YOU CAN'T SELL JACK!

The 5 Key Elements to Sales

There are many ways to get a sale, but the question is what are the top elements to sales? What can you control in the process in order to consistently end up with a W as opposed to an L? I have synthesized my last 15 years as a sales professional into 5 core areas you can focus on and improve to elevate your sales game.

Listening

They always say you have 2 ears and one mouth……………..use them proportionately. One of my mentors told me that the ratios are more extreme, and your prospect should be doing 80% of the talking which would employ Pareto’s Rule (80/20). I don’t know what the ratio to seek but I know that my teams have experienced better results when they listen. Silence is golden, when you aren’t talking they will. All you need to do is guide the conversation.

Take away – listen more! Practice actively listening and work on comprehending and retaining what your prospects tell you

Communication

This is a big one! I have found many managers don’t communicate. At least not well. The method, medium, and frequency are all important. I’ve recently learned to ask people how they prefer to communicate: phone, text, email, social media, etc. Take it a step further and have them prioritize that list. It might sound crazy, but I have engaged in productive talks with prospects only to think they went dark. It was later I learned they “don’t respond to email” or that “text works best” and had I established that up front we could have worked together sooner.

Take away – Be clear on best methods and frequency for communication and you win!

Responsiveness

This one is near and dear to my heart! I won’t sugar coat it. I HATE when people aren’t responsive. It does not matter if it is a client, friend, manager, or employee. In this day of connectedness there are few excuses for not getting back to people. Even if that is a 5 second text “I’m busy, talk next week.” When you manage people, this leaves them frustrated and out on an island. Moreover, they won’t sell as much or perform as well if you aren’t responsive. As far as prospects/customers I’ve found my most successful reps were VERY responsive and when they weren’t the client would drop them and find someone who was.

Take away – the technology is there use it! We only have so many ways to outperform our competition and a finite number of variables in our control. BE RESPONSIVE!

Relationships

This crucial element has many facets. Trust is involved and you must have a human interaction where the salesperson genuinely cares about connecting with their customer. When you have truly developed a relationship with your client, they view you as a trusted advisor and the account is difficult if not impossible to penetrate. I have had multiple clients tell me “I will never buy from anyone else” and they were true to their word. That did not happen overnight!

Take away – invest the time, build the relationship, and you will sell more….more often………..to more people! Also, both parties will enjoy it and it only works long term if it is mutually beneficial

Preparation

This element is sometimes overlooked. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail! It is that simple. Do your research, create agendas, come to meetings having thought about the questions you will ask, what are the desired outcomes, and what materials do you need to supplement? You should role play the meeting and consider what questions the customer will ask. This goes back to the responsiveness element when I talked about controlling things you can control. Being prepared is something 100% incumbent on you. If you are not prepared the client will notice and you only have yourself to blame.

Take away – develop a repeatable process. Use templates for emails, agendas, proposals, etc. that you can re-purpose and tweak which will ensure:

A.     You use them and are prepared

B.     Save you time

C.     Give your meetings and follow up structure

I hope this was helpful. I know sales is a complex, ever-changing, and unforgiving animal. There are many resources out there and I recognize that other elements of sales exist. That said, these have been the five I have recognized over my 15 years selling. More importantly they are the five I have mastered and consistently employ to achieve desired outcomes time and again.

One more bonus piece of advice that will NEVER FAIL YOU:

“Do what you say you are going to do.” 

I once had a boss who said that Grant always does what he says, and it was one of the highest compliments I have received professionally. Many people go to a networking event, take a card, and say they will contact you…..they do not. Many salespeople tell prospects they will send specific information, recommendations, or new proposal that they forget to do. It is not uncommon that managers promise they will conduct a review, help develop their team’s skills, or get back to a rep with critical information and inevitably they get busy and fail. Don’t be one of those people! Control what you can and you have already won. Do it over and over and time and time again. Make it your calling card and hallmark to success and I assure you the sales results will come.

Happy hunting and please like, comment, and share below on any tips you have about key elements of sales and how to apply them.