Most people understand that sales is a numbers game: the more calls you make, the more meetings you have, the more sales you’ll get. But what if that’s not the case for you? What if you’ve been making more calls and having more meetings, but your sales have not been growing? Or maybe your sales have been growing, but not at the same rate as your calls or meetings?
That’s an indication that there’s something wrong with the sales conversations you’re having. If any of this sounds familiar, keep reading for 5 quick tips you can use to close more sales and grow your business.
1. Do Your Research
You’d better believe your prospects have researched you before scheduling a meeting or a phone call with you, so if you aren’t researching them before the conversation, you’re at a disadvantage. Do they have experience working with someone who sells what you sell, or is this their first time? Have they been trying to do something themselves that really needs to be done by a professional?
If you’re in a B2B space, you can take a quick look at their business to see how their website looks, whether they’ve been in the news (either in a good way or in a bad way), and what their revenue is like, etc. Any information you can gather that will allow you to more effectively position yourself as someone who can help them achieve their goals is information you need before you sit down to have the conversation.
2. Listen More Than You Talk
You can’t convince them they need your product/service if you don’t listen long enough to figure out what they need. If they have sales objections, you can overcome those, but only if you listen to what those sales objections are. Remember that selling is all about service, and you can’t serve anyone if you’re too busy talking over them to hear what it is they need.
3. Consistently Communicate Your Competence
Before I got into coaching, I was a co-owner of a different business altogether. I handled the sales and my partner handled the more technical aspects of the business. When I talked to him about buying tickets to attend a convention, he asked why we should spend the money. When I explained that the people making the buying decisions for the companies we were trying to sell to would be at the event, he agreed the expense was a necessary one.
I had to explain the potential value of the event in terms he would understand, and that’s something a lot of people fail to do in their sales conversations. They get asked why someone would need their product/service, or they get told it’s too expensive and they leave it at that because they don’t believe in the value they’re providing. Or they try to explain it in terms they understand, but that means nothing to their prospect, whose eyes are glazing over as they lose interest.
This goes back to doing your research. You need to understand your prospect and what matters to them so you can communicate your value in terms they understand.
4. Make Sure You’re Talking to the Right Person
Is the person sitting across from you (or on the screen, or on the other end of the phone) your ideal client? If not, you’re wasting your time (and theirs) by talking to someone who is unlikely to buy from you.
To avoid this situation, you need to identify your ideal client and make sure you’re having conversations with the people who fit that description. Doing this work upfront will reduce the objections and rejections you get in your sales conversations.
5. The Fortune Is in the Follow Up
They might not be ready to buy just yet, but they might be ready in a week or two or three. You need to follow up with them until they are ready to buy or until they tell you they’re not interested. This is not about pestering them to buy from you, this is about reminding them you’re still around and ready to do business. People get busy and they might not remember to call you back, but they’ll be grateful that you followed up to see if they’re still interested.
If this is resonating with you and you think you might need some extra help having better sales conversations, reach out now so we can chat.