Do you have a solid sales strategy? Is your current sales strategy even working for you?
Well, entrepreneurs, sales executives, and sales managers all profit from formulating a sales strategy — be it for their organization, department, or even team.
Although, you have to know where you're heading before you can hit your golden key targets, and from there, you need to break down the strategies and tactics you'll ultimately use to do it.
Well, all this information is what collectively makes up your sales strategy. Read on to discover how you can draft the perfect sales strategy that works for your organization.
What exactly is a Sales strategy?
A sales strategy typically plans out your goals, tactics, target audience, and possible obstacles. It's similar to a regular business plan; however, it focuses mainly on your sales strategy. A business plan lays out your end goals; on the contrary, a sales strategy describes how exactly you'll achieve them.
A sales strategy often includes information about the business's target customers, revenue goals, team structure, and resources required to achieve the targets.
Ideally, an effective sales plan should serve the following purpose:
5 Golden rules of sales strategy that guarantee success
Now let’s walk through the 5 golden rules of sales strategy that guarantee business success.
Proposition
Your proposition needs to stand out. You have got to be persuasive and should be able to vocalize your message as it will prove your organization's value to the client. So, always keep ABC of sales in mind while reaching out to a client.
However, rather than telling your client that you are better than the rest, lay across the challenges that the clients hold at present and the brilliance that you hold in the same forte. You must know the art of how to communicate with a client to not just leave a good impression, but also build value-added relationships.
This proposition will be the key that will shine a light on the unconsidered needs of this prospect, which will create contrast and drive the urgency.
Get the client's decision steer in your favor
This can be achieved in multiple ways; what matters is that the client steers his decision in our favor. However, the question is: how do we do that?
Let your past work speak on your behalf. Showcase the excellence you have had in the past projects and let them decide on their own.
This works to assure the client that this has been done before and that nothing but the very best outcome is what will be delivered, with no room for mediocrity. This will make your client make a clear decision and shake hands with your organization for the services they seek.
Explain the execution, not your sales process
Prospecting, then qualifying, diving into discovering needs leading to negotiation, and finally winning the client is the same old, redundant process. And honestly, the last thing a client needs is just another typical conversation with a sales guy, which according to them, is only fruitful to the salesperson and not the client.
Time to ditch this strategy! Instead, put across an array of questions that revolve around the clients' pain points, probe to extract what exactly is the need of the hour. You need to try and sound off a rock-solid plan that acts as a to-do list to your team and consoles the client simultaneously. This way, you will succeed in giving assurance to him. And yes, don't ever forget to keep the client in the loop, always!
Always give an insight
As long as the client is provided insight at any given point, they feel that they are a part of the process, which is crucial. Be honest. Even if you don't know the answer to a query, acknowledge it and then work on it. Don't bluff, as the client will likely find out and will start to doubt your sincerity and knowledge.
Besides, to be of real value to your clients, don't just say, “Tell me what you want,” rather tell them what they should want. Your buyers need you to sift through every information out there and provide insight into how you can help improve their performance.
And this requires more than simply finding data and statistics online. After all, a fact without a story is nothing but a data point. Therefore, to make it real for your buyers, turn your insights into a story that connects the dots for them to understand the context better.
Assure post-delivery companionship
This has been a practice in the upcoming. This is where you draw the line and are at the positive end rather than the negative. Wondering, what does all of this mean?
Sadly, most organizations do not believe in being there for their clients post the delivery of the services and most often ghost their clients. So, this is what you are going to portray as the strongest weapon in your arsenal.
Assure the client know that this is not just a service you have agreed to provide. Instead, it is a collaboration where the contract ends with the agreement of satisfaction which inevitably means that only after the client has given us the green flag of satisfaction is when we part our ways.
This is what differentiates a typical salesperson from a star salesperson.
The Bottom Line
Well, that was all about the 5 golden rules of Sales.
Remember, there's no one-size-fits-all sales strategy. So, it's best to always experiment around to figure out what works for you the best.
However, this is an ongoing process. So, don't just stop at drafting a sales strategy, and stick to it for good.
You must review and update it every once in a while to ensure you stay focused and on track. And, by continuously updating your strategy as per the recent market trends, you will certainly help your business generate revenue more efficiently than it ever did.
