In today’s blog, I wanted to share my thoughts on sales “lows” and how you can support your team when they are going through a tough time.
Sales is often described as an emotional rollercoaster. It’s exciting and it feels amazing when a prospect says “yes” but it really sucks when you have a pipeline of weak leads and no idea where the next sale is going to come from.
Whilst I appreciate we sometimes need to feel the lows to kick us into action, we never want to be in a position where it impacts our own mental health and the well-being of the business.
Here are a few practical things you can do with your sales teams to ensure sales come in consistently and they don’t feel that constant pressure of meeting targets.
Figure out the sales process that works for your business
How many of us do lots of different things in marketing and sales, hoping something will stick? Think back to the last three sales you or your team member made from a brand-new lead (referrals and upsells don’t count).
What journey did your prospect go on with you?
Maybe it was a webinar which led to a 121 call?
Maybe you decided to call everyone who downloaded a lead magnet or engaged in a post?
Whatever it was, spend some time figuring out how the sales came in, put a process behind it, action the process and test it over the next few months.
Know your numbers
- How many people do you need to engage with at every stage of your sales process?
- What’s your lead time from first conversation to sale?
- How many hours does your prospect need with you before they commit to a sale and you close a deal?
- How many touchpoints do they need to experience your services and build trust?
There are general rules – 7 hours, 11 touch-points, and 4 locations (for example) but do you know what works for your business specifically? Are you measuring these on a daily basis?
There’s always going to be room for improvement and you’ll always be evolving this (if you want to grow) but figuring out the basic path your prospects need to go on, will lead to fewer “low moments”.
Keep driving relationships with your prospects
I love tech and I appreciate there are some things you need to automate, especially at the top of the sales funnel if you want to scale your business. However, I also believe, if you own a service-based business, you will always need to create great relationships and build trust with your future customers early on. At which stage of your process do you personally reach out to your prospects and start making an effort to build relationships?
Most people don’t…They do what’s comfortable – engage in a comment or two, DM the prospect with a sales pitch all about themselves or pretend they want to help by giving them a free “lead magnet” hoping the prospect will knock on the door and be ready with their card details.
Be disciplined and relentless with your habits
How many times have we basked in the glory of a big deal and then got to the end of the month with an empty sales pipeline? This is when the emotional rollercoaster of sales kicks into fifth gear. You go from celebration to stress in a short space of time and start doing things from that place of fear. Things like emailing a cold lead with a sales pitch or calling a prospect without planning and preparing the call beforehand. This is why it’s so important you take control of your sales pipeline, so it doesn’t control you! Build and relentlessly live by the daily habits of prospecting, building connections and nurturing leads. This momentum, along with your sales skills will ensure you experience the lows a lot less often.
Always reflect back on what went well and what can be better
We all make mistakes, don’t be too hard on yourself (I have a habit of doing this so note to self!) but we often spend too much time trying to drive things forward without any reflection or review of previous actions. Could the last conversation with a prospect have had more of an impact? Did the last article you posted on social media speak directly to your avatar? The best sales people constantly do this. They value good feedback and are constantly looking for ways to improve their sales skills.
The above tips are things we really dig into when auditing sales teams. There’s usually a gap in:
- The sales process
- The sales approach
- The sales habits/discipline and mindset
If you’re struggling to figure out where your sales gaps lay with your team, feel free to arrange a free 30-minute sales audit with us.
