Author: Katie Coalson

What Sales Leaders Need to Focus on in 2020

Being a leader in any kind of situation is no easy task. You are ultimately responsible for the team following your lead, and your decisions are supposed to be made for the betterment of your followers and your company. Sales is a challenging field to be in because when it comes to conducting business, there is tons of competition. Business markets are a dog-eat-dog world, and this is why leaders of corporations have to be on their A-Game, ready to drive their company to victory. 

Always remember that a team is only as strong as its weakest link, so being a leader, this should get you on your feet and hands-on with your staff to make them some of the best at what they do. Here are some priorities sales leaders need to focus on for this year with the ever-evolving market:

Craft A Program That Encourages A Strong Coaching Culture

Nowadays, good coaching programs should be non-negotiable for sales leaders. Anyone who deals with customers should be assisted in developing skills, strategies, and knowledge to aid in winning more deals and providing cutting-edge customer service. There is definitely no surprise that the organizations with the highest sales impact invest significantly in coaching their staff and even their leaders. 

Invest In Good Communication Technology

Businesses should be spending money on good communication technologies to improve their dealings with customers, and even inter-company interactions. With thousands of tools available on the market for sales teams and centers, it is best to make sure that you choose the right ones and train personnel to use them efficiently and effectively. The key to a successful business is good communication, which can be greatly improved by using proper technologies. 

Utilize Emotional Intelligence Training For Staff Support

Always check in with employees as to how they are doing in terms of their mental health. This is important in today’s world, as so many people go through stressful times with such a different market compared to before. Constantly being on the phone or being physically attentive to clients at a retail store is stressful and nerve-racking because of the number of personalities that exist in the environment. And now with many having to work remotely because of Covid-19, it has impacted their mental health more than we realize. 

As a company sales leader, you should always make sure that your staff is in a good place, or if they are not, find solutions to help them tackle their difficulties. If you want your workplace to maintain a healthy atmosphere and have workers who are willing to stay, it would be best to modify policies and aspects that don’t work to keep everyone in good shape. 

When Things Go Well, Focus On Business Expansion And Renewals

Take note that exceptional business management requires a powerful integration between sales and customer success. When your sales processes have succeeded in generating a following due to customers buying into your brand, start working towards strategic account growth.  Remember that in business, things almost always never last. With the world around us evolving extremely quickly, businesses need to continue to innovate and invest in newer things. When you put more importance into innovating, your business normally flourishes. 

Conclusion

When it comes to leadership, always bear in mind that you are responsible for the core workings of the ones below you. They take orders from you and operate under your circumstances, so to be an efficient one, always remember to study the inner workings of the best practices for leadership and management. 

If you are interested in investing in sales training, we would love the opportunity to be a part of the discussion on how we can partner together to help you and your team achieve your goals. The content of our training workshops is taught by a 35-year sales veteran who specializes in elevating value by understanding the science of decision-making. Every rep will walk away with mastery of a conversation framework scientifically proven to communicate high value in every conversation they have with prospects and customers.

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We understand it can be difficult to know where to start when building a framework for sales conversations, so we’ve developed a Sales Conversation “Cheat Sheet” you can download HERE.

Getting Your Sales Team to See the Big Picture

When it comes to sales, it’s essential that you understand the bigger picture from a business point of view. The big picture will help your sales team work more effectively in the long-term. Additionally, a sales team that has a clear understanding of the big picture may be able to deliver better results in the next quarter. So, how do you let your sales team see the big picture of your business? 

Educate Them about Business Strategy

A sales team must understand the strategy of the business. When your salespeople have a deep understanding of how your new products work compared to the existing ones, they will be able to come up with better and more creative ways to make a sale. It will also help them get a proper idea of which types of customers they need to reach out to. 

At the most basic level, your sales team must be able to describe the primary points of your company’s sales strategy, understand and explain the market environment, explain the basic economics of the business, and know the variables that may affect the strategy and the product offerings of the company. 

Refer to Specific Metrics

There are a lot of metrics that you can refer to. The problem is, since there is a lot to refer to, it can be difficult to focus on just one. If you want your sales department to clearly see the big picture, focus on specific ones that will allow them to do so. 

Customize Strategies

Not every customer or account can have the same level of satisfaction compared to others. It’s because your clients have different personalities. Therefore, it’s essential that your sales team gets creative in this aspect, customizing their sales strategies to ensure that they are truly relevant to each customer.

Your sales team must be trained to know how to identify which customers are the right fit and how they can make them happy. That said, your sales team must be able to explain how the sales strategy of your company applies to their clients. Moreover, they should be able to tell the financial benefits of specific products and services that incorporate key daily activities that will help them reach their goals. 

Avoid Developing Bad Habits

Individual members of a sales team can become too complacent, especially if they are delivering subpar results. It is one of the most damaging things that can happen to a sales team. It happens because bad habits tend to start slow and build up, to the point where it starts to have a significant impact on a sales rep’s overall performance. 

It is essential to find ways to reduce the time it takes to address potential issues and ensure that the sales process runs smoothly. You can find ways to document the execution to understand if the process is being followed. 

Conclusion

A capable sales team sees the bigger picture, and they include this in structural problems or challenges that the organization faces. As such, this also highlights the importance of sales training for salespeople in a business.

If you are interested in investing in sales training, we would love the opportunity to be a part of the discussion on how we can partner together to help you and your team achieve your goals. The content of our training workshops is taught by a 35-year sales veteran who specializes in elevating value by understanding the science of decision-making. Every rep will walk away with mastery of a conversation framework scientifically proven to communicate high value in every conversation they have with prospects and customers.

