Tag: sales management

SALES EXCUSE 2: THERE’S NOT ENOUGH TIME IN THE DAY

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson

Let’s start by saying that busy doesn’t necessarily mean effective.

One of the most common complaints from sales teams doing poorly is that there’s not enough hours in the day to make phone calls, follow up leads, source new leads, or create effective pitches.

In our experience, more often than not, this is just an excuse masking laziness and poor time management.

The difference between success and failure can be influenced by how effectively time is used. We all get the same 24 hours, so if your sales people are telling you that there’s not enough time then it’s time to identify the real issues and sift through the drainers within the team.

Time management

In contrast, people with poor time management skills waste time on the unimportant things that ultimately will not contribute to converting a lead. These same people are prone to procrastination – a killer of performance. Charles Dickens and David Copperfield summed it up by saying  “Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him”.

So, if a member of your sales team complains that they don’t have enough time to convert their leads into sales, “collar them” – look at how they are utilising their time and if the business is actually benefiting, or is simply being drained by a dead resource. Chances are that there are bigger underlying issues that need to be addressed.

Sharpen the focus

There are so many distractions floating around that it can be hard to sit down and focus, and importantly keep your team focused. However, this is not an excuse for deflated sales results. The great sales performers and leaders focus on the target and concentrate on how best to achieve it.

How long does it take your team to perform their daily admin tasks? Are they focused on the end goal or distracted by surrounding interferences?

Ongoing evaluation and reinforcement of daily targets should be established to keep the team on track.

Priorities and delegation

Are your sales people typing reports, filing, responding to unnecessary emails and taking long meetings rather than being on the phone following up leads? The number one priority for the sales team is to generate leads and convert them to sales.

Other tasks can be delegated to the administration or management team so the sales team can focus on what they are there to do – sell!

Sales management training and coaching

At the end of the day, when sales teams blame poor sales on not having enough time in the day, it is usually a case of lacking focus, poor sales management or poor time management, or perhaps they are just not the right person for the role.

Focused, driven and passionate salespeople achieve goals. Time is money so don’t let it be drained by underperforming team members.

KONA Group specialises in a wide range of services that address sales performance and sales management, executive and leadership coaching, and performance and time management. These customised training and coaching programs drill down to the core of the issue and drive solutions through proven methodologies.

For more information, please email info@kona.com.au or call 1300 611 288.

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W.I.I.F.T. – What’s in it for them: Putting Consumers’ Shoe into New Perspective

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson

Every salesperson is aware of the “What’s in it for me” (W.I.I.F.M) as something that can benefit their company by focusing on the How, Why, and What they are selling, which matters to prospective clients they are trying to close a deal with.

Today, most salespeople are introduced to shifting with What’s in it for them (W.I.I.F.T).

W.I.I.F.T takes a massive shift for marketers who are now exposed to the different behaviours and seasonal needs of their consumers. It is more prominent in the market that most consumers are focusing on how businesses are keeping up their expertise with emotional intelligence, and shifting to WIIFT is one of the ways of helping startup businesses that are looking for potential target customers.

In this infographic, we will discuss the different areas where you can integrate W.I.I.F.T to your consumers.

But first, let us look into identifying consumer needs that today’s companies should consider.

Ways on how to quickly hit your fiscal year sales numbers.
KONA Infographic on W.I.I.F.T.
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Sales Trends That You Need to Know About In 2019 — Infographic

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
Another year has come to an end, and this is the perfect time for companies to reflect between their achieved goals and failed attempts to increase sales. With the influence of modern technology in the world of sales, various tools, platforms, and strategies have evolved and became more accessible to businesses and sales teams across different industries. For 2019, what will be the sales trends that salespeople should watch out for? In this infographic, we will discuss notable trends that are either new or developed techniques inside the sales industry. Fasten up your seatbelts because here are the sales trend that you need to know in 2019: Sales Trends That You Need to Know About In 2019 - Infographic

Ways on How to Quickly Hit Your Fiscal Year Sales Number – Infographic

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson

Every business has a fiscal year. A company’s fiscal year is its financial year; it is any twelve-month period that the company uses for accounting purposes. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) says a fiscal year is “12 consecutive months ending on the last day of any month except December 31st.” The IRS distinguishes “fiscal year” from “tax year,” stating that a tax year can be either fiscal year or the calendar year.

It is no doubt that the end of a fiscal year is considered one of the toughest times for any sales organisation. Whether you’re planning for next year or selling to meet end-of-year numbers, the crucial part of your sales assessment is with surviving your last month’s designated fiscal year goal. However, today, you can conquer this sales dilemma in your business. In this infographic, we will discuss different ways on how you can maneuver your sales number into a successful fiscal year, and not worry with your year-end results from your sales.

Ways on How to Quickly Hit Your Fiscal Year Sales Number - Infographic

7 Effective Strategies to Close Deals Faster (Infographic)

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson

The probability of closing the deal with your prospects always changes based on their current needs and trends in the market. Securing their purchase amidst their ever-changing preferences will require you to update your sales strategy from time to time, and to have a capable sales team that can quickly determine the exact needs and wants of your customers.

Closing the deal in a fast manner sounds very intimidating, but once you master the art of assertiveness without being rude or arrogant, having a closed deal will be like bread and butter. In this infographic, we will discuss the different effective sales strategies that you can use when closing a deal faster. Here 7 critical pointers that you should consider.

