As the owner or manager of a small or medium-sized business, you wear many hats. You are concerned with the mid-term to the long-term growth of your business, as well as the day-to-day sales figures. In addition, you must deliver the quality of services to keep existing customers returning again and again.
In addition, you need to keep finding new work. Routinely looking for new contracts is essential to maintaining a consistent revenue stream — but what happens when you go through a dry patch, and the sales just aren't coming in? These seven to-dos and some sales enablement optimization will help you get back on track!
1. Believe in Yourself (and Your Business)
You might have excellent skills in your line of work but have a poor opinion of your sales abilities. In reality, there is a sales specialist in every one of us. Whether it's pitching a new idea to your team, excelling at a job interview, or convincing a child to try broccoli for the first time, selling is an integral part of life.
Have faith in yourself and your ability to make sales! A lack of sales can likely be due to an incorrect mindset, lack of energy, or implementation of the wrong strategies than you not "being good at" sales. Take some time to assess the situation and adapt your sales strategy. You will be back in the game in no time at all!
2. Do Little Things Right
It's not always about the big wins. Paying attention to detail is imperative to improving your sales figures.
Attending to the finer details of your sales protocol is something that you have almost complete control over. Cover all your bases when planning your sales calls, including:
- Anticipate questions and be prepared to answer them intelligently.
- Take time to tailor your sales pitch to the business or individual you are speaking with.
- Ask questions to determine the needs and budget of a potential client. You don't want to waste your time or their time pitching a service that they don't need or can't afford.
- Outline a plan for lead generation that includes activities such as expanding your social media network, writing thought leadership pieces for industry publications, and improving your website.
- Use sales enablement tools to monitor and give more accurate direction to your sales efforts.
Focusing on doing the little things with excellence can lead to bigger wins!
3. Develop Your Growth Mindset
To give yourself the impetus to overcome obstacles and constantly hone your sales efforts, you must persist with a positive, proactive mindset.
What does a growth mindset entail?
- Perseverance through setbacks
- Seeing challenges as opportunities to learn
- Not taking rejection too personally (i.e., receive criticism without letting it crumble your resolve)
- Focusing on the bigger picture and how your efforts can contribute to your team's growth and success
Growing a business requires individual growth and the ability to see where you want to go!
4. Connect With Others Who Have Been In the Same Boat
It is unlikely that you are the first person in your industry to be going through this kind of experience. So reach out to other consultants and similar companies who may have navigated this situation before. They can guide you with valuable insight and practical strategies to help you out of your sales slump.
Forge connections with other professionals, even if they aren't in the same line of work as you are. What you can learn from their successes and failures may be translatable to your business. Listening to what other professional consultants have to say can help you think out of the box about your own business and spot novel opportunities.
5. Review Your Company and Personal Goals
To effectively map your projection, it is vital to understand your goals. Review your objectives to remind yourself of the specific milestones you would like to achieve along the way.
Sometimes scaling your view down to smaller, short-term targets can help you to focus your sales efforts and monitor your progress more easily. Break your sales plan into bite-size pieces and take on each aspect step-by-step.
6. Review Your Progress
Discipline is an essential tool for creating consistency and achieving goals. Unfortunately, it doesn't come naturally to most people. It takes practice!
If you don't have someone to be accountable to with regard to your business progress or sales figures, aim to set goals for yourself with regular checkpoints. Create a checklist or procedure whereby you can check in with yourself weekly or monthly. During these check-in sessions, it is vital to be honest with yourself.
Do you have trouble being accountable only to yourself? You can share your game plan and goals with staff or coworkers. Even though they aren't formally checking in on you, the knowledge that you have told some people should give you the drive to be more diligent with your sales plans.
7. Use Software (like HubSpot) to Track Your Progress
In the well-worn words of management guru Peter Drucker, "You can't manage what you can't measure." In other words, if you don't measure aspects of your sales plan, you can't improve on it.
This is where sales enablement comes into play!
What is sales enablement? A solid sales enablement strategy incorporates the processes of aligning sales and marketing teams. It also provides sales reps with tools, information, and content that can help them target, engage and convert potential buyers/clients more effectively.
Measuring your small business' metrics is especially important if consistent sales are critical to your bottom line. Software like HubSpot can take measurements at every point in your sales pipeline. This can help you to pinpoint where things are going right and where there might be gaps for potential clients to slip through.
Use Sales Enablement to Track Your Sales and Growth
Don't let a rough patch knock the wind out of your sails or your sales team. It's critical to stay patient and proactive through a sales slump.
However, if you're feeling stuck in the proverbial rut, a fresh perspective and a solid plan can give your business a new lease on life. Reach out to Speak to a Geek about HubSpot's sales enablement platform and how to implement this strategy for your business
Get more insights into your business when downloading our free "Gameplan for Business Success!"
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