4 Must-Dos to Win Sales

4 Must-Dos to Win Sales:

Are you on the road to sales success?

Lots of things can determine whether you win sales. Buyers might not understand the value you offer. You might come on too strong and push people away. You might not have identified your ideal clients, and so the people you talk to have no need.

The list can go on and on. But here are four things that are essential for not only making a one-time sale, but establishing long-term buying relationships with clients—becoming a trusted advisor on whom they rely.

1. Market Your Services According to Buyer Preferences

You know you have to market your services using methods your ideal clients prefer. You have to go where your buyers are. If they use Twitter, you have to be there. If they prefer email notifications, you need to update them via that form of media.

Fairly new to the game is mobile marketing. Companies may be reluctant to adopt that type of marketing, but they shouldn’t be, says Jeff Roberts in his article Mobile Marketing a Must for Firms. Millions of people now use smartphones and other mobile devices, and if your firm doesn’t have a mobile website, chances are you’re not reaching those buyers, he says.

“Mobile websites are here to stay and are fast becoming one of the dominant ways that buyers access content,” Roberts writes. “In fact, Morgan Stanley predicts that by 2014, more people will access the Internet from mobile devices than from computers. And according to Google’s study, “The Mobile Movement: Understanding Smartphone Users,” nine out of 10 smartphone searches results in an action (purchasing, visiting a business, etc.).”

If you’re new to the mobile marketing game, Roberts’ article can help you get started.

2. Provide Sales Training

You’ve identified your ideal client, you’re marketing where they hang out, your value proposition is crystal clear, you’re publishing content to help potential buyers and prove your expertise, and you’re ready for your sales team to start bringing in the clients. But they’re struggling. Even the “sales superstar” you hired is having trouble.

The problem could be that you haven’t prepared your sales team. They might not understand the firm’s value proposition and therefore aren’t communicating it well. They might not know what is expected of them.

Companies can’t expect their sales force to “just know” how to sell their products and services, writes John Doerr in his article Sales Success Calls for Building a Better Road: Define, Support, and Drive Action. They must provide a framework that salespeople can follow systematically to move prospects through the pipeline, as well as help them set goals and put plans into action.

“Most would agree that there are right and wrong ways to do just about everything, and sales are no exception,” Doerr says. “Process and methodology are essentially guides for behavior. They help you know when to do certain things (process) and how to do them well (methodology). It should be the basis for any sales training program looking to increase sales efficiency.”

3. Make Sure Buyers Are Ready to Change

As you talk with potential buyers you have to be careful that you accurately judge prospects’ interest, warns Jill Konrath. You might assume they’re ready to buy when really they’re still trying to decide if they should change from the status quo.

Your prospect would “prefer not to [change] because it takes a lot of extra time and effort. But if they can see that all the hassle and pain leads to a better outcome, they’ll do it,” Konrath writes in her article Promiscuous Sales Behavior Is Damaging Your Reputation.

She also points out that 90% of the people you meet are still in that deciding phase. Get them past that and onto the next phase—selecting a service—and then you can talk about your solution.

Sales expert Adrian Davis agrees that getting buyers to change from the status quo is a significant step sellers need to do well. In fact, the status quo is often a business’s greatest competition, he says in his podcast interview How to Become a CEO’s Trusted Advisor.

“Most people don’t seriously consider how much competition the status quo poses,” Davis says. “They’re seeing themselves as competing against another vendor, and really what they should be thinking is that they are competing against the status quo. And they should work with the chief executive to figure out how to move the organization out of the status quo.”

4. Work with the CEO

Getting a chief executive to take action on what you propose calls for a different approach than when you present a proposal to a department manager, says Davis. The chief executive has the final say, and there’s a level of risk involved. It’s on his shoulders if he makes a decision that hurts the company.

That means you have to present a business case and explain the ROI. With a business case you work with the CEO to uncover the real needs of an organization, agree on the requirements, and present tangible and intangible benefits. And you use an ROI to back up your claims.

“What’s going to make the sale is emotional engagement,” Davis says. “When that chief executive has completely bought in emotionally to making this change, then they’re going to look for ammunition that will support the change that they want to make. And one of the most powerful pieces of ammunition is ROI.”

What other things should firms do to make sure their services sell well?

Photo by Rob Owen-Wahl