Can you imagine trying to drive somewhere with no directions?
Imagine having no map. No one has given you any advice on the route to take. You have no satellite navigation.
Getting to your destination would be extremely tricky. It would certainly take you much longer than necessary to get there. In the worst-case scenario, you might even fail to arrive.
This is the challenge faced by many print sales teams
It has got nothing to do with driving. But sales teams find it just as hard to achieve their targets without directions. If they aren’t given the right guidance the journey will be challenging.
Owners and managers who give their sales teams the right guidance will help them achieve their targets. The company will be in control of the sales process. It will be much easier for the sales team to make good relationships with the right sort of customers.
Sales teams that are not given guidance often waste time with the wrong type of customers. There is no control over the work that is sold by the company. Everyone is frustrated because people are rarely achieving what is needed.
That’s why I have written the next series of articles.
We are going to examine three key areas of guidance for sales teams
Over the coming weeks, we are going to look at three key areas of sales. The first of these will be choosing and qualifying the right clients for your company. Next we are going to focus on creating a compelling sales message that encourages prospects to buy from you. Finally, we are going to look at some strategies to ensure that your company is able to work to the best profit margins.
In order for you to get the best out of these articles I am going to set three action points for you. Here’s the first one.
Set some team sales meetings
This may be something that your company does already. However, many sales meetings focus on examining the figures. They go over exactly what happened in the past month and what people hope will happen next. What they do not look at is the best strategies for the sales team.
Therefore, I would like you to set up some meetings specifically to look at sales strategy. It is important that these meetings do not focus on what individuals are doing right now. The meetings should encourage everyone to come to the table with ideas and to be honest about the challenges that they face. It’s difficult for people to be open in this way if they feel that their sales figures are being examined.
That doesn’t mean that the performance of sales teams should be ignored.
We’ll cover this with this next action point.
Set review mechanisms
Many sales teams do not have their performance correctly measured. Yes, it is vital to look at the revenue being brought in by each salesperson. However, if performance is to be examined correctly, a number of other targets should be set as well. It is important to review the actual activity of your team.
Therefore, moving forward, it’s important to look at what each person is actually doing during their sales day. How many calls are they making? How many meetings are they setting? How many quotes are being converted? Are they carrying out any other activities such as networking or social media?
Bear in mind that the activity plans for each person can be very different. They should focus on each person’s individual strengths.
There’s one other thing I would like you to do.
Keep an eye out for my next article
We’ll be covering how to choose the right type of customer for your company. It’s the first step to sales success. Without focusing on this area it will be difficult to carry out other sales activity successfully.
Think of it as the first step in your directions that allow your sales team to travel to the right results.
Editors Note: This post is part of a larger series on how to help your sales team boost your company’s bottom line through:
- How to Create Bigger Print Profits for your Sales Team
- Avoid the Commodity Trap by Choosing the Right Customers
- Helping your Sales Team Develop a Successful Sales Message
- How Choosing the ‘Right’ Jobs Can Maximize Print Profit Margins
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If you’d like more ideas on how to engage with today’s buyers, download my free e-book “Ten Common Print Selling Errors and What To Do About Them.” You’ll also receive my regular “Views from the print buyer” bulletin, full of ideas on how to sell print effectively.
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