25 Tips to Help You Sell MORE – Part 1

4th May 2021

Hitting your sales target is no easy achievement, in fact there are some suggestions that less than 50% of sales people actually do it.

Now there will certainly be some companies that have set unrealistic targets, and whilst they may not want to admit it, I would highly recommend making sure your targets reflect a fair and realistic expectation (not just a number someone hit 10 years ago!).

There are, however, plenty of hard-working sales professionals doing their best but falling short of hitting target.

Here are our top 25 tips to hit your sales target:

1 – Create Real Urgency – Whilst the consultative approach to selling is very much the way forward there will always be a need for urgency. Remember you are a sales professional and your goal is to achieve the sale so make sure you create urgency with your prospects. The key is to make sure the urgency is with them, and not because of you. For example, saying there is a deadline to a special offer isn’t always the best way to create urgency, as most prospects know it’s because you have a target to hit. Rephrasing it to focus on why it’s important for THEM to buy sooner creates more incentive.

2 – Give Before You Take – To help increase your chances of getting the sale give first before you ask for it. That could include giving them a free e-Book, webinar, event ticket etc. Something that isn’t directly related to the product but offers them a big enough value that they appreciate it.

3 – Don’t Give Up – In the sales process there may be 5 hurdles, there may be 15. Most of the time you will fall down on any one of those hurdles and lose the opportunity. To increase your chance of hitting target don’t give up as easily and push to get over a few more hurdles. It could just be one more hurdle overcome equals them actually buying.

4 – Try Different Times – Don’t limit yourself to approaching your prospects between 9-5, try them at different times. We’ve contacted people at 07:00 am and also 19:00 pm if we’ve struggled to get hold of them and it’s proved to be massively effective. People are genuinely busy in the day but more likely to be contactable early or late.

5 – Do a Pipeline Audit – Your time is hugely valuable so wasting time on opportunities that won’t convert will cost you a lot. Do regular full pipeline audits and make sure your focus and time is spent on opportunities that are more likely to convert.

6 – Look for Blockages – If you or your team are struggling this month, it can be a great task to check for blockages. Look for pipeline opportunities that may be clogging up , ones that may have gone cold or that are taking too long. Look for things that also may be clogging up individual opportunities that by clearing up, you might be able to close.

7 – Study Success – There is a high chance there is a person or group of people in your team, company or industry who are hitting target. Find them and study them, see what they do that works and learn. If they can hit target so can you.

8 – Ask More Questions – If you’re struggling to get a deal over the line, ask more questions. What’s holding them back? What do they need? Find the blockages and then dig deeper to understand them. The more you ask, the more you’ll find out and the easier it will be to overcome.

9 – Plan Your Days – As they say failing to plan is the same as planning to fail. Plan your days to help ensure you keep focus. Plan key contact times, key chasing time, key email times etc.

10 – Avoid Distractions – Distractions are all around you and it can be easier to get distracted if you’re struggling to hit target. Make sure your team, even your management know when you’re focusing and avoid any distractions. It doesn’t mean you need to be a hermit crab and hide away, but make sure the majority of your time goes into activities that are likely to yield a result for you.

11 – Cut Out Negativity – It is rare for negativity, moaning, whining and complaining to ever deliver sales results! Make a conscious effort to cut out (or down) on negativity and be more positive. It will help motivate you more and will rub off on your customers as well.

12 – Eat/Drink Healthy – It may sound silly and irrelevant, but if you’re not eating or drinking well your energy levels will be low and you will struggle to achieve a lot. Just by eating healthier foods and drinking more water you will naturally have more energy which you can use to sell!

13 – Make Sure Your Rest – There will be some salespeople who take the pressure of hitting target and think they need to work 24/7 to show they’re trying. The problem is if you don’t take regular breaks and make sure you get enough sleep you will struggle. 8-9 hours of working with full energy is far greater than 12-14 hours working with no energy.

14 – Try Different Approaches – They say that if you do the same thing but expect a different result it’s madness. If you’ve been struggling to hit target but keep doing the same things, saying the same things and following the same processes something is wrong. Try a different approach, try saying different things or doing things differently.

15 – Leverage Your Network – Some of the common challenge’s salespeople have are struggling to get hold of the decision maker. This is where it can be hugely helpful to be connected to different people at your target company. Leverage those connections to either get through to the decision maker or find a different decision maker.

We hope this list helps…

Make sure you’re following the SET for Business page on LinkedIn and The Daily Sales to catch part 2 with the next 10 tips coming very soon!

One extra way that you can start generating more sales is to implement a good CRM system and use it properly! Here at SET for Business we’ve worked tirelessly to build the best CRM possible. We’ve made it super easy to use and packed it with as many features as possible including a personalised dashboard, intuitive pipelines, email tracking, powerful reporting, maps, activity workflows, prospect newsfeeds and so much more.

Why not take a look for yourself and take a free trial?

Sign up for a trial right here – https://accounts.setforbusiness.co.uk/sign-up