prospecting, sales, Sales Staff, sales techniques, social media

Nurturing leads has become more important and more difficult than ever for creating business opportunities:

• Research firm Sirius Decisions says that during the last five years, the average sales cycle has become 22% longer, typically with three more decision makers participating in the buying process.
• According to Forrester Research, companies that excel at lead nurturing are able to generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower cost per lead.
• According to CSO Insights, companies that excel at lead nurturing have 9% more sales reps make quota, and enjoy a 10% shorter ramp up time for new reps.

Follow up opportunities are a great way to nurture your leads, and they don’t always have to include a closing sales pitch.  Keep reading to check out some innovative follow up ideas to nurture your leads and keep you in front of your prospects with out looking desperate.

1. Send a referral:  This is a GREAT one.  Call up your prospect and tell them you have the name of a potential new prospect FOR THEM!  You establish yourself as a trusted resource, and should that prospect turn into a client for them, you can bet they will remember you when it comes time to make a purchase decision.
2. Send an article:  We pass this tip on to all of our clients, but still many won’t take the time so it’s a great way to set you apart.  Set up a Google news alert for articles, news, or how-tos written about your prospects industry.  Check the news alert once a week, and if there is information that may be relevant to your prospect forward it on.  Again, you position yourself as a resource, and are keeping your name top of mind with out becoming obnoxious.
3. Send them a relevant success story or testimonial.  Keep an up to date list of references, success stories, and testimonials on file. Then when a similar prospect pops up send them a quick email with the attached reference piece along with contact information of the source.  Encourage your prospects to contact your reference.  The easiest way to convince a lead to buy is to give them a trusted testimonial from one of their peers.
4. Communicate new products or features.  Every time your company comes out with something new, or updates something old use it as a way to get back in front of prospects.  A personal phone call is best, but if you have a large list, target the most promising prospects to call while sending an email to the rest.  This new product development may just be the the feature that resolves their hesitation to buy.
5. Give a response to questions.  Of course the best sales people try to be prepared for everything, but sometimes this is just unrealistic.  When a prospect asks a question you can’t answer use it as an opportunity to follow up with them later with a clear and specific response. You will get through again easier if you can say, "I have an answer to your question," as opposed to "I’m just following up."

Have your own creative way to follow up?  Share it with us in the comment section below!

Shannon Gburzynski Sales Training Enhance Performance, lead nurturing, prospecting, sales, sales effectiveness, Sales Manager, sales skills, Sales Staff, sales techniques, self directed learning skills