Tips To Drive Your Sales Team
May 4, 2018
We’ve all faced the dreaded time of year when we review our quarterly sales reports. From reviewing income statements to comparing profit & loss statements to last year’s numbers, bolstering sales is always a top concern among professionals. Whether you’re on schedule to exceed this year’s sales forecast or are looking for ways to grow your revenue, driving a powerful sales team is one of the best ways to reach your goals.
Whether you’re a leading manufacturer in your industry or provide unmatched services to your clients on a daily basis, there are several B2B strategies any company can use to build relationships existing clients, convert prospects to leads, and grow sales overall.
If you’re interested in taking your sales team to the next level, Think VIG!
Perform A Needs Analysis
One of the most effective strategies a company can use in relation to both sales and customer service is taking the time to fully understand a potential client’s unique needs. As basic as it sounds, this fundamental principle is often overlooked by sales reps that are focused on selling specific products/services instead of delivering relevant solutions to challenges.
Taking the time to understand the who, what, where, why, and how of a potential client’s process and company is key to understanding the common pain points or challenges they face on a daily basis. Understanding a contact’s role within a company and how your product/service helps improve one of their processes or alleviate a growing issue is one of the best strategies you can use.
From learning the unique challenges a client faces, you can begin to tailor your approach and deliver a solution that best fits their needs. This will help you justify the expense of your product/service and also lay a solid foundation for building a relationship. Once this foundation is set, you will have a stronger platform for opening a line of communication with this client in the future.
Research Industry Trends & News
The old adage “Knowledge is Power” is certainly true in the world of professional sales. Staying up to date on the latest innovations in technology and understanding new regulatory laws/legislation is a great advantage over competitors. The more industry knowledge your sales team has, the better equipped they will be to answer questions, understand a client’s specific needs, and anticipate oncoming roadblocks.
For example, the new trade tariff on Chinese steel could affect a corporate buyer’s supply chain for a local manufacturer. If your company offers consulting services for manufacturers, offering this corporate buyer a solution for diversifying their supply chain might be a great way to start a conversation and build rapport. By staying up to date on relevant industry changes you can continue to evolve your strategies for reaching a client’s needs and developing relationships in the future.
Reviewing industry-specific websites, major legislation, and even blogs is a great way stay in the know. Attending conferences, listening to guest speakers, and doing your homework will show potential clients that you are willing to go the extra mile and educate yourself on what’s going on in industry. This translates to more credibility for your team and more opportunities to grow in the future.
Review & Qualify Your Prospects
When sitting down and deciding what prospects to target with sales efforts, every company has a different method. Whether you decide to target companies by region, territory, or monetary size, you need to have a definitive plan for attracting and attaining clients. This plan needs to be communicated to your sales team and reviewed on a routine basis for improvement.
When selecting companies to target for cold calls, pitches, and presentations, it’s important to focus on companies that are an appropriate fit for your product/service. If you perform HVAC services and installations for multi-million-dollar corporate buildings, cold calling a small local restaurant probably wouldn’t be the best fit for you.
Taking a few extra minutes and having your sales team research and qualify prospects before reaching out can save you valuable time. This will help you tailor your approach, messaging, and pitch, to avoid an overly cheesy and templated sales pitch. Hopefully, this will allow you to move this contact to the next stage in your sales funnel and also show them that you’re a serious contender amongst the competition.
Be Prepared
Reaching a prospect over the phone or for an in-person meeting is the first essential step in your sales funnel. Once you’re able to open a line of communication, it’s important to be able to provide this professional with information outside of your traditional pitch. Knowing your product/service well enough to answer potential questions will show the lead that you’re both knowledgeable about what you’re trying to sell and also a credible source of information.
Sitting down and building a list of potential questions a contact may have along with answers will allow you to walk into that meeting or dial that phone feeling more prepared. That, in turn, will help you conceptualize a general flow for the call/meeting and anticipate questions, areas of concerns, and interesting topics that will help you strengthen your sales pitch/presentation.
As you’re aware, no two companies are alike so putting together your ideas, research, and potential questions before every meeting/call is usually a good idea. If the lead does not convert to an account, this information will at least help with your follow-up efforts in the future and will allow you to adjust your approach accordingly.
Growing sales for your business and leading a team of passionate sales professionals isn’t easy. With major shifts in the market and new competitors entering the industry every day, refining your sales strategy is essential to long-term growth and success. At VIG we’ve worked with clients in almost every industry to help them reach their sales goals.
From building custom CRMs to designing sales and product literature, we’ve delivered end-to-end business solutions that have helped our clients succeed. If you’re interested in taking your sales team to the next level with a fresh strategy, app, or supportive material, we’re here to help.