5 Ways To D.R.I.V.E Your Sales Numbers!

drive-400To win the Daytona 500 is one stop on your quest toward auto racing greatness. To  win is more than just going fast. It requires a plan. Perhaps you think that auto  racing is just a lot of circles at a fast speed. Nope. Everything from tire pressure to  the air temperature contributes to crossing the finish line first. Race crews test for  days and days to get their settings just right. There is a very specific plan for each  race and each race track. As a sales training coach and sales trainer I am seeing more and  more salespeople that are going fast in circles and not realizing that their lack of a  plan is costing them race after race. Or, more precisely deal after deal. Let’s use the  acronym D.R.I.V.E. to focus in on a potential plan for sales success.

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1. The “D” in D.R.I.V.E. stands for D­ifferentiate. You need to differentiate your  product quickly from all others in the sector. Price will always become the deciding  factor if two products seem similar. As a salesperson you need to work very hard to  show the unique differences between your product and your competition. This is  especially important if your product is more expensive than the competition. You  need to do this while prospecting, hosting sales calls, closing deals and when  retaining your client. You need to create a clear and stark difference between you  and your competition. Create an apples to salmon comparison and don’t allow an  apples to apples comparison to exist in your potential client’s mind.

2. The “R” in D.R.I.V.E. stands for R­un. You need to run and not walk in today’s  competitive sales environment. Today your clients are not willing to give you much  time. Many sales training companies will tell you that you need to walk before you  can run. Not me. Run. You need to run or you will lose to those that do. Ask  yourself this question… Besides their family, what do most clients value above all  else? Most of your prospective clients value their time above nearly all else in their  life. Here is the actual issue. You are seen by most prospective clients as a time  stealing sales person. You promise to be brief and then you show up with a 30  minute Power Point. So, cut to the chase. Promise to not waste their time. Then,  don’t. I am often criticized for this philosophy because so many sales professionals  rely on relationship building to secure deals. Don’t get me wrong, I am all about  building relationships. There is just not enough time in most sales environments to  create the relationships required to close a deal quickly. Very rarely do I come  across a Sales Manager that says to his sales team, “I am going to give you 12 months  to build relationships with your clients. I need no sales for the next 12 months.”  Because of this you need to RUN! Consultative selling is not dead. You just need to  speed up the process. Go to your next meeting prepared to present great ideas. Do  not wait for the meeting to then go back to the office to come up with a good idea.  Be prepared to run with great ideas that can be tweaked on the fly.

3. The “I” in D.R.I.V.E. stands for I­nvest. Invest in your next meeting with serious  and solid preparation. Consultative selling is fine, but that often means you gather  information in meeting #1 and then prepare a proposal for meeting #2. Then you  chase the client for weeks. Be prepared to come to the meeting with great ideas.  The days of walking into a meeting to gather information from a client are gone.  This approach is dead. Begin your research with LinkedIn, the internet or other  industry resources. Create three scenarios or ideas that you feel your prospective  client might like. Mention to the prospective client that you spent time preparing  for the meeting and have some great ideas to share. Then invent and tweak your  ideas/proposal on the fly. Come prepared with ideas, options and pricing variables.  Get buy ­in on the spot. My successful sales training clients will build a proposal in front of the  client on their iPad or a piece of paper and get the ball rolling. Or, create pricing  packages in advance based on common buying scenarios from past customers. Stop  thinking your product is too complex for this approach. Even in the SaaS business,  be prepared to run scenarios that show potential savings or increases in  productivity. Sure, you might guess wrong, but you will gain serious respect from  prospective Client for the hard work. Preparation is key to your sales success.  INVEST in the time it takes to come to sales call prepared.