7 Effective Strategies to Close Deals Faster - Infographic

Acquiring New Clients: The Key Area to Focus Your Sales Training in Australia (Infographic)

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
Is your business running on the revenue from existing customers and clients? If so, it is easy to assume that things are going smoothly. After all, the current clients are working well with you, and there is an excellent professional relationship. If you are still relying on current customers and clients to sustain your day to day operations, the future for your business could be in danger. At best, you keep providing services to existing clients and keep earning the same revenue, leaving your business stagnant. The worst-case scenario, however, is that your company is unable to keep up with the competition. Your current clients would eventually move on to better service or product providers, and your business surely will draw the short end of the stick. Acquiring New Clients - The Key Area to Focus Your Sales Training in Australia (Infographic)

Reasons Why Your Sales Team is Not Hitting Their Target (Infographic)

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson

Setting a sales target is one of the most important steps for measuring the sales performance of a business.

In establishing an efficient sales team, being crystal clear about your goals keeps you growing through the years, which keeps your company on track, and drives your future success.

Hitting your Sales Target

Setting a realistic sales target is one thing, but actually hitting them is another.

Increasing competition, changing customers preferences, advancing technology, along with the strategies and tactics you implement – can all affect whether your salespeople achieve the sales goals you’ve set, or not.

Reasons Why Sales Team is Not Hitting Target - Infographic

If your sales team is having a rough time hitting their targets lately – contact KONA to discuss sales training.

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Always Be Closing: 7 Strategies to Close the Sale

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
Closing a sale is considered the most critical step in the sales process. But as mentioned in the previous article about why your sales are dropping, many salespeople often fail at this stage, most often because they follow an ineffective sales pipeline, and because they lack the proper sales training to support their sales objectives. While closing a sale can be quite intimidating, equipping your salespeople with techniques based on deeply invested and well-researched sales plans will significantly increase their chance of closing more deals. To help you get started, we listed seven sales closing techniques that can make sure your sales wins grow more prominent on the long-term process.
  1. Summary Close – Customers like to visualize the benefits they can gain from the purchase long before they actually make a decision. By summarising the different benefits that your customer will be receiving, you are essentially giving them a clear picture of what items and guarantees will they be experiencing to use out of the deal.
  2. Question Close – This technique utilizes probing questions which can help the sales person identify if they are negotiating with a prospect or a suspect. By asking a series of probing questions such as “Am I offering a solution that can address your needs?”, you may be able to discover if that person is sold on your product, or yet, identify any potential objections that they you want to address before they make a final decision.
  3. Now or Never – Aggressive selling tactics are one of the most highly effective sales strategies wherein a sales person makes a time-bound or irresistible offer to close a sale. This technique is effective to use for customers who have not decided yet whether they should purchase or not because this shows the sense of urgency.
  4. Assumptive Close – Assumptive close, as the name implies is a technique where a sales person assumes that the prospect is going to buy the product or avail the service. The trick behind this technique is that it shows your confidence about your offering and its suitability to your customer’s unique needs. When a customer feels that they are being helped with a confident sales professional that understands them, they are more likely to show resistance and follow the lead of that sales professional.
  5. Extra Incentive – Closing a deal is sometimes a matter of giving additional incentives to your potential customers. A free trial or complimentary service will not only give the customer a sense of urgency to avail the free offer when it is near its expiration, but it will also help you gain more leads as people love to receive free items from their purchase – regardless of the product or service it is.
  6. Take Away Close – This particular sales technique adapts to the psychological practice on how children are attached to toys to purchase, but, parents disapprove to be bought. In this technique, a significant feature of the product or service is removed in exchange for a discounted price. By doing so, the customer will think if the discount is really worth getting for that special feature they will be choose not to avail.
  7. Opinion/Suggestion Close – When you’re in the closing stages of a sale, one challenge you might encounter is conveying to your client the value of your product or service. The ability to gauge their interest by showing your personal preference and opinion about the item will ensure trust and good sales interaction and purchase to customers.
Contact KONA Customised Training and Consulting today to let your sales team be trained and exposed to different effective strategies to close the sale.

How to Sell Value Instead of Price

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson

Customers are willing to pay more for products and services that guarantees them significant value. Most companies, at times, are presenting their products right away without even knowing if they are really engaging with their customers.

One might say that every product is just the same as the other, and it only differs with its price range; but, have you thought about how buyers also have different needs and points of view towards products?

How to Sell Value Instead of Price - Infographic
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Author – Garret Norris – https://www.linkedin.com/in/garretnorris/

Reasons Why Customers Are More Important than Price (Infographic)

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
Price and value are different definitions of how customers react to a product’s purpose. Price talks about the scale of the worth of a product or service by labelling the amount that customers will pay. On the other hand, value discusses the unique propositions of the product, which will enable customers to know more about the usefulness of their purchase. For example, some products have particular storage consumption which is indicated on the packaging of the product; it may be for 24 months or 12 months which suggests the quality that is prescribed when use. Most products and services ensure quality performance by ranging their prices through what the customers can afford. But not all consumers are checking prices based on the trend; customers sometimes look into the value of a product and what it can step up for them when they use it. Reasons Why Customers Are More Important than Price