Business Development 2.0
Posts tagged sales improvements
You’re using Track-It sheets, right?!
Feb 9th
One of best ways to do something your competition isn’t is to use a Track-It sheet that records you and/or your sales teams activities. Here are some activities I recommend you start keeping track of:
- Goals review – at least once a day
- SalesMind – 8 minute affirmations to reduce negative scripts (call reluctance, money tolerance, etc.) – at least once a day – contact me to learn more about SalesMind
- Dials – how many times you just dial the phone
- Contacts – how many times you talk to the decision maker
- Appointments
- New opportunity
- Referrals given – a great way to get referrals is to give them!
- Referrals received
- Yes/Close – agreement to do business, a sign up, a free trial.
- No- no’s aren’t bad. Get through them!
- Blog post – make the world better and market yourself at the same time
- Email opt-in – get people on your ‘touch’ list
Advantages to Tracking Activities
Setting up Track-It sheets allows you to design you and/or your sales team’s time for success. Then, you use it for accountability. If you notice you’re not getting the results you wanted, just look at the Track-It sheet. Did the necessary amount of effort go into closing more business?
Another reason why tracking activities can be a benefit is that it can show you the problems of why more new business isn’t closing. For instance, if the dials to contact ratio is solid, i.e. 10% for cold calling, but appointments are way low, you know there is a problem with asking for the appointment. Then, by recording the sales calls, you’ll be able to determine what you and/or your sales reps are saying that may be affecting the prospect negatively.
For Sales Managers – Tying Salary to Activities
Are you paying your salespeople a base salary? I hope that the Track-It sheet is tied directly to the base compensation. For instance, whenever I pay a base salary to a salesperson, the expectations are set right up front that the salesperson is expected to keep their Track-It sheet on their desk at all times and they need to mark all activities and results. Furthermore, in order to get their base compensation, they’re required to turn their Track-It sheets in as proof of their activities. If the salesperson only does 75% of the agree upon activities required for success, in many cases dials, the salesperson only get 75% of the base. No muss, no fuss.
Always (ALWAYS) ask “Is this a good time?”
Jan 29th
When was the last time a salesperson that called you asked “is this a good time?” I don’t know about you, but you’ve about ruined it with me if you call me for the first time and fail to ask if this is a good time. I’ll go further to say you’ve just about hit a homerun if you DO ask me, because so few people do it and it is such a professional thing to do. I’m willing to bet that you and/or your sales force will have a significant improvement in closed business by getting in the habit of asking such a simple question because it really is a powerful bonding and rapport method.