4. The “V” in D.R.I.V.E. stands for V­alue. Value is everything in sales. If you bring no value to the prospective Client you bring nothing to the Client. There are three  main things that most business people want. They want to save time. They want to  save money. And, they want to make money. Sure I am being generic because each  product or service is unique, but you should get my point here. You need to quickly  prove what value you bring to the table. Once you have identified the value you  offer then you need to focus on the sales call itself. Cut to the chase and drive home  value with your talk or presentation. Because we know that customers do not buy  when they do not understand, you need to sell the total value you have to offer them  in your visuals and sales chatter.  This is a key element in your sales training .  Think more like a teacher than a sales rep. Break  your thoughts into simple points. Remove the fluff. Keep it simple. Prove to them  the value your ideas bring to their business. Proving value also weaves nicely with  ROI. Value and showing return on investment are critical. All to often sales people  focus on features and not their value proposition. A great example is a washing  machine sale. If I only focused on the fact that a washing machine cleans your jeans  the buyer might miss out on the fact that the new machines are super efficient, so  they save you power, water and ultimately money. Plus, as an added bonus, you are  doing your small part to help the environment. See… so much more than just clean  jeans.

5. The “E” in D.R.I.V.E. stands for E­nd Game. Establish a follow­up protocol so that  your end game is crystal clear. This is the most important part of the D.R.I.V.E. sales  process. At the point in the sales meeting when the client says they need to “think  about it” or “take the idea to the boss for approval” you need to establish a follow­up  protocol. Sure you can try all the tricks taught in sales training workshops. Or, you  can get real and understand that VERY often you will need to follow­up with a  customer. You CAN NOT leave the follow­up protocol to the customer or you are  dead. First, validate that the customer loves your idea/product/proposal. Then, use  your phone to set your follow­up meetings and get the customer on your calendar.  Invite them via your calendar to the meeting via email. Promise to not be a “typical”  sales rep that will call them 1,000 times if they set the next meeting. However, do promise to call at the given time you agree upon and DO NOT miss the call. Try  three times to establish a follow­up meeting before you give up. If the customer will  not set a follow­up meeting you need to ask yourself if you actually have buy­ in on  your idea/product/proposal. It critical that you understand that your follow­up  process must adhere to what I like to call the “Magic 48 Hour Sales WindowTM .”  What do I mean by that. You have approximately 48 hours to re engage the client or  risk losing them. Prospects tend to lose focus in 48 hours or less. So, book your  follow­up within 48 hours. A week is a common request. Nope. Don’t fall for that.  48 hours. Trust me friends. 48 hours. This is why I do not pitch new sales  proposals on a Friday. Be on the lookout for my eBook called, the “Magic 48 Hour  Sales Window™ “ coming out soon.

Ok, let’s wrap up. Any plan is better than no plan. Think about the components of  my D.R.I.V.E. sales plan and figure out ways to adjust your sales plan.

1. The “D” in D.R.I.V.E. stands for D­ifferentiate. You need to differentiate your  product quickly from all others in the sector.

2. The “R” in D.R.I.V.E. stands for R­un. You need to run and not walk in today’s  competitive sales environment.

3. The “I” in D.R.I.V.E. stands for I­nvest. Invest in your next meeting with  serious and solid preparation.

4. The “V” in D.R.I.V.E. stands for V­alue. Value is everything in sales. If you  bring no value to the prospective Client you bring nothing to the Client.

5. The “E” in D.R.I.V.E. stands for E­nd Game. Establish a follow­up protocol so  that your end game is crystal clear.   I am here to help with sales coaching and sales training for media and tech  companies large and small. I have trained over 3,000 salespeople in 7 countries. I  actively sell each and every day products and services beyond myself.  My challenge to you… What will you do different this week to improve your sales?   Ryan

Ryan Dohrn is an award winning sales coach and offers sales training to thousands  of sales executives each year. He is also an international motivational speaker and  the author of the best selling sales book, Selling Backwards. Ryan is the President  and founder of Brain Swell Media, a boutique sales training and sales coaching firm   with a detailed focus on sales training and coaching for media and technology  companies. He is also the owner and Publisher of SalesTrainingWorld.com an online  portal for sales training success.