Have the sales in your business dropped off now that summer is here?
Do not accept excuses for low sales numbers. It’s the weather. It’s the time of year. People are busy. People are on vacation. Be proactive, not reactive!
The first thing that will make a difference in your sales results is knowing your numbers. Track all sales activities every day. How many phone calls did you make? How many sales pitches or introductions did you book? How many sales pitches/introductions did you deliver? How many first-time sales did you sell? How many call-back sales did you sell? How many people call you up and are ready to buy?
Plan by numbers
Once you have all of the numbers, it is best to calculate some ratios. How many pitches does it take to get a sale? Do all of your staff have similar numbers? Share the best practices of the person with the best sales ratios with everyone. Reward the person for sharing their best practices. How can you help the person with the poorest numbers? What works for you? What was special with the easy sales?
Reviewing the numbers will also give you a guideline to identify any general weakness in the sales process. If you sell something to almost every person who listens to your pitch but you don’t have enough sales, then the numbers tell you that you need more chances to do sales pitches. How are you going to generate these?
Conduct needs analyses
Selling during the pitch should be an easy process. The person is sitting with you and giving up some of their time to learn more about your business. Now you have the job of helping the person buy your product or service. Your job is not to sell them.
Have you ever said “Just looking” when a sales person approached you in a store? The reason that you react this way is because you feel like they are trying to sell you something. People prefer to make their own decision and buy what they need and/or want. To help someone buy you should do a needs analysis. A needs analysis will help you to identify the benefits that your products and services match this customer. If you don’t identify the customer’s needs, then how do you know what service will help them? Ask lots of open-ended questions about the person. Tell some stories about other clients you have helped—sometimes people will relate to the situation and then reveal more about their own story.
Ask for the sale
Now the big thing is using the needs analysis to help you ask for the sale. Be sure to ask for the sale with the assumption that they are buying. If you are selling fitness memberships, for example, ask: “When did you want to book your first appointment with a trainer?” or “How did you want to pay for your membership?” Now include the benefits of your membership in solving a need for them: “When did you want to book your first appointment with a trainer so we can get you started on your weight loss program?” or “Let’s get you started on your stretching program so your back feels better.”
Waiting for the sales to come is never a smart option, so take the time to follow these simple steps and you’ll soon discover that when you ask for the sale, you’ll be more likely to get it.
For a free template to track your sales numbers, please e-mail your request to fitforbusiness@rogers.ca.
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