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The 4 Biggest Things
There are 4 Big Things that impact selling success. These are not just for 2011; they are timeless. If you get these right as a salesperson or sales manager, then you're on your way to selling victory. Sounds easy, but lots of room here for error and miscalculation.
Here are the 4 biggest things that impact selling success:
- Activity - What You Do
- Messaging - What You Say
- Audience - Who You Say It To
- Visibility - How You Track It
We're working with Fortune 500 companies and Silicon Valley startups that have sales team inconsistencies around all of these. When it comes to sales activities, that is, how many calls, emails, meetings, proposals, etc. need be done daily, weekly, monthly, some teams have no set pattern of activity metrics. The quality of sales messaging at all points of the sales cycle varies widely as well. It's a lot more than just a good elevator pitch. Additionally, correct customer audience/targets in terms of industries, segments and titles can greatly impact the effectiveness of selling efforts regardless of the quality of the selling message. Finally, how salespeople and managers maintain sales visibility in tracking pipeline growth and forecasting accuracy is as critical as anything in driving activities, adjustments, incentives and results.
Sales isn't easy. It's simply clear and straightforward what one has to do to be successful.
Are you set up for success in 2011?
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"I Object!" |
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So How Do You Handle Objections?
As tired as this topic is, this is undoubtedly the most popular question asked by those new and experienced in sales. How does one really manage a customer or prospect's objections? How does one deal with an apparent sales barrier when confronted with the ultimate show-stopper?
As if there's a silver bullet answer out there that one can use in situations with real and imagined objections...
Actually there is. It's not a single answer as much as a process for responding. This approach will give you the ability to deftly manage, go through or around obstacles in your sales path. Try this the next time you face an objection:
- Stop and ask a question. Any question that gets them to explain.
- Listen to their reply and ask another question. Any question that satisfies your natural curiosity.
- Now ask a clarifying question to their reply. A natural clarifying question.
- Now answer the objection they really have.
Your answer will invariably be dealing with something closer to the real issue. But now you know what you're up against. And the whole dialogue made you look and sound like a consultative sales professional, not a salesperson who defaults to old school product features, functions and benefits.
Give it a try and see the difference a question or two, or three makes!
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Early Read on 2011 |
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2010 Was Hard, Now What?
CSO Insights hints at increased hiring plans focused on new account acquisitions. In their upcoming 2011 Sales Performance Optimization Report the sales research firm reports interesting key trends in the sales arena:
- Lead Generation Challenges are on the Upswing
- Cross-Selling/Up-Selling is an Issue
- Sales Rep Compensation is Not Keeping Pace with Quota Increases
- Adoption of a Formal Sales Process Increases CRM Usage
- 70% of Survey Participants are Using or Evaluating Social CRM
The report will be released in February.
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Sales Playmaker |
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Playboox Playmaker - Sales Excellence On Demand
Top sales managers and their teams choose Playboox Playmaker to drive higher revenue and guarantee peak sales performance. Building upon existing SFA/CRM systems, Playboox Playmaker is a customizable on-demand Sales Excellence Enablement application that makes it easy to standardize, reinforce, and evolve a company's best sales processes, practices and tools.
As the market pushes for fully optimized sales organizations, we're seeing companies gravitate to tools like Playboox to ensure each sales person is performing optimally at every stage of the sales cycle for every key opportunity in which they compete.
Is your sales team consistently running optimized Sales Plays?
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Aristotle on Sales |
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Repeatable Excellence
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle
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