Make Your Sales Great Again – Tips & Tricks

Have you ever wondered what makes some sales teams better than others? The secret lies in constant development. Having certain skills and experience is important, but so is finding new ways to improve the sales process. If you’re looking to make some improvements yourself – here are a few tips & tricks to take your sales to the next level.

Tips & tricks to make your sales great again

First of all, you should start by identifying the bottlenecks that might be affecting your sales process in order to streamline it. And that’s precisely why tracking and analyzing the results of your sales team should be your priority from day one.

Surprisingly, nearly six in 10 salespeople say that even when they figure out what works for them, they do nothing about it. If you keep your sales process unchanged, your revenue isn’t likely to change either. Therefore, you need to be ready to adapt and optimise your sales process at all times.

No matter where the problem lies, case studies and scientific research is here to help you find the solution. Based on the data available, we came up with a few tips & tricks that can change your approach and boost your sales.

1. Don’t wait too long before you contact a prospect.

Apparently, those who attempt to reach leads within an hour are nearly seven times likelier to have meaningful conversations with their prospects than those who wait longer than that. And there’s more: research by Lead Response Management found that you are 100x more likely to successfully contact a lead if you respond within 5 minutes and 21x more likely to qualify that lead.

No wonder – buyers seem to be more willing to make a purchase the closer in time to when they made the initial inquiry. The more you wait, the less they are interested in your products or services – which is why you should try to respond immediately to your sales leads.

2. If you’re calling your prospects, make sure you’re actually prepared for the call. 

Since 85% of prospects and customers are dissatisfied with their experience over the phone – preparation for your call is often key, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience. Yet, 42% of sales reps feel they don’t have enough information before getting in touch. This means, however, that you can easily stand out – if only you do your homework and get ready for the calls in advance.

Start with thinking the opening statement for your call through. When you do it right, you’ll immediately sound more confident and well-prepared, giving your interlocutor the impression that you know what you’re doing. You can also come up with a script for the rest of your call – but don’t just read it out. You should always be prepared for unexpected questions, especially complex ones.

3. Listen to (and understand) your prospects and customers.

Speaking of customer satisfaction – only 13% of customers believe a salesperson can understand their needs and the challenges they face. At the same time, the list of top factors that can influence a positive sales experience includes: listening to their needs, not being pushy, and providing relevant information.

This proves that sales agents shouldn’t not only know a lot about the products or services they represent but have a deeper understanding of the prospects and customers as well. Before you make a call, gather as much information as possible about the person you’re about to contact. If possible – aim for providing a personalised experience to every customer. They will repay you with their trust and loyalty in the long run.

4. Always under-promise & over-deliver.

You should never make promises that you can’t keep, as it can easily damage the reputation of your company. Not to mention that dealing with upset customers is never pleasant. Therefore, you should always under-promise and over-deliver, especially if you want your customers to stay loyal.

It doesn’t mean, however, that each time you have to do something “big” to impress your customers. As a matter of fact, over-delivering can be accomplished in different ways. First things first: Try providing an exceptional experience and support and see how far it can take you. Once you’re at it, though, remember to treat all your prospects and customers the same way. If you actually commit to providing them with the best experience possible, you are more likely to turn them into satisfied and loyal customers.

5. Go beyond calls & emails.

Cold calling and emailing are still listed as effective sales methods. Yet, the average person deletes 48% of the emails they receive every day, and it might even take 18 calls to connect with your buyers. Given these numbers, it may be a good idea to expand your horizons and go for an omnichannel approach instead.

It makes even more sense since customers seem to need lots of touchpoints before deciding to purchase (on average, we’re talking about between 6 and 8 points of contact with your company). Therefore, trying different outreach methods and using unique communication for each touchpoint can simply help you reach your prospects more effectively.

6. Try social selling.

It might seem like a buzzword at first, but social selling is able to work wonders for your sales team. In fact, 78.6% of salespeople who use social media are said to outperform those who don’t. Using social selling can also increase win rates and deal size by 5% and 35%, respectively. And that’s not all: Half of the revenue is influenced by social selling in 14 common industries, including computer software, healthcare, and marketing and advertising.

These numbers can’t lie. If you have a strict “no social media at work” policy, it may be high time to change it and try something new.

7. Experiment with brand new sales tools & techniques before others do.

While on the subject on novelties – don’t be afraid to implement different and less popular sales tool & techniques. Actually, if possible, do it fast. There’s no harm in trying out various tools – most sales agents use six tools on average.

Whenever you hear about something new on the market, try to take advantage of it. Even if that seems expensive at first, the majority of sales tools offers a free trial, so you can give it a try before you make any decision.

8. Recognise that “sales” is an ongoing process.

The realm of sales is constantly evolving – and so should your sales process. To remain competitive, it’s important to constantly track your results, draw conclusions from them, and improve the performance of your sales team. It might not be easy at first, but once you get the hang of it, you can keep optimising your sales process with ease.

Nowadays, maximising the effectiveness of your sales team is crucial. If you strive to make the most of your resources, try to apply any of these tips & tricks in practice. Once you’re at it, you might want to use a powerful tool to keep track of your sales process – Livespace CRM, for example, can help you standardise your sales operations and increase the probability of winning deals. Start the free trial and see it for yourself.