If you are a sales coach, you know how important it is to help your sales team develop confidence in closing deals. Confidence is not only a mindset, but also a skill that can be learned and improved. In this article, you will discover some practical tips on how to boost your sales team's confidence in closing deals and increase their sales performance.
The first step to help your sales team overcome their lack of confidence in closing deals is to identify the root cause of their problem. Is it fear of rejection, lack of product knowledge, poor communication skills, or something else? You can use various methods to find out, such as surveys, interviews, observations, or feedback sessions. Once you know the main reasons why your sales team is struggling to close deals, you can tailor your coaching strategy accordingly.
If your teams are engaging in complex, multi-touch point B2B sales the most fundamental and critical part of that process is the beginning. Engaging in the proper discovery as a true consultant who is seeking to understand and establishing a co-authored sales plan or a Mutual Action Plan will make "closing" less of an event or action and more of a foregone conclusion. Sellers who struggle with closing are most likely sellers who struggle with identifying pain, understanding the clients buying cycle, and creating value that aligns with the clients budget; these are all key components of the "Discovery" phase within the sales cycle.
In my experience it is useful for the manager to just join some sales people from the beginning of the process: a good, a medium and a poor performer. I would also suggest to look for something systemic as wrong recruitment process.
é interessante isso. A maior parte das vezes o fechamento é tipo como a etapa mais importante do processo. Porém, fato é a consequência do processo do venda. Se foi bem feito, coerente, validado a cada momento com o cliente, o fechamento tende a ser positivo. Mas, se está tendo dificuldade, quase sempre a causa raiz está nas etapas anteriores: Portanto, antes de “for?ar” técnicas de fechamento, avalie se seu processo tem sido coerente para o cliente ou se apenas está tentando vender algo a todo custo.
I’m not sure root cause is the right word. Each individual sales person will demonstrate different traits and possibly could have difficulties with different aspects of the sales process. I would sit down with each individual sales person and find out which aspect they struggle with and work with them individually to create a system that works for them to excel.
En mi experiencia, esto es principalmente por no contar con las aptitudes de comunicación necesarias, y luego por no tener la capacitación adecuada, tanto en el producto que se vende, como en la interacción con el tipo de cliente objetivo
The second step is to provide your sales team with the necessary training and support to improve their confidence in closing deals. Depending on the root cause, you may need to focus on different aspects of sales, such as product features and benefits, objection handling, negotiation techniques, or closing strategies. You can use a variety of formats, such as workshops, webinars, role-plays, or simulations, to deliver your training and support. Make sure to include practical exercises, feedback, and reinforcement to help your sales team apply what they learn and measure their progress.
Managers who value their role as coach provide the best training and support. Managing from spreadsheets and dashboards can overshadow vital opportunities to improve a teams playing ability. The best coaches are on the field and can observe their players in motion, recognizing real-time opportunities for skill development through participation on sales calls and by watching "game film" with the player (provided you leverage a call recording tool). These two modes of observations should produce coaching that aligns with 2-3 mutually agreed upon coaching outcomes (i.e. objection handling, active listening) and result in drills designed for improvement ("try this on your next 5 calls") as opposed to feedback ("that was bad").
One approach to boosting confidence is through training and development. This can involve providing sales training to improve their skills and techniques, as well as coaching and mentoring to build their confidence and motivation.
Provide role modeling you personally go CLOSE If you can teach me how to fish don't wait to get from me a fish ...this is the best way to close deals and teach your team to close. Is that you close in front of them
2 ways of providing such things: - internally (you can train but it needs pedagogical skills) - externally (you delegate the training to expert trainers... like me ;-) )
Confidence comes from being comfortable and competent in what you're doing. When your sales team is struggling to close deals, tailor training to not only provide a better understanding of the products or services they're selling, but also the financial benefit their solutions can have on the prospects business. Also, support your team in expanding their industry knowledge and personal growth by encouraging the pursuit of professional designations.
The third step is to create a positive environment that fosters confidence and motivation in your sales team. This means that you need to set clear and realistic goals, celebrate achievements, recognize efforts, and provide constructive criticism. You also need to encourage collaboration, peer learning, and healthy competition among your sales team members. By creating a positive environment, you can help your sales team feel valued, supported, and empowered to close more deals.
In this situation, I consider crisis management and try to increase morale and maintain self-confidence, and advance the team's plan more thoughtfully and carefully. And we define short-term goals
If your sale steam is lacking the confidence to close deals, support an inclusive environment where growth, learning and success are celebrated by: 1) creating a positive work environment. 2) prioritizing realistic, achievable goals. 3) recognizing individual and team successes, big or small. 4) providing time for team members to share their challenges and to learn from each other.
Se debe inyectar confianza en el equipo, nada mejor que eso para crear un ambiente positivo. Aunque eso es complicado cuando la cultura de la empresa o la unidad de negocio es nociva o funciona en base a hostilidad, en ese caso, es el gerente del área quien debe reenfocar su forma de dirigir al equipo
Think about the psychological safety (see Google's Aristotle Project). It's the best way to foster a positive environment within any team
The fourth step is to model confidence and success for your sales team. As a sales coach, you have the opportunity to influence and inspire your sales team by demonstrating how to close deals effectively and confidently. You can do this by sharing your own stories, tips, and best practices, as well as showcasing successful examples from other salespeople or teams. You can also join your sales team in some sales calls or meetings and show them how you handle different situations and challenges. By modeling confidence and success, you can help your sales team learn from your experience and emulate your behavior.
