Tip # 5
Selling is more than quoting. Studies show that it takes an average of five contacts on the same customer to make a sale but most salespeople stop at 2-3 calls. Most do a reasonable job of quoting the customer but only 20% of them take the next steps and close the sale. The finest example, the best of the best, in closing by following up I learned years ago. He taught me the importance of follow up in getting the sale. He not only had a file full of outstanding quotes but made a list of them on a sheet of paper which he carried with him at all times. He called and followed up daily or every couple of days until the customer gave him the order. I copied this technique and learned that often sales were gotten that might have been lost because I had built a relationship with my customer during the follow up process so that they finally gave me the order.
Tip # 4
You need to think both global and local to keep from being blind-sided. Global thinking has to do with the industry and your competition and what they might do to thwart your plans. Local thinking includes what tactics you will use within your specific accounts or to close specific quotes. You need to understand that your account base of customers will degrade about 20% per year, do to a number of events beyond your control, and needs to be factored into your plan. Companies and the people you work with within these companies are always moving and changing and at a rate of around 20% per year. If you have 60 active accounts that buy each year 12 of them will likely change, move, go about of business, be bought out, be lost to a competitor, etc. Therefore, you need to have as part of your plan a hunting component that will replace these 12 accounts so that the next year will be at least as good as the current one. Without prospecting your income will eventually degrade to the point where you will either quit the company or the business. The best of the best understand this and won’t let it happen to them.
Tip #3 -
Plan your work and work your plan. This is obvious but done only by less than 20% of sales people. You not only need a one-year plan but a monthly, weekly, and daily plan of action. The plan consists of the specific things you will do to reach your goals. Remember that your plan or goal must be measurable, a stretch to reach, and reviewed and reassessed frequently during the year. Probably, the biggest mistake that sales people or anyone makes when setting their goals or plans is that after setting them they don’t follow up on their plan until close to the end and then it is too late to accomplish them.
