Improve Your Sales Success

Sales

Whether you have a high-touch, personalised sales method, or a more automated, templated one, the ability to take a new enquiry through to the point of sale is vital to the sustainability of your business. Without sales your business will die; it’s that basic. Sales are the lifeblood of any business and yours is no different. So how do you improve the percentage of enquiries that turn into paying customers?

There are many moving parts to this process but having a really good start to the sales journey for the prospective customer is vital. Start right and your chances of securing the sale, even at a premium price is higher. Of course the reverse is also true. Start out wrong and you will probably never make the sale. Luckily the first few contacts you have with a prospect is also the easiest and the cheapest place (in terms of your time) to make improvements to your sales conversion rate. It is also the most efficient place to qualify someone OUT of your sales process and thus waste the minimum amount of your time. Time is probably your most valuable resource in your business and so you need to protect it and spend it where it is has the greatest payback.

The first few contact points you have with a prospect are likely to be a phone call and then some sort of scoping meeting. It’s vital to make these early touches as professional and as powerful as possible. You need to start building rapport and trust as soon as possible (for those prospects you haven’t qualified out), and I have listed a few hints and tips to help you refine your processes here.

Still Using A Spreadsheet to Track Leads?

Marketing, Sales

While spreadsheets are relatively easy to use and widely known, it’s definitely not the most efficient or effective way to collect, analyze, and manage business data, especially if you’re a company that’s hoping to grow in the near future.

There are clear distinctions between the features of a CRM versus a spreadsheet. If you have to manage multiple leads coming in and have a multi-step sales process, using a CRM system may be a step worth taking, and need not cost much.

The Formula to Better Sales

Sales

When selling services the key to achieving a better sales conversion rate of quality, profitable clients is to increase the level of trust that the prospect has in you. Lets face it, most trades businesses are service-based first and product-based second, despite what you may think.  People do business with people that they know, like…

Why Reputation Matters and How To Build It

Marketing, Sales

A recent study for the construction industry by Hinge, a US based branding and marketing firm, found that buyers listed good reputation as the most important criteria for purchasing, and the good news is that most sellers already recognize this fact. www.hingemarketing.com  They also asked buyers about the best way to market to them (Figure 1).…

Everyone Is A Pitch Doctor

Owner, Sales

Today at a networking breakfast I listened to a humorous, inspirational, structured and relaxed presentation on how to put a pitch together to win business.  It was by a local expert in the game, Hugo Meares from Sparkplug. www.sparkplug.co.nz The presentation itself was a pitch in its own right, as you might expect, but was…