Mastering the 5 W’s of sales!

Hello!

Happy Wednesday folks, how’s everyone doing?

It’s one of those mundane Tuesdays and I’m writing this while also looking at the sales analytics for the month and analysing what can be done better.?

This topic has been the most talked about in sales and to be honest, we always have a difficult time finding the best sales rep, creating a strong sales team & making the best creative process.

But have you ever thought, Why?

I believe everybody has a way to look at a problem and find a solution for it.?

The way I approach a situation is by Asking myself “The 5 W’s”?

• Who are the right individuals with the skill sets to tackle such sales challenges?
• What exactly is causing the problem?
• Where should we look?
• When is the best time to reach out to potential customers?
• Why is following up and getting a reply so important?

So come let’s dive in:

First, WHO are the right individuals with the skill sets to tackle such sales challenges?

When a founder starts their startup journey it is crucial for a founder to understand the customer pain points and how you are solving them with the help of your product/service.?

????This is the most crucial part where all the foundation lies. I used to always write a detailed overview of the above things and share it across with my team which also helps them.

Another thing is to try and test all the processes that as a founder you feel will be essential to have a refined sales team and reps.?

Also, don’t jump to a conclusion by thinking that hiring a sales rep will solve the problem. No! Wait! It won’t, as a new founder you need to at least have failed 30-40 opportunities and won at least 15 ideally to give it a go.

Once you do that! Kudos! ???? You’ve proved that your product/service has a market fit.

Advice for the day: You need sales reps who are scrappy and who know how to sell even an early-stage B2B startup product/service even with limited resources and buggy products.?

Now, Let’s come down to point number 2?

WHAT exactly is causing such a problem?

In my journey of being a founder for 10+ years while facing a lot of challenges, setbacks and winning situations I have understood that the sales reps never upgrade their selling techniques. Ok let me make it simpler to you there are a lot of salespeople who have poor metrics.

When we start guiding the sales reps we usually tell them the process to follow and bring our product to the market to get traction. Right?

The sales process should be set in such a way that when you are going on a sales meeting with a customer, analyze what stage they are in and what do you want out of this meeting??

Remember, One meeting with a client is not the end.

You need to constantly understand the market, the market fit, and the follow-ups and also make them feel valuable. That’s when I really understood the importance of following up and understanding the market & then I created Zixflow , it was something I made when I saw such failed processes.?

With Zixflow , you can have a track record of all your customer databases, automate personalized follow-up emails, set up reminders, and handle all your tasks from one place. That’s not all, you can also utilize the marketing section to reach out to the potential customers while also being able to talk with them. I know you must be surprised & this is what made me make such an advanced yet powerful tool that will help me set my processes straight.

WHERE should we actually look?

Here you need to understand which channel works best for you. It may be email, phone calls, WhatsApp, SMS, LinkedIn, X or all of them. It depends on experimenting and understanding what is the right fit for you!!

Analyse your traffic, and your audience and then make a roadmap for it. In my case, I have understood face to face calls work better for me & my prospects :)?

It’s that easy!!

Remember that the manner a potential customer contacts you or reaches out to you is the appropriate approach to view

Once that is identified, check for WHEN is the best time to reach out to potential customers.

Always make sure you have at least 2 or 3 channels of communication with the prospect. This is because If you reach out to someone via email 3 times they might think you are spamming them.?

The best approach is to give them a shot 2 times via email and then slowly through a text message if possible and then resort to a phone call to give them personalised attention.

Understand, you need to understand the customer's attention and value their time and also give them real-life scenarios to get an answer. Always make sure that you get an answer. DO NOT leave the place until you have a YES/NO :)?

And lastly, WHY is following up and getting a reply so important?

Ok, I won’t bore you by saying following up again and again!

Let me keep it short :)?

The most important thing when it comes to sales is the process and the whole team should be adding value to the customer’s life and yours by truly valuing your relationship with the product and consumer. It shows how much confidence you have in your product/service and yes this can be done through basic follow-ups, check-ins and also just being a part of their achievements :)?

Learned this the hard way but remember when you make a follow-up call or send a follow-up email it gives the customer trust of confidence & reliability towards you and your business.

And Voila! You have built your dream sales process??

I hope you keep learning, keep experimenting, and striving!

That’s all for now.

See you in the next one????

Prem Saini