Let’s say you’re having a great year. What if you want to do even better next year? You can improve your sales performance if you know what to measure. Here are some areas to consider.
Number of Sales Calls made.
You are making it harder to be successful in sales if you’re going to sit in your office all day. While you’re there you spend time working on prospect research instead of getting out in front of your potential customers.
Just be sure your sales calls are effective. I once worked with a salesman who used to brag that he made 20 sales calls a day. This was not in an urban area where you can make multiple sales calls in one building so you’re basically walking from door to door. This was in a large geographic area where driving was essential and one customer was often miles away from the next sales call. I don’t consider running into an account, saying hi to the receptionist as a sales call. He did.
Why not see if you can increase the number of effective sales calls you make next year if you’re looking to improve?
Actual sales meetings
I wonder how that salesman thought he was making a sales call when he probably had no real time with a customer.
Examine the quality of your sales meetings. I see a lot of high calorie sales calls. What are they? They’re salespeople bringing food to customers and thinking that they’re selling. What kind of customer would make a buying decision based on a sugar glazed donut? Not a very loyal one or a discriminating one.
Your job during a sales call is to uncover ways to help your customer reduce a cost, avoid a cost or increase their revenue when they buy your products or services. Are most of your sales meetings this year food deliveries? Why not see if you can develop strategic objectives to discuss business and learn more about your customers’ business so you can learn where your products could fit a need. That’s how you’ll sell more next year.
Customized proposals.
There are a lot of customers who ask for proposals to get rid of salespeople. Don’t be fooled by that request and think that your prospect is interested. You can only write a proposal for business if you understand the customer’s current situation, why they need you, what the problem or need is costing them now, your proposed solution and a projection of how much you could save the prospect when he buys your products or services.
You’ve not done your sales work when you send a generic proposal. You haven’t clearly understood their current situation and what you propose to improve. It’s much harder to command a premium price if you can’t quantify the problem.
Think of these measurements as sales gauges. You wouldn’t drive your car without checking the speedometer. Why would you start selling without measuring what you’re doing there too?
Best wishes for your sales success,
