“Ready, fire, aim!”
Unfortunately, this is a classic approach to how many people and companies try to sell.
But it doesn’t work. Failing to plan will ensure the ultimate failure. You need to break things down into the necessary steps, and then you are prepared to “ready, aim, fire!”
With this approach, you may achieve some business wins here and there, but in the long-run, your approach will fail, and your buyer will begin to see the cracks in your approach quickly. These clients could decide to pull the plug early in the sales process if they lose faith in your methods. There is no quick fix in the sales industry. It takes time. Setting up key elements and a clear strategy will best prepare you for your next lead, sale and completion. Keep in mind that setting up your system is what will ensure predictability, consistency, and what will help your capacity moving forward. Being efficient and effective today will allow you to remain that way as you build a more substantial sales funnel in the future.
Note: you must clearly define the benefit of your client to your potential customer. Without this ability to effectively communicate your offering, the following steps are futile. Be sure to think this through.
Define Your Sales Plan:
Target Market & Buyer:
Know thy market! You must market your offering effectively. The first step is to clearly define the buyer, what they do, what they need, where they are, why they need you. Describe these buyers in great detail. This exercise could even be a fictitious (for now) company or person or family. Perhaps the market doesn’t exist yet. If you define the market and buyer, you have a chance to create it. The point is to go through the full process in detail. If this is a company, consider the industry, then the niche element of their needs. Take time to know how they make decisions, what issues they may have. Go into the minutia – what products do they likely use today, and what will they need in the future. The more targeted your sales plan, the more effective the outcome will be. If you don’t have a target with a bullseye, you won’t know where to aim, let alone achieve the sale.
Timing:
You must create the sales plan with crucial markers – dates and times to act, follow-up, transact, renew, etc. Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual tasks must be set up ahead of time. A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a great tool – if you use it. Program the different stages of the sales process. Utilize this to stay on track and be consistent. Consistency is critical – automizing certain elements will help. Work to build a relationship.
Your Approach
Once you have clearly defined your target market and buyer, how are you getting the leads? This is a creative opportunity. Consider how businesses and individuals may like to communicate. You will need to be determined, respectful, considerate, aware and empathetic to what their needs are to increase your sales.
Take time to listen, learn and bring solutions. Gain knowledge in their business and learn about their friction points. Think about how you can alleviate stressors, increase productivity, and save them money. Get to the bottom of these questions. Prioritizing listening and leaning can make sales so much easier!
Get To The Point
Get clear on your elevator pitch, now.
You must get to the point quickly. You may have little to no time to communicate with the buyer. Make it count. Succinctly state your offering in less than a minute. Focus on how you provide solutions. Perhaps highlight a testimonial from past or current clients.
Ask for the order, in other words, ask for what you want from your buyer. Once you have stated the solution to the itch others has, ask for the order.
Build The Relationship:
Build the relationship for the long-term. Focus on the longterm. We are all humans looking to connect and find people that we can trust. Express gratitude when someone takes time out of their day to talk or respond via email. Our time is the most precious thing we can offer anyone. Explore on-going questions like: How can we help your business even more?
The above sales plan guidance is a great start, but is not a one size fits all. You must have a unique and bespoke approach for your offering, your business and build trust with your buyer. I can help you do that. It isn’t a simple task, but if you do it right the first time and every time after that, you will have an incredibly successful sales rating.