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We understand it can be difficult to know where to start when building a framework for sales conversations, so we’ve developed a Sales Conversation “Cheat Sheet” you can download HERE.

5 Marketing Tips for B2B Sales

Business-to-Business (B2B) marketing is tough. Most businesses are looking to make money, not spend more. That means that traditional marketing methods may not work, but what B2B prospects will always respond to is value.

Value can come in many forms, but it always comes down to this: solving a problem. If a product or service fills a gap in what could otherwise be a perfect situation, then it has value. What sets B2B customers apart is that as they are looking to solve a problem for themselves, they may also be looking out for their own customers. That is because the more problems you solve and the better you do it, the more it gives businesses an edge against their competition.

Due to years of advancements in behavioral psychology, marketers like Mark Eardley now have narrowed down the dialogue on buying and selling a product or service into five distinct areas. In this article, we discuss these areas and break them down into what’s useful in the B2B industry.

Response

It is the knowledge that someone understands your problem and knows the solution. The challenge with B2B customers is that sometimes they can’t articulate what they really need. They may have a clear picture of the end-goal but may not have the expertise to determine the specific problems that need their attention.

That is why, you need to be able to analyze a situation correctly, measure its impact, and implement improvements appropriately. Your response becomes very valuable if you can communicate your expertise in a situation clearly and convey that you can solve it.

Service

To create value with service, you must spell out in no-nonsense terms the details of your solution, and eliminate any perceived risk that will affect the business. Your service will be particularly valuable if its implementation solves an issue sufficiently and contributes to the overall success of the brand.

Quality

B2B customers are notoriously keen about quality, and you will need to convince them that your product or service is the best in its class. It is easy to throw everything into the product or service, but you should also emphasize the processes that went into creating your product or service. This can include research and development, product testing, market research, and so on. All of this brings value to your business and demonstrates quality.

Time

Because B2B customers are looking to make money, you must also be able to demonstrate a calculated return on investment (ROI) in the shortest amount of time. Your product or service should also have a sensible learning curve to minimize possible disruption.

Price

Your price should always be competitive, but in the B2B arena, this should not matter as much as if you were working in the Business-to-Consumer (B2C) market. In a conversation about selling a product or service, price should be discussed last. Discussing price first is a strategy that will lead you downhill in B2B. Your price should be justifiable by the other four areas so that the customer can appreciate the value of what you’re trying to sell.

Conclusion

B2B marketing may be tough, but it’s not uncrackable. Like any other form of marketing, you just need to emphasize the value that you are bringing to the table. Once you have determined that value, then comes the process of demonstrating it. Price should come dead last. Particularly in B2B, effective sales conversations should start with building value first, not price.

We understand that it can be difficult to communicate value in every sales conversation, so we’ve created an ebook on value that you can download HERE.

We’d love to help you discover the unique value your company provides and communicate it clearly to your prospects. Contact us today to get started.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why Your Team Needs More Sales Training

One can argue that it’s easy to sell, but what isn’t easy is selling right. Research shows that only 13 percent of customers feel that salespeople truly understand their needs. It’s a shockingly low number, considering the fact that there are a multitude of salespeople on the market. You might be more surprised to find out that 55 percent of employees lack the basic skills they need to carry out effective sales and close deals. It’s no wonder that many businesses are struggling to fulfill the needs, respond to the pain points of their customers and reach their sales goals.

At the heart of every company is a sales team that spends every day growing its customer base, generating more leads and converting them to customers. However, despite the team’s crucial role in a business, many companies still fail to offer them proper sales training to help them do their job well. Consumers are usually under the assumption that people in sales already know what they’re doing, when in fact, it isn’t always true. 

Your company can have the best products and offer the best services in the world, but you know that they won’t sell themselves. Salespeople need ample sales training to make a connection with customers and understand their needs, as well as to know how to ask and answer the right questions.

High Returns

As you know, sales are all about numbers. Companies want to boost their productivity and increase leads and, in turn, their revenue. The best way to higher win rates is through training your sales team. Having your team know the most successful sales techniques allows them to apply it in their own process, helping them beat the competition and grow their customer base even further. Moreover, training will equip them with the skills they need and the ability to use the techniques themselves. The better trained your employees are, the better they’ll be able to sell your products and services. 

Meet customer needs

Having sales training also helps your sales team figure out how to satisfy customer needs and respond to pain points. With training, you can make sure that your salespeople understand what your audiences want through various recognized sales techniques. At the end of the day, customers don’t want a generic sales pitch. They want someone that will listen and understand what they want and need instead of having a salesperson blatantly peddle products and services. Good sales means building meaningful relationships with customers, and your employees can learn this through training. 

More confident sales team

Training will also help your sales team be more knowledgeable and feel more confident to do their job. When employees know what they’re doing, they feel more empowered, resulting in them being better equipped to reach their goals. 

In conclusion

Training your sales team not only helps each individual rep, but it helps your team as a whole be on the same page. You can have peace of mind knowing that everyone on your team is using techniques that are proven to win more sales. 

If you are interested in investing in sales training, we would love the opportunity to be a part of the discussion on how we can partner together to help you and your team achieve your goals. The content of our training workshops is taught by a 35-year sales veteran who specializes in elevating value by understanding the science of decision-making. Every rep will walk away with mastery of a conversation framework scientifically proven to communicate high value in every conversation they have with prospects and customers.

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We understand it can be difficult to know where to start when building a framework for sales conversations, so we’ve developed a Sales Conversation “Cheat Sheet” you can download HERE.