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Jon Baker is a Business Coach, Sales Trainer and Experienced Public Speaker who helps ambitious business owners grow their business; specially those growing from 5 to 50 employees, he’s known as “The 5 to 50 coach.”
Inputs not
outputs
Would you try
to get cash from a cash dispenser without your PIN code? It can be done,
but it’s much harder work! Focus on the inputs to your sales and
marketing, not outputs. If you do the right number of the right things,
you will get the right results. Unfortunately most SME owners focus on the
results, it is the actions you take which are critical.
Your Sales and Marketing PIN code is the numbers of leads you need,
actions you do to get them and what you do with them. Every business has a
ratio of sales to leads and actions to generate them. Combining the
numbers of each of these activities is your PIN code. Ensure you put the
right numbers in, and the money comes out. Tracking the numbers helps
accountability and drives sales.
Take your
shoes off
When you are
selling, take your shoes off! In fact, put yourself in the customer’s
shoes. How many times have you listened to somebody try to sell to you and
their words have “gone over your head”? The problem is that they have been
talking in their language, not yours. Ensure that you talk about your
product/ service from the customer perspective. Think about what the
customer needs to hear.
Review your sales scripts (the main things that you normally talk about
with customers, whether formally listed down, or held in your head). There
is a tendency for acronyms and phrases to creep in, especially when you
talk about good results or innovations. Physically listen to the words
your sales people use (which should be similar to yours), regular re-programming
is nearly always beneficial. It’s easier to sell from the customers shoes!
What is the biggest failing in SME
sales?
Golfers and
tennis stars know this, but it often gets forgotten in the SME sector.
Follow through is a very important part of a golfers swing; even more so
to a sales person. Follow through is the most important part of any sales
process.
How do you manage your sales team’s follow through? You can, and should,
discuss this with your team. Even if you have no team, a clear process for
follow though will help you hold yourself accountable.
Your vision
Do you and
your team all have the same vision? Revisit and remind yourself of the
three things that you and your business stand for. I recently challenged a
retail business to check their sales team and they didn’t all give the
same list – the result is confused customers and demotivated staff (people
like to know where they’re going, the most common complaint from staff is
that they are not sure). Check and refresh the vision.
Your balance
What is your balance between new customers and getting more from
existing customers? Often existing customers are either forgotten in favour of
the excitement of closing new deals, or too much focus is put on the “ease” of
warm cuddly chats with existing ones (which tend to focus on anything but your
extra income).
New customers are important, existing customers can be an easier source of
additional revenue. Both approaches are important, what is your balance between
the two? Do you have a clear target? This could mean changing your sales team’s
priorities or even jobs (splitting account management and new sales) as the
skills are very different.
Whether it is just you, or you and a team, get the balance right.
Jon Baker regularly helps businesses achieve dramatic increases in sales and has a host of other free sales ideas available at www.4moresales.co.uk He is the founder of venture-Now and partner at The Executive Village. If you would some help identifying how you could increase your sales and get more from your sales team, then give Jon a call on 01234 750 393 or e-mail him jon@venture-Now.com.
