Can Your Sales Team Improve Sales Faster?

improve sales
September 30th, 2019 0 Comments
There are few arenas more competitive than sales. Stiff competition and an ever-evolving marketplace reserve long-term success for those that are truly up to the challenge. What are the foundational elements that make up most successful businesses? See what we’ve covered on ongoing sales training, a defined sales process, and a solid sales methodology. Developing these parts of your business is vital, but it isn’t enough. To consistently perform well and stand out in the marketplace, your business will need to continue to improve. It’s this constant improvement that separates the high achievers from the rest of the crowd. To help you in the pursuit of continual improvement, we’ve compiled a list of six ways you can improve sales performance.

 

Your Sales Team Can Do Better: 6 Ways to Improve Sales Now

 

1. Clarity in All Things

In any endeavor, having clearly defined goals and intentions is hugely beneficial. This is especially true in your company’s mission statements. In the effort of improving sales for your business, one of the best moves you can make is to think big picture.

What is your company’s purpose?

What are you providing and who are you providing it to?

Returning to these questions over the lifespan of a company will keep your business focused and performing at a high level. It doesn’t have to mean going back to the drawing board, but an openness to re-examining what your business is all about and taking the time to make sure your sales team is on the same page can give your sales an extra boost.

The quest for clarity should be taken further than the people within your organization. Strive to project your company and product as clearly as possible to consumers as well. There should be no question about the benefits of what your company offers. This means honing in on what makes your product or service truly valuable and leaving no room for doubt or confusion.

 

2. Empathy, Empathy, Empathy

One of the main pillars of the Integrity Selling System, the sales method we use at 360 Consulting, is building a trusting relationship between client and sales rep. This is something the best sales leaders understand: building mutual trust and understanding leads to long-term sales success.

There’s no way to fake this. To really develop a connection with a client, sales reps must show empathy. They must actively listen and show understanding by having authentic conversations. When sales reps understand that the goal of a sale is a mutually beneficial exchange of value, the best way to communicate this to the consumer is with empathy.

 

3. Relationships That Last

When considering ways to improve sales, it may be tempting to immediately consider ways to attract new customers. Generating new leads is certainly an important aspect of growth and shouldn’t be neglected, but neither should customers who have already purchased your product or service.

This is another payoff of spending the time to develop a trusting relationship with a client. You’ve gained a client’s trust with empathy and have completed a successful sale with them, great! But the relationship shouldn’t end there.

Since you’ve already established a rapport, it’s important to continue to foster the relationship. Make use of the hard work that’s already been done by continuing to place a focus on loyal customers. Maintaining a trusting relationship is easier than building one. Remember that repeat business is one of the most sustaining elements of growth.

 

4. The Art of Negotiation

Want your sales team to perform at the highest level of which they’re capable? Keep their skills sharp with ongoing training sessions. In training, make sure your sales reps are practiced at the art of negotiation. It’s essentially what sales is all about.

Mutual benefit, or a “win-win” scenario, is at the heart of a good negotiator’s focus. Being skilled at negotiation doesn’t have to mean being a ruthless sales shark. It should actually mean the opposite. Exchanging value and establishing trust is the name of the game.

Still, there are a few qualities that good negotiators exhibit. Namely, they’re patient, they ask the right questions, and they are prepared. Does this sound like your sales team? Use training sessions to focus on keeping your sales reps’ negotiation skills up to snuff.

 

5. Mistakes and Learning

The most successful people in the world understand that failure is a part of the learning process. Just check out this list of quotes on the topic over at Forbes.  Mistakes and failures are all but guaranteed to happen, so why not take advantage of them? They can be fantastic learning opportunities if approached with the right perspective.

By sharing what you or members of your sales team have learned from mistakes, you can better equip your team to deal with similar scenarios in the future. Think of it as “re-living” what sales reps have experienced on the job.

This is especially relevant when it comes to dealing with common objections that prospective clients have. Don’t let your sales reps be caught off guard during a sales call. By sharing common objections and the tried-and-true best ways to thoughtfully address these objections, your team will be more confident in your value proposition and likely see increased sales.

 

6. Benefits Over Features

Your product or service is great. Your sales team knows this and they want prospective clients to know it, too. But how do they communicate this to consumers? What is it that makes the product so valuable? Instead of focusing on all of the amazing features of your product, get your sales and marketing teams to highlight its benefits.

What’s the difference between features and benefits?

Features are the things your product can do, while the benefits are what the product can do for the buyer. For example, say you’re selling a printing service. The features of your service might be “a wide selection of traditional and modern fonts and clip art” and “18 years of experience.”

To phrase these features as a benefit, you could say “creative printing solutions that will set you apart from your competition.” It’s a simple change of focus, but the impact on the consumer can be dramatically different. Be sure to consider whether your marketing and sales teams are connecting with consumers on a personal level by communicating the benefits of what you’re selling.

 

A Step in the Right Direction to Improve Sales

Whether you’re a small business with the desire to grow, or a more established business hungry for reaching the next level, you’ve already taken a step in the right direction. An awareness of the need to improve is absolutely necessary for long-term success. Nowhere is the effect of improvement more immediately impactful to the bottom line than in sales.

Increasing sales isn’t easy, but don’t make it harder than it has to be. Use these methods to work smarter and more efficiently at improving your business. A sales team that is trained to be empathetic, good at negotiating, and adept at communicating what your company has to offer is your best tool.

 

We Can Help Your Team Improve Sales

To expedite meeting and exceeding your sales goals, it might be time to call in reinforcements. Schedule your free consultation here to find out how we help sales teams break sales records.

Summary
Article Name
Can Your Sales Team Improve Sales Faster?
Description
Is there an easy way to improve sales? There certainly are wrong and right ways. See our 6 tips to motivate your team to improve sales now.
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Improving Sales
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