There is a parallel between top performing sales people and top performing businesses and has less to do with taking orders and ringing bells than you might think. But first a metaphor. Outside of a good defense, you can win a football game in the air or on the ground. Statistically, the more you go for the long pass, the more it will get picked off. The best teams have a well-balanced playbook. The outstanding teams can win a game by moving the chains ten yards at a time. The best sales people like the best businesses have a strategy and a playbook.
The best sales people understand that it is all about the customer or prospect, their needs/pains and helping them solve problems. The best sales people listen, take notes and sometimes provide assistance that will not directly result in a sale. They are always thinking about the next thing they can do to advance the sale. They have a strategy for each opportunity. What does this have to do with your business? Well, if you are listening to your customers and adjusting your game plan, you already know. If not, or if you think your business can improve, take the quiz below.
Score your business on a scale of one (1) to ten (10) where one means that your business does not know how to perform the task and ten means that your business could demonstrate the results and teach another business how to perform the task.
Our business:
- has clearly defined the markets we serve and we have an intimate understanding of each
- has a clear definition of each person who buys or influences (Targets) a purchase within each market
- has created a buyer’s journey for each Target
- has a sales playbook that includes ways to address objections
- understands what communication channel each market or Target uses to gather information before buying
- has developed tools or provides information to Targets that help them solve business problems that don’t involve selling them something
- actively works with those who influence a sale giving them the tools that need to look better in front of others
- spends time looking at why it lost sales on a monthly basis
- has an incubation plan to warm lost opportunities that did not go to a competitor
- uses materials that promote problem solving and focus on the prospect
- has collateral that does not us Us, We, or the company name more than a few times
- has an online presence that includes a blog
- uses social media where it makes sense
- reviews all inbound lead generation systems on a monthly basis
Scoring:
70 or fewer points - Reassess the business as soon as possible.
71 to 95 points – The business is doing a lot of things right. Take the next steps and improve in the areas where the scores were lowest.
95 or more points – The business is doing almost everything right. Each month focus on solving three problems for your Target and three internal issues that are interfering with sales and marketing. Measure the results.
In our next post, we will address ways to improve scores for each of the bullet points listed above. In the meantime if you need help don’t hesitate to give us a call or drop by the site.
Tobias
Web.com is now offering forums designed to support small businesses in cities throughout the US. Learn more about these forums here: http://Businessforum.web.com/
Posted in Coaches Corner, Entrepreneurs, small business, Thought Leadership | No Comments »
