I realized we’ve struck a nerve with this series, Selling for Non-Sales People. When I mention we’ve rolled out an intensive coaching program, the response is to grab my arm and say “YES! I NEED THIS” with giant eyes and emphatic jerking on my arm.
The response in the first weeks has blown me away and we’ve booked strategic intensive days with bankers, attorneys, financial planners, fundraisers, and business owners.
Consistency is possibly more important than being persistent. It’s also where many of us struggle to successfully achieve our goals in almost everything.
Consistency is important in selling as it helps you achieve forward progress, measurable, and repeatable results. We recognize that this is incredibly difficult for business owners or key stakeholders that are pulled in 132 directions each and every day. That doesn't mean it's impossible, to create consistency though. It means you need a plan.
The last key to helping more people buy you is to
You should have a written plan, a documented sales process, that you create to purposefully work your strategy to connect, compel, and convert customers. Think of this as your “sales playbook” where your sales strategy is executed through actions in your sales process. Your sales playbook should include the following:
Explore exactly who you want to do business with and
This means really examining your current customers and who you want to do business with in the future—understanding the people who need the value that you have to offer.
Create a Prospect List of all the potential people and organizations you can find that fit your Target Customer profile. Add these to your Database so you can systematically work through them:
Once you’ve painted the picture of your ideal customer, document how to prequalify them—either eliminating them from potential customers or moving them to the “leads” to begin approaching and engaging them in your sales efforts.
After you prequalify, you can begin
Having a bank of emails, smart case studies, testimonials, stories, talking points, et cetera – can help you focus on moving your relationships forward with meaningful contacts. Recreating the wheel each time you call, visit, or email a potential customer is extremely time consuming and cuts into your productivity. No two customers or clients are the same (so customize!) but you can have a smart collection of resources to help you move your opportunities forward. Consider answering the questions below to build your toolkit:
And this last part is how you stay on top of your CONSISTENCY game, you’ve got to
Be accountable to the plan, not just the results. If you create your sales process, use the strategy and the tools to execute your plan, keep yourself accountable by recording each step and future steps to earn new customers.
Even if you think you have a stellar strategy, don’t skip this last step. Creating a sales process can help you stay connected and committed to the actions that directly determine the growth and profitability of your organizations. Most people struggle with execution and consistency so SELLING is your opportunity to develop a secret weapon to achieving competitive advantage in your market or industry.
If you think you’re not a sales person or that selling is taboo in your industry, I’m just going to come out and say I think you’re wrong and terribly short sighted. Remember, “Selling” is simply helping people buy so they can make the best decisions.
And, if you feel overwhelmed, or, even if you feel ENERGIZED by these steps to build your sales playbook, know that you don't have to do it alone. All it takes is a call to Sauce to help build your path to success!