When it comes to getting your piece of the pie in business sales, market research is only the first step. Even when you know there’s a set of people out there willing to buy your product, connecting with them can still be a major obstacle for small businesses and start-ups. So, how can you boost your sales without breaking the bank, using all your time, or jumping from strategy to strategy?
Let’s take a look at seven areas where your sales process could be bottlenecking, and how to resolve those issues using simple tools.
1. Understand Your Customers
When we look at our customers and leads, we tend to idealize them. Instead of looking at specific elements they share in common (or the ways they differ), we group them all into a single faceless jumble of people.
Thinking about your customers in the abstract can detract from your sales process. When you begin to think of your customers as specific people (or as a specific person representing a set of similar people), you can clarify your messaging, your “ask,” and the reasons you align so well with them. Once you’ve gotten specific about who your clients are (and where to find them), yo you can look at where your sales process connects best, and where it’s falling short.
A quick solution to boost sales: Don’t overlook one of the best places to find new clients – within your current client network! Your current or past clients are also your future clients. How can you build that relationship out so they’ll continue to make purchases and bring their networks directly to you?
2. Find Your Blind Spots
Where do leads fall off the sales track? If you aren’t sure where or why you’re losing people, it’s time to find out.
Track and follow your leads so you can learn where the leaks are happening. Once you see what makes bright eyes glaze over, you’ll know where to start working on fixes. One of the best fixes for this issue? Sales technology and programs that store your data.
3. Maximize Your Technology
Whether you use Salesforce, Insightly, Hubspot, or another sales CRM, it’s likely that you aren’t using it to your full advantage. Enlist help with finding and configuring your technology, using new features, training sales teams, and collecting data to help with your sales process. Through NABI, you have access to in-house sales experts to help restructure your internal sales processes for better results.
4. Take a Sales Training Course for Small Businesses
If there’s one thing that holds sales back, it’s not having the right tools and systems in place. From building an effective sales team to using sales technology to its full potential, it’s important to have a strategy designed for success. If you don’t want to learn that strategy at the school of hard knocks, an in-depth sales course designed by sales professionals is a must-have.
Over the summer, we hosted the popular Lean Sales course from 321 Growth Academy. Our early participants were overwhelmed by the amount of growth they experienced after taking this hands-on workshop. Essentially, it’s a highly customized training program designed to implement realistic sales strategies, build sales teams, and drive unprecedented revenue growth. Due to high demand, we brought the course back for a fall session in 2019. Stay tuned for upcoming dates or reach out to us to learn more.
5. Collect & Incorporate Data
We’ve already touched on this above, but collecting and using data in your sales process is vital for strong sales. Information like “where are my customers located geographically?” and “what time of year are sales strongest?” can help you shift and optimize your sales strategy. Without it, you’re left feeling around in the dark. Use technology and tools to gather as much information as you can and compile it. Then, rework your strategy to suit the numbers, instead of the other way around.
6. Clarify Your Mission & Goals
When you have a specific goal to work toward, communications with sales teams and customers/leads improves instantly. Try to work specifics into your overall company mission, including details like how many customers you want to serve, how much annual growth in sales revenues you need, or what you need to execute on the next steps of business growth. Framing it this way helps everyone understand that they’re part of something larger than a single transaction or sale.
7. Build the Best Sales Team
For small businesses, an all-star team makes all the difference. But building a sales team isn’t easy. You need highly experienced sales personnel who can build long-term growth using the sales process you create. One of the best parts of the 321 Lean Sales course in June came from learning how to put together a top-notch team. In addition to our incredible courses, NABI also offers sales training & coaching services. Get in touch to learn more!
