What are the five most common roadblocks that are stopping you from exceeding your sales goals? All to often, as I teach ad sales training workshops, I observe the most common problem stopping sales people from being a raging success are random patterns passed off as a “sales process”. In this blog post we will explore five ideas to remove randomness from your sales life.
In sales that randomness is the new normal. I read hundreds of blogs posts each month via Twitter. Many “experts” push agendas like… “Reinvent yourself daily” or “Commit to nothing except change”. Really? This is sad. I have found the exact opposite to be true. Commitment equals greater results in life, love and business. I have also observed five roadblocks to sales success that we can tackle and fix today. If we can commit to fixing these five issues we will escape from Randomland and leave on a solid roadway for success. But, are you willing to commit to a new path for sales training success and leave Randomland behind?
Let’s explore these five ideas together.
1. Call To Close Ratios – Do you know your call to close ratios? Don’t just say yes. Do you really know how many calls you need to make to get to a meeting? Then, how many meetings you need to host to get to a closed deal? This is how I work my numbers each month. I work 50 clients to get to 10 meetings. From those 10 meetings I present 8 proposals. From the 8 proposals I normally close 5 deals. To beat this roadblock you MUST intimately know your call to close ratios.
2. Total Sales Touches – I have observed that it takes 12-15 touches to get a potential buyer to respond to what you are trying to sell. Most sales people give up after 4 attempts. This idea is easy to read but hard to fix. Do you understand what drip marketing is? Drip marketing is your ability to slowly and consistently place your sales marketing information, or message, in front of a potential buyer. Create email and voice mail templates that vary in length, tone and subject matter. Understand that an immediate response is probably not going to happen. Use videos in your emails to boost interactivity. Increase your touches to beat this roadblock.
3. Be Realistic When You Try To Fix Things – Most sales people are unrealistic about the amount of time it will take to see a change in their ad sales results. In most cases, once you commit to making a change to your sales process, it will take a minimum of 30 days to see the results. Very rarely have I observed a “quick fix” to a sales problem. When someone hires me as a sales coach, one of the first questions I ask before we get started is how committed that sales person is to the journey it may take to not only discover the core problem, but then fix that problem. To beat this roadblock, be patient.
4. Don’t Procrastinate – Most sales people wait until a deadline is looming to get serious about selling. Clients buy when THEY are ready to buy not when YOU are ready to sell. One of the keys to sales success is starting early and understanding your buyers purchase cycles. Are you committed to the total process or are you looking for a quick kill? In sales there are two types of people; hunters and farmers. Both are needed. One is not better than the other. Identify your sales personality and adjust your time frame for it. Meaning, farmers need more time to nurture the seed. So, if you are a farmer, plant corn early. If you are hunter, don’t wait until the last minute either. Just know that your style might not fit the client. To beat this road block, make plans to work hard months not days before a sales deadline.
5. Seek Out Training – Most sales people lack sufficient ad sales training to put best practices in place. So, this point is a bit self-serving. I get it. I am in the ad sales training and ad sales coaching business, but the point still remains true. What are you as a sales person doing to grow your skill set? Most serious sales professionals are looking to improve daily. Do you read sales blogs? What about hiring a sales coach? How about attending a sales training conference? The most common reality is that most sales people are waiting for their company to pay for the training or coaching. Why wait? Your investment in yourself, even in small ways, benefits who? You. To beat this road block, commit to training.
So, where do you grow from here? I would encourage you to review these five points of focus. Pick one and commit to it for a minimum of 30 days. Next, find an accountability buddy in your life that help you stay on track. Don’t know anyone or trust anyone… hire a sales coach.
In the end the success you desire is truly up to you. I have seen literally hundreds of sales people commit to change and they have walked away with greater satisfaction in work and life. I know that you can do this too. I just know it.
I am here to help. Reach out to me free of charge. My first 30 minute minutes with you is always free. Ryan@BrainSwellMedia.com