5 Tips to Improve Your Sales Team’s Performance (Part 1)

By Garret Norris, Sales Training & Negotiation Specialist.

In Australia a good Sales Management professional has to move faster every day.

Very quickly, competitors can pop up out of the blue with products similar to yours and before you know it, the race is ON to retain and grow existing accounts while winning new clients.

No matter what industry you’re in, what worked well a few years ago isn’t good enough today. (Just look at the politics in Australia if you need any proof!!).

This is not the time for trial and error or order taking; this is a time to sell!

So here are some basic steps you can take to improve your sales performance, by implementing a robust and customised Sales Training and Sales Management Training program which will increase sales and reduce your cost of selling, to ensure your survival.

1. Clarify your Sales Strategy.

Begin by understanding your business niche. What do you do best? Who needs what you do? How do you best approach these prospects? What are the consequences if they don’t buy? How much are they willing to pay? If these questions are not answered easily, discuss with your own management for clarity and vision.

2. Break the sale into specific goals to drive your Sales Pipeline.

Write down the activity goals (calls per day, proposals per month, referrals per call, etc.) that you can control.

Set results goals (sales per month, amount per sale, profit per sale, etc.) to measure your progress, and track them closely. Increase your activity and measure the results as setting short term goals will focus your attention and energise your action.

3. Sell to customer needs.

Always assume your prospects will buy only what they need so uncover how you can convince them of that need

While you can emphasise the features and benefits of your product or service, by uncovering your customer’s business problems and “what keeps them awake at night” you will be way ahead of your ‘product flogging, price selling’ competitors!.

4. Create and maintain favourable attention.

Effective marketing, referrals, strong sales skills, and strategic questions are the keys to creating favourable attention. Diligent follow-through and above-and-beyond customer service are the keys to maintaining it so what is your Customer Service Charter and Plan.

5. Sell on purpose, with a purpose.

Know both what to do and why you’re doing it at every step along the way. Who are you targeting and why? What are you going to present to them and why? What are you going to ask them and why? What is your proposal going to look like and why? When are you going to ask for the order?

If you don’t feel sure of yourself at every step of the selling process, managers need to follow through and spend time on the road with you field coaching, not sitting behind their desk giving guidance.