Make Today A Sales Day!

“What are you doing to sell today?”

That’s one of my favorite questions to ask entrepreneurs. It’s so simple. Yet many people find it a head-scratcher. Here are the kinds of responses I get:

“We are not ready to make any approaches yet. We are still fine-tuning our product.”

“We have lots of potential customers but are not sure where to concentrate our efforts.”

“We are building a two-sided network where we need both health care providers and patients. So we are sending lots of email blasts out to both sides.”

“Ummm…I think that’s next week.”

Many (most?) entrepreneurs get to selling last; after product development, financing, hiring marketers, and looking for that next great UX designer. But selling can’t wait. Every week you need to dedicate one full-day to sales. Today is that day. Here’s what your calendar should look like:

6 AM - 8 AM
Prospecting
These are the hours decision-makers are most likely to answer the phone.

• Pull 25 target names from your database/CRM system. Do no more than two minutes of research on each target’s website. Be sure to scan the the company's two most recent news items.
• Fine-tune your prospecting script. Your opening should be short and tight. Create an opportunity early in the script to mention what you learned from your quick research.
• Repeat the script’s opening aloud to yourself 10 times so you get comfortable with the cadence. Do the same with the message that you will leave if you get voicemail.
• Make the call.
• Use your script to either engage or leave a voicemail.
• Repeat 25 times.

8 AM - 8:15 AM
Break
Caffeine delivery system of choice. Make it a large.
8:15 AM - 9:30 AM
Follow-up
This isn’t your first sales day, correct?

• Write follow-up emails to the 25 prospects you reached out to last week and ask for 10 minutes of their time.
• Update your CRM right away that you’ve made two "touches".

9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Sales meetings
Conduct one or two sales meetings or calls with prospective customers, bloggers, or channel partners.
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Lunch meeting
Get together with a client, prospect or channel partner.

• Prepare two in-depth questions to explore over lunch. Ask lots of other questions to help understand how you could improve your performance (client), where sources of pain reside (prospect), or what a successful relationship might look like (channel partner).
• Eat.

1 PM - 2 PM
Lessons learned
Information that is not reviewed is lost.

• Reflect on great questions you asked or were asked as well as any objections you weren’t prepared to tackle.
• Write out the questions and their answers and embed them in your script.
• Update other sales tools, such as your objections checklist, qualification checklist, story matrix, etc.

2 PM - 2:30 PM
Thank you’s
Write thank-you notes to every prospect, client, or other individual with whom you recently had a substantive interaction. A handwritten thank-you is always the best option.
2:30 PM - 2:45 PM
Break
Caffeine-delivery mechanism of choice. Make it a large.
2:45 PM - 4:30 PM
Insight solicitation
Customers and prospects aren’t the only sources of great information.

• Talk to client-service staff about what they’ve learned that might influence the sales process. Ask support or finance where the biggest hang-ups are. Talk to your marketing folks about compelling new language or positioning ideas they’ve come across.
• Call your investor(s) and ask about emerging trends or connections they can make for you 
• Think about how to incorporate the new insights into your sales language, emails, follow-ups and thank-you notes.

4:30 PM -6:30 PM
Prospecting
Same procedure as morning session
6:30 PM - ?
Go home.

You’ve earned it. 

Build Your Sales Engine Bootcamp coming to Chicago, October 29-30 2016. Sign up today!