Colleen’s Blog

We can discuss sales strategies, ideas, tips and methods to no end. However, at times even the best salesperson struggles to achieve results not because of a weak strategy, but because of little to no focus on their productivity. Let’s cut to the chase. The best way to get your team to achieve true productivity in their work day is to get them to cut off all inbound access. Now, before your jaw drops too low, let me clarify...

I get called in a lot to help companies grow their sales and whenever a company is not growing the way they want or not hitting their sales targets, I take a look at the pipeline because I know it is the #1 reason why people aren't growing their sales.

You no longer have an ideal buyer. You have to throw out the notion that there's a single person inside your organization that makes the buying decisions.

Are you or members of your sales team having trouble getting past gatekeepers? I've noticed a trend. In my latest workshops and training working with top sales performers, one issue that keeps coming to the surface is how to get past gatekeepers. It's an obvious struggle. If you can't get to the individual who has the power to buy and sign purchase orders and checks, it's going to be a long and tough road to making sales (and that road can very well lead to a dead-end). So, how can salespeople get past gatekeepers? There are three important points that you need to consider:

A key distinction between top sellers and top sales leaders is that top sales leaders must be excellent team players, whereas top sellers do not. Leaders must be team players. Why? Because they must believe that the whole team:

Your sales team could be too isolated! A couple of years ago, I was working with an organization and we brought their entire sales team together in one room. One of the first things we did is we asked each individual on the team to begin sharing examples, ideas, thoughts and success stories. We wanted to determine whether those success stories aligned with the goals and values that the company put forth. Something interesting happened though. We began hearing phrases like:

It's frustrating. When you see a sales rep struggling month after month, and missing target after target, it's enough to make any sales leader uneasy. The problem is most leaders handle poor performers the wrong way. There's a tendency to have "tough conversations" or attempt to punish them into higher performance. Some leaders even give poor performers the "cold shoulder" and allow a rep's professional performance to seep into their personal behavior towards them. These are all things that are extremely counterproductive and more often than not, contribute to more negativity and even worse performance. Luckily, there are strategies you can put into place to help improve their results. 

Is your organization creating sales dysfunction without even knowing it? I was coaching a sales executive recently and discovered that the company sets goals based on a September 1st FY start, yet the sales teams goals are set on a calendar year. Think about the discontinuity for a second.

I have to be really blunt here. You're not going to make 2018 "your year" in sales if you're still holding on to clients that are doing nothing more than giving you frustration, headaches and simply won't be profitable this year.

Does your sales team know the difference between conversation and combat? Far too often, salespeople will get into verbal hostilities with their potential buyers. They hear a question or an objection and automatically go on the defensive! This is not a trait you want to see in one of your sales reps. You're simply not going to close a sale with a customer you're also arguing with. The last thing you want is for your sales rep to "win" the debate and have your customer sit back and shut up. This is a sign of apathy and it won't lead to anywhere positive for the sales rep or your organization. Want your sales team to be successful?