Setting low expectations initially allows individuals to build confidence by consistently meeting achievable goals. As confidence grows, expectations can be gradually adjusted upwards, fostering a continuous cycle of confidence-building and growth
It really depends on the root cause but here’s a suggestion for this section: A great way to build confidence is to have existing clients tell your sales people (either in video, face to face if they are willing or through gathering impact case studies) why they love your product, what they use it for and the impact it has had on their business. Hearing this from the horse’s mouth can really take the sales person’s understanding of their product application up a few levels, and the confidence soars with it. One answer to this question. But finding out the root cause as always comes first. Good luck
Confidence comes from being comfortable and competent in what you're doing. When your sales team is lacking confidence to close deals, have your successful salespeople share what's working for them. The idea here is that their confidence and success can be achieved by the entire team when the sales model/process is followed.
So if you're trying to sell a product to a person or business that doesn't require it, then you're selling wrongly and would not be able to close such deals. Now if you're trying to close a deal with a client you know really needs what you're selling, then you need to make them understand what solutions your products bring to their business. This is why relationship and consultative selling are a special sales closing strategy, this would have allowed you build an effective relationship with the clients and also recommend possible solutions to their business challenges with the help of your product or services.
The fifth step is to challenge and empower your sales team to overcome their lack of confidence in closing deals. This means that you need to push them out of their comfort zone, give them more responsibility and autonomy, and encourage them to take risks and try new things. You also need to support them when they face difficulties or failures, and help them learn from their mistakes and improve. By challenging and empowering your sales team, you can help them grow their confidence and skills, and achieve better results.
Asignación de metas, tanto en venta como en otros KPIs que puedan ser importantes para el negocio (venta promedio, porcentaje de cierre, etc.), motivar y dar seguimiento, el vendedor debe sentirse monitoreado pero sobre todo, debe sentir que cuenta con el respaldo de la empresa para ayudarse a lograr con el objetivo
There will be times when you have team members who doubt themselves or their capabilities. When this happens, you need to reinforce their confidence and then give them a stretch goal. For example, you have a team member who hasn’t closed a deal in a month but they have three strong prospects in the pipeline for this month. Strategize around the pipeline and ask for which of the two will close and why. Encourage them and support them in the two that they committed to close. You may have to do some extra lifting to get the two closed but when you do, your team member’s confidence will sky rocket and success will become easier and more consistent. If either of the two didn’t close, conduct a postmortem and identify areas of improvement.
The sixth and final step is to follow up and follow through with your sales team to ensure that they maintain and enhance their confidence in closing deals. This means that you need to monitor and evaluate their performance, provide ongoing feedback and coaching, and adjust your strategy as needed. You also need to reward and recognize their achievements, celebrate their successes, and motivate them to keep improving. By following up and follow through, you can help your sales team sustain their confidence and momentum, and close more deals.
As a Sales Manager, there is no better way to empower and embolden your team members than sharing in high stakes closes. Nothing teaches better than demonstration. Showing up for your team during the close can build confidence and allow for post mortem deconstruction when things don’t go as planned. You don’t necessarily even need to participate other than to be there for support and offer insight during tough negotiations. Simply being there to for your team helps inspire confidence for them to know they are executing at a high level. People tend to get nervous when the boss is with them. This happens because it’s not the norm. Normalize team selling and watch your team members grow and flourish.
If your sales team lacks confidence in closing deals, here are some practical solutions: First, provide targeted training and role-playing exercises to build their skills and boost confidence. Offer constructive feedback and encouragement to reinforce positive behaviors. Implement mentorship programs where experienced team members can share insights and offer support. Set achievable goals and celebrate successes to foster a culture of achievement. Equip them with persuasive sales scripts and objection-handling techniques. Encourage a growth mindset by emphasizing that failures are opportunities for learning and growth. By implementing these simple strategies, you'll empower your sales team to approach deals with confidence and resilience.
The team equals one! Learned this lesson (the hard way) years ago. Identifying the one superpower for each person on the team is key and then accelerating there is a good place to start. In addition the team is only as strong as “the weakest link”. It’s critical to empower and grow the “weakest area” whether individually or as a team. One of my signature sales coaching opportunities was guiding a boutique marketing agency’s team to close their first multi-million dollar sale with a Tier One credit card company within 30 days. They started as The Bad News Bears (Google it if needed:) and ultimately won the business by being their excellent best on the day of the in person engagement. This empowered confidence in who they are.
Set Realistic Goals and Celebrate Achievements: Break down larger sales targets into smaller, achievable goals, and celebrate each success along the way. Recognizing and rewarding incremental progress can instill a sense of accomplishment and motivation within the sales team. Additionally, ensure that follow-up and follow-through are consistently practiced to reinforce accountability and maintain momentum towards achieving sales objectives.
Algunos vendedores mejorarán al nivel esperado por la empresa, otros no. Si al haber seguido todo el proceso, el desempe?o del vendedor sigue estando debajo del estándar, hay que comprender que si ya se hizo todo lo necesario para ayudarlo a mejorar el resultado, es momento de buscar en el mercado alguien con las cualidades adecuadas. El despido no debe ser nunca la primera opción, y sobre todo, nunca debe ser una sorpresa para el colaborador, debe ser la consecuencia de no haber cumplido los objetivos, después de haber tenido la retroalimentación necesaria.
"The ask" is often the most challenging part of closing. After all the work is done, objections addressed and it is time to ask for the PO or contract, there is sometimes hesitation. As a coach you have to emphasize the process being followed and demonstrate confidence by example to move into the closing stage. The customer and the sales person are benefiting from the process, it's not one sided. Show, through simulated conversations, how they can close. Give examples of phrases and supporting work to assist in closing to bolster their confidence!
Another way to create confidence in closing sales deals is creating a belief in the sales systems. This allows individuals to focus on the logic and statistical explanation behind their results and takes emotions such as (lack of confidence) out of the picture.