Sales Process

As a buyer, what comes to mind when you think of the word, "Salesperson"? Usually what comes to mind are things like… used cars, polyester suits, briefcases, and flip charts or PowerPoint presentations. Many people dislike dealing with salespeople, and some even shudder at the thought of being one. Few, if any, children grow up dreaming of being salespeople, yet it is the most common profession in the world. Why is that?

Got a trade show coming up for your company? The common attitude is that you need to ramp up with lots of zip and swag to attract people and get them to buy. This is the wrong approach. Here are some tips on why and how to make your next show far more valuable.

As salespeople who work with homeowners, we sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that our most important job is to create quotes. We may decide to do as many quotes as possible, email those quotes and leave lots and lots of messages—all in the hope that prospects will hunt us down and tell us they've decided to buy. Instead, our job is to start conversations that generate decisions—small decisions at first, and bigger decisions as the sales process moves forward. That's the objective of effective follow through: to create more conversations that lead to a clear decision. If you can do that consistently, and monitor your progress toward your income goals as you do, then your numbers will be on track. If you don't, they won't be.

Imagine the following scenario.  After a few meetings with a prospect during which you examined his current situation and analyzed his needs and future goals, you developed and presented a four-step approach for what you believed to be the best fit solution to meeting his challenge.  The investment necessary to obtain and implement your solution is $12,800.  The prospect, while impressed with your solution, commented, "That's a bit more than we expected to spend.  We were hoping that we would be looking at something around $10,000."   What would you do?

When someone hands you a business card and says, "you should call this person", it's not really a referral. Without more information, it is more like they're sending you on a cold call. Cold calling is way down the list of favorite prospecting activities for most salespeople, and sometimes that frustration can spill over to referrals.

If your selling process ends with a close, you're doing it all wrong. "What!?! That makes no sense," I can hear you saying. "Closing is the ultimate success." All true. But you can close more (how does 80% sound?), see fewer clients and, best of all, make even fewer presentations. In the process, you'll feel more essential to your clients, more motivated, and more in control.

Understanding the importance of various accounts helps sellers sort customers and prepare for the next appropriate step in a relationship with the client.

Salespeople tend to be focused, driven, and almost single-minded when it comes to closing a sale. While this attitude can bring about great results, it can also prevent a salesperson from considering alternative ways to approach the sales relationship. Does the client prefer frequent phone calls to check in, or would your sales process run more smoothly with scheduled email follow ups? Take the time to re-evaluate your sales team's focus. Try these seven tips to drive new revenue and improve your sales game.

The infamous summer sales slump may be in full swing in your business, but it's time to turn things around. By rethinking your summer sales plan, you can use a slower market to your advantage. Follow our guide to building a sales plan that withstands summer slumps and turn these notoriously slow months into productive and profitable opportunities.

To be a great salesperson, you need to have more than charm and a positive attitude. Today's sales environment requires you to utilize advanced tools in your sales process. We dug deep into our sales tool belt to provide you with some of the most advanced and highly rated programs and apps. Try out a few of these tools if you are looking to become a stronger, more competitive salesperson in your industry.