Top Sales Strategies for the Year

As we close out 2011, this is a great time to identify the Ten Best Sales Strategies of the Year.  Colleges and Universities who are utilizing Solution Selling and identifying trends in this economy are having the most success.  Here are strategies to help your department. 

1. Gather information and research on your potential customers.  Review their website, call ahead for the latest product brochure and annual report, and ask for a copy of their strategic or marketing plan so you can tie your service to the strategic goals of your customers.  Ask for the organizational chart to get familiar with the different departments and decision-makers.  Ask for staff and customer newsletters, and perhaps interview a few of the key people in advance of your meeting.
    
2. Visualize a successful sales meeting and answer the following questions before you go in:
   1. What is your objective for the call?
   2. Who is your competitor for the business and how are you better?
   3. What key probing questions will you ask?
   4. What services do you anticipate this customer will need?
   5. What benefits can you stress?
   6. What objections might come up?
   7. Who are the decision-makers and influencers
   8. What will be your closing statement and next step?
       
3. Be persistent and consistent.  The top 10% of sales people may make 6-10 calls on one customer to close.  They don’t give up at 2-5 follow up calls.  Have a good contact management system and track your follow-up schedule with potential customers.
    
4. Referrals can build your level of satisfied customers.  Research shows that 60% of referral leads close.  Increase your close rate by getting referrals from your happy customers.
    
5. Position your offerings for what it will do for your customer.  Will it save your customer money?  Increase productivity?  Talk about what’s in it for the customer.
    
6. Find out what your customers want, not what you want them to buy.  Use probing questions to uncover need.  When you ask the right questions, you will get the right answers.
    
7. Establish credibility and differentiate your college and your products from the competition.  Why should companies buy from you?  How are you better and different from the competition?  What is your Unique Selling Proposition?
    
8. Launch new products and channels.  Expand what you sell.  Besides training, you can sell coaching, consulting, on-line, performance improvement, job shadowing, etc.  Utilize social media to open doors to new channels for these products.
    
9. Be accountable for your sales efforts.  Track activity metrics on a pipeline report and introduce a scorecard to focus on college goals and accountability.  You are in the business to make money and serve your customer!
    
10. Qualify and Research every prospect.  You can’t afford to spend your valuable time working with companies who can’t or won’t buy your products.  Stay focused and target high potentials.  Not everyone is your customer!
     
11. (Bonus) Never leave a sales call without determining the next step.  It might be the date and time for the proposal delivery.  It might be a follow up call next week.  It might be a document to help them make a decision.  Always know your next steps

To Contact CT Edge:

Contract Training Edge, LLC
941-275-4808 (telephone)
kyeager@ctedge.net