There are three essential keys to hitting your sales targets every time:
• Ready
• Aim
• Fire
Ready
When IDC did a study of B2B buyers, only 16% said sales people were highly prepared for an initial client meeting. Only 15% are well prepared to engage them, according to a survey by Forrester Research. Would you call anyone if YOU are not a 100% sure the lead will buy?
Raising your eyebrows yet? My point is that YOU need to go in completely ready to speak to prospects needs. YOU do this through research – research that answers three fundamental questions:
Who is the prospect?
Why are you calling them?
What’s in it for them?
Sales tools go a long way in helping to prepare for each sales call you make. Aberdeen Group data shows that companies that use these tools see a 54% increase in sales reps making their quota.
Aim
Being ready is important, but the focus is paramount if you’re going to hit your target. That same IDC study found that 40% of buyers wished that their sales person would kill the “canned pitch.”
Yes, the customer already knows they have a problem, you don’t have to tell them that. You also don’t need to start every client meeting with a recap of your company.
Prospects want knowledge and understandings that lead them to your solutions, they don’t want you to lead with your solution.
Sales people who make their number tell the buyer something that they do not already know. They have a prescriptive process and methodology to winning buyer confidence. You should aim to be a “trusted advisor” to prospects.
Fire
A true SALES PRO never assumes anything at any time, especially in a competitive market. You can’t just shoot once, you have to keep shooting over and over again. That means staying in front of your prospects by supplying them with knowledge and insight. It also means engaging with those who influence the buyer’s decision-making process.
You’ll want to partner closely with marketing to get access to approved and branded messaging from case studies, blogs, industry news, social media, etc., rather than spending an hour creating the perfect email.
What’s your go to approach closing sales in today’s competitive environment?
We would love to hear your comments…