Working in sales can be fast-paced, exciting, and rewarding. However, when you aren’t armed with the right sales techniques, it can also be stressful. If you’re not performing or bringing your business many sales, you aren’t showing your company your true worth. If you’re currently experiencing a sales slump, here are a few tactics to try to get back on track.
#1. Sales tracking technology
Something as simple as a sales tracking Excel spreadsheet could be the answer to your sales woes. Sometimes, not having the tracking technology you need to chase leads and plug gaps can lead you down a dangerous road of dwindling sales and drying up leads.
By using a program or piece of software that tracks your performance, you can gain insight into what’s working and what isn’t. As you can also highlight problems and enjoy clear reports on who you have and haven’t contacted, you may be in a much better position to refresh your approach and try again.
#2. Learn who your customers are
To make a successful sale of a product or service, large or small, it helps to know who your customers are inside and out. Knowing your general target market is enough for small sales, but large-quantity purchases need much more.
When you’re trying to sell an expensive product or an ongoing service, your research needs to be more in-depth. This can be particularly true if you’re targeting a business in a B2B sale. In that case, learning everything about them may enable you to switch up your sales techniques to lure them in for a closer look.
For example, find out who their competitors are, their strengths, weaknesses, and what they hope to achieve. You can store all of this information inside a spreadsheet for easy access. Your ultimate goal might be to identify their biggest problems and solve them with your product or service.
#3. Know your sales pitch
A potential customer can easily pick up on uncertainty in a sales pitch. It may simply be a case of not practicing enough, but your wavering can come off as a lack of confidence in yourself and your product.
Dedicate time to brainstorming what you want to say and how you want to say it. Prepare a script, and prepare answers to questions your potential new client might ask. The more you know about what you are selling, the easier it might be to confidently answer any questions a customer might throw your way.
#4. Don’t overwhelm your customers
You might be enthusiastic and passionate about your product, but try not to overwhelm people when you’re trying to sell it to them. Focus on the problems they’re having, and note particular features your product or service has that could solve them.
With this approach, less is more. Don’t run through every single specification or feature, but separate them into categories. For example, instead of listing all the features your software has, you can open discussions by saying it boasts many time-saving features. You then have an opening to elaborate on that since many people can relate to never having enough time.
Trying not to overwhelm your customer with product options is essential. A visitor to your car yard might be interested in purchasing a car, but being shown dozens of options might lead to confusion.
Instead, find out what features they require and what their daily needs are, and describe your solution to those needs.
#5. Be honest and ethical
When sales have been slumping, and you’re desperate to boost your numbers, it can be tempting to throw out all the stops and talk up your product or service to the point where the facts are no longer accurate.
You may be able to offer a standout product, but keep your honesty and ethics intact. If you overpromise and under-deliver, you’ll end up with a dissatisfied customer who ends up going to your competition instead.
Honesty and ethics are important throughout the entire sales process, including once you have them on board as a customer. If you don’t have the answers to all their questions, tell them you don’t know and attempt to find out the information they need. The more honest you are, the more respected you can be in your sales field.
#6. Be yourself
You might think you need to change yourself to sell a product or service to a client, but that’s not the case at all. Take note of your body language and oral language in discussions with friends, then try to maintain that language when meeting with your next client. While you don’t want to be too familiar with someone you’ve never met before, your warmth and authenticity will get your sale over the line.
#7. Be generous
Be generous with your time and product offerings, and you may find yourself with a new customer quicker than ever before. Sometimes, customers just want to know that they are getting value for money and that you’re going to take the time to help them reach a decision. No one ever wants to feel rushed into deciding, nor do they like feeling as if you’re not giving them the best deal you possibly could.
Spend time before meeting with a potential client to learn about the margins of your products and your absolute bottom dollar. It also doesn’t hurt to allocate plenty of time to big business clients and even invite them out to lunch on your company’s dime if it’s going to strengthen your sales opportunities.
#8. Take note of what isn’t working
For you to be experiencing a sales slump, you may have noticed that something’s not working. See if you can identify what it is and change it.
After you’ve left an unsuccessful sales pitch, play the events in your head and see if anything sticks out to you. You may know your potential customer was in the market to buy, and believe you had the right product. Therefore, it could be something you said or how you presented yourself. Next time, try a different approach, and you may identify a critical change that makes all the difference.
Wrapping up
There are so many different reasons why salespeople find themselves with declining sales. It might be a lack of organization, a product failure, or even a weak or unfinished sales pitch. Try any of these sales techniques above, and see if they help boost your sales figure and, ultimately, your confidence.
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