0It seems that the moment Halloween is over, people start putting up Christmas lights. Which in our words means that we are already deep into Q4, but there’s still two months left so there’s no need to panic. Yet.
In October’s month in sales you can have a look at some interesting articles from the past month and see what you can learn from them, and hopefully implement them into your business plan.
Let’s start with the first contact with your prospect – email
A good salesperson is a lot like a super agent. Just think about it – they are resourceful, adaptable, quick-thinking, and masters at utilizing the best tools of their trade. They know how to examine and assess the situation for opportunities and possible hazards, and make moves accordingly.
But there’s always room for improvement.
If you need a push on how to write better emails, Yesware claims this is the only email format you need to get replies and it includes four templates to help you refresh your email game.
The Entrepreneur is also providing an interesting read by a guest writer John Chernov on how he offered a job to a person who sent a perfect pitch email. He shares what differentiated that one sender from the rest, and also what you should avoid doing at all costs unless you want your emails to be instantly archived.
Unfortunately, such extraordinary sales reps don’t just stumble upon us. Or at least the chances are very low. That is why we need to learn to recognize them or at least recognize their potential.
Maggie Barlow, SalesLoft SDR, discusses some of her experiences in creatively engaging prospects. She talks about unique steps that have allowed her to stand out from the crowd. The first tip is to research your prospects, the second tip is to use good old-fashioned snail mail, and the third tip involves using social media to connect.
Similarly, Jeff Bullas talks about how a “thank you” note can improve conversions. Basically “Thank You” pages are your playground. You can use them to promote your other downloadable content or webinar, use recommendations from your clients to brag or simply ask the visitors to connect with you on social media. The extra effort would be sending a Thank You email to your former or current customers just to show your appreciation for the opportunity that they gave you.
How about impressing your prospects with compelling demos? A good sales demo will bring you the deal even if you don’t meet all of your prospect’s requirements. Your product features become less important when the prospect believes they’re buying into a true partnership. This could very well make the difference in deals between you and your competitor.
Direct Sales Advice
SalesLoft blog advises you on how to make a good first impression in sales. Not paying attention to how you talk, carry and dress can have a really negative impact on your success in sales because the prospect starts wondering whether or not your company is suitable for their business. Which makes sense, especially in B2B sales, where large amounts of money are at play and people can’t risk to do business with someone who doesn’t leave a good impression.
HubSpot believes nonverbal communication in sales is more significant than the verbal one. Not only is your own body language as a salesperson important, but prospect’s body language should tell you a lot as well. For example, you should maintain eye contact 70% of the time and try to ease nervousness of the prospect which can show through moving away or frequent face touching. Positive signs are smiling and nodding, while negative ones usually include raised eyebrows or wincing. You can practice your body language by role-playing and record your behavior with your smartphone.
The Entrepreneur is taking a different path of building a relationship with your prospect and sharing tricks to instantly connect with any sales prospect. They oppose the old-school saying “Your prospects need to like you. People only buy from people they like.” and believe that instead of trying to be more “likable”, you should focus on being trustworthy and respectable, so that they can rely on you.
Sales Careers
Inc. is sharing tips for hiring high-performing sales reps that will help you in your process of picking the right candidates for this position. Now, we should clearly state that the sales process has changed over the past decade. Buyers have become sophisticated and well informed. Often, they’re coming to the sales conversation with a very clear vision of what they want and how much they want to pay. In addition, the increase in marketing noise has made them skeptical of companies’ and sales reps’ claims.
HubSpot gives us more advice on how to hire managers in sales, this time with 7 questions that must be asked. For example, the candidate can tell you about the time they lacked skills to reach a certain goal, who are the team members they enjoyed working with and what would they do if they were given an unrealistic quota. By asking these problem-solving questions, instead of a plain overview of their biography, you will have a clear insight into their people and business skills, as well as ambitions and capabilities.
You may not be aware of it, but sales mindset can get you far. According to the latest Sales Handy blog, sales mindset can help you advance in your career more than you expected. First and foremost, it teaches you how to market yourself and grow your personal brand, making you more desirable as an employee. Secondly, it helps you focus on your customer’s needs which can help you sell more and better. Then, your customer centricity will inspire you to grow your business and think of new ideas and help you grow by teaching you the value of connections and networking, as well as being well informed about the industry trends and challenges. Finally, being a sales superhero means you build your strength more than any other business out there, knowing your boundaries are far bigger than you expected.
Month In Sales – Wrap Up
We hope you liked our monthly recap of best sales articles on the web. Stay tuned for our November edition and while you’re here – take a look at our other blog posts!
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