Marketing is a science. After 23 years of training salespeople, building businesses, and recruiting salespeople, I have narrowed it down to the seven critical areas that are essential for sales growth.
1. Positioning / Branding / Differentiation:
Answering the most important question of the prospect, “Why should you do business with me (and not your competitor),” is key. It is essential. A strong “Sales Positionure” is crucial. Without a Unique Value Proposition (UVP), salespeople often resort to price cutting. It is not a viable strategy to sell. Keep in mind that the prospect’s mind is based on the W.I.I.F.M. principle (“What’s in it for me?” ).
2. Potent Sales Scripts:
It is essential to have scripts that are scientifically written, natural-sounding, and emotionally engaging for sales prospecting / pre-qualifying, sales presentation, objection handling, closing, following up, and FAQs. A good sales script will keep your salespeople on track, help them ask the right questions, and get to the Close. Written scripts can be used to quickly train new salespeople and present a professional image of your company.
3. Cutting Edge Sales Tools:
An “Info Kit” is a PDF for emailing, faxing, and snail-mailing. It should be designed to drive the right emotional hot buttons and include a solid call to action. It is essential to have a prospect database, a sound Customer Relationship Management system (CRM), clearly defined “Steps for the Sale,” and corresponding “Actions” in the CRM. A website that is well designed and maintained can be a great help.
4. Find the right salespeople
It is rare to find good salespeople. Dan Joy, Inc. offers the JOY Tests of Total Sales Ability (TM). These tests can help you to hire top-performing salespeople (Top 2%) and retain them for more extended periods. They also allow you to grow your sales. These tests can help you avoid costly hiring errors. In the past, only large companies used sales assessment tools. The fully integrated online sales assessment testing platform of Dan Joy, Inc. now makes these critical sales tools easily accessible to small and mid-sized businesses. However, large companies can also use them. Dan Joy, Inc. offers ten free sales assessments to qualified businesses (see link in Author’s Bio/Resource Box below).
5. Good Sales Leadership:
Selling is one of the most challenging things. Selling is physically exhausting (extended hours) as well as emotionally draining (receiving rejections every day). It is not a good idea to have your sales team report on someone who has never sold for their living. Salespeople can report to non-sales Plant Managers, CFOs, Production Managers, Office Managers, etc., and it is often a recipe for disaster. At least once per week, regular sales meetings, Role-Playing (practicing scripts, handling objections, etc. Sales Training, Sales Goals, and Sales Training are essential. They should be expressed in terms that can be controlled (essential), continuous accountability, metrics, reward/correct, motivation, or inspiration.
6. Continual Lead Generation:
Salespeople should always have “several irons at the fire” to ensure they don’t lose heart if only one sale comes through. Multiple sales should always be “brewing.” You should have a consistent and effective Leads Generation program (Direct Mail, eMarketing Advertising, Press Releases, Public Relations, etc.). Get the word out about your product or service early and often if you are a successful one.
7. Acuity:
It is crucial to observe what is working, what isn’t and make continuous course corrections. It is essential to study the market, monitor the markets, and innovate to stay ahead. It can be more complex than recruiting salespeople, but it is possible to retain them by treating them well and paying them fair compensation.
Conclusion
This is the way to go if you want to grow sales. These seven areas are essential if you want to grow your business or increase sales in any down or up economy. These sales tips and advice can help you to increase your sales revenue. It takes hard work and intelligent work to grow a business. This sales growth advice is applicable to both entrepreneurs and small businesses, as well as large corporations who want to increase their sales.
