sales

Most businesses have an accurate handle on the length of their sales cycle – the time that elapses between a lead being qualified and the closing of the deal. If your total sales cycle is six months, or three months, or twelve months, what does that mean and what can you change to improve results?

Salespeople have a reputation for avoiding paperwork and administration. They are also traditionally resistant to the idea of working to a meeting quota. But getting busy and recording the results is precisely the path to sales success.

We’ve spoken about Funnel Logic and the way we manage work-in-progress using a sales funnel. One of the critical things in this process is keeping your funnel clean, as there’s nothing worse than a clogged funnel.  

All businesses strive to recognise the needs of buyers when developing strategies for sales success. Well, at least you should.

Many selling organisations are submitting an increasing number of proposals, in the hope that this will lead to an increased number of sales. But, proposals don’t always close. So, how can you fix a low propose to close ratio?

The medicos tell us that it is good fundamental health and wellbeing practice to undertake a regular health assessment. You know the stuff………blood pressure, cholesterol, weight: height ratios, lifestyle questionnaires etc -  a simple and quick way to ensure our all-important health and wellbeing is on track. The same principles apply to B2B sales organisations.

Your existing client base is the most important asset in your business. Protecting and building on your key relationships is essential to both your immediate and long-term success.

At two different speaking engagements I asked the audiences of marketers if they thought lack of sales and marketing alignment was the biggest obstacle in their company to achieving  revenue growth.  At both events the results were similar. Over 60% agreed that the leading nemesis to greater revenue performance was the lack of alignment between their department and Sales.

A good sales professional not only finds new win-win opportunities to sell additional products or services to meet the customer’s evolving needs, but also takes personal accountability as the “go to” point of reference for all issues  relating to ordering and delivery of the customer’s requirements.

We live in a world where customer service and satisfaction is everything. Marketers build programs to reward regular customers and to make them feel special, and invest in satisfaction surveys to measure their success. So why are we saying you should upset your customers?