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Lagging energy among the sales team. Failing to close
deals. Bitching about prospects or clients. Whining about the economy. These are all signs of a sales team that is in
crisis mode - they're panicking! Before you slap them silly and tell them to "suck it up and sell", think about the mistakes they
may be making out of panic and work with them get back on track. Selling in today's market is not for sissys - help your sales people develop
the thick skin, guts and courage to sell in any environment.
For
Solutions to these mistakes, call 978-562-5001 or click
here
Mistake #1: “Nobody
is buying”
If you haven’t heard this, you’re either very
lucky or deaf. This kind of verbal negativity can be so debilitating that it causes sales people to shut down, to just go through
the motions. In the face of reduced budgets they fail to demonstrate that your medical device or enterprise software will increase
efficiencies or increase the number of medical tests performed each day. In other words, they forget to sell the ROI that can
create a budget where none existed.
Mistake #2: Failing to qualify
leads
Sales people fall into the trap of believing that any lead is
a good lead. They are so desperate for a “live one” that they will waste time and energy following bad
leads.
Mistake #3: Shortening the
discovery phase, moving too quickly to the product presentation
Panicked sales people will try to get to the product
presentation quickly so they can ask for the close quickly. They miss the customer’s real needs and they miss the cues that
will tell them how to customize their pitch to a specific customer need.
Mistake #4: Failing to adjust to
the new reality, failing to change!
Repeating what you’ve always done before may not work
now.
Certain aspects of selling never change.
But how you do it does change and a recession should push us to examine every aspect of our sales process, our product and our
marketing.
Mistake #5: Failing to respond
appropriately to a slower customer decision making process
Decisions are taking longer. We need to adjust to that
new reality and build strategies for it. Calling or emailing the prospect constantly will not force a decision.
Mistake #6: Failing to ask for
help
In our culture, asking for help can viewed as a sign of
weakness. But you can't help them if they don't ask.
Conclusion
This list is by no means all the mistakes that panic can
create. It is management's responsibility to prevent these and other mistakes and to keep a watchful eye for signs that they may be
occuring.
For answers to these and other
sales challenges, call Catalytic Management at 978-562-5001 or click here for a
quick fix
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