Crushing Your Sales Goals - Creating an Effective Sales Process
Adam Kirk • Mar 04, 2020
Creating an Effective Sales Process for Small Business
I clearly remember the conversation with my business mentor, about 9 months into business, when I had one of those moments all business owners have had. My mind hadn't stopped spinning for 3 days straight, I was in over my head in work, but with little to nothing to show for it. I was spinning my wheels like crazy but not making any money.
I stepped outside our office and called my business mentor. "I need help." It didn't take long for him to ask a few questions and then get straight to the point. "You need sales goals." was his prognosis. One hour later we were finalizing some rough goals that I was going to go over with my sales guy and work at putting into practice immediately.
Step 1. Make and track your goals
Our mentor helped us work backwards, starting with how much revenue we needed to have come in for the next 3 months. For example, if we needed $10,000 in revenue each month, how many websites/SEO plans did we need to sell? Then in order to sell that many, how many consultations did we need to complete? To line up those consultations, how many phone calls did we need to make? And in order to get those phone calls lined up, how many local businesses did we need to visit? It all started with making and then tracking goals.
Step 2. Sell the sleep, not the mattress
I wish I remembered the first person who told this to me but it was revolutionary. I'm a teacher by nature and previous profession, so my default is to over explain things. That has it's place, but is not always the best sales strategy. I've had to train myself to not sell the features of our websites, but to sell the benefits.
What's the difference? The mattress sales man can easily describe the fabric used on the mattress, how it was manufactured and the warranty it has and the... But what's the buyer most interested in? Sleep. It's their felt need. They're looking for a mattress because they want to sleep better. Guaranteed that the mattress salesperson will increase their sales if they focus their sales pitch on how it helps the person sleep, as opposed to describing the features. And same goes for you. Sell the benefits of what you're offering, not the features.
Step 3. Keep it simple
We're all bombarded with information every day. Your potential customers are looking for simplicity and ease. Work at keeping your sales process clear and simple.
Practically speaking, on your website, have a clear CTA (call to action) on your home page and immediately after every product/service that you offer. That CTA needs to lead people to take action. But don't make it a complicated process. The old adage is true: “ Less is more.”
Step 4. Be personal
Personal sells. Months ago when we started incorporating video proposals into our sales process we immediately saw an increase in sales that was directly tied to people loving our personalized video proposals.
Here's what we did: Anytime a new lead expressed interest in one of our products we'd have a brief conversation with them and then use loom.com to create a personalized video going over our proposal. People love it. They get to see the face of the person they were just speaking with, receive an explanation going over their proposal and they feel connected.
Step 5. Utilize lead magnets
We all like free. Maybe you're already offering free stuff, discounts or something like that. Grocery stores do it. Service providers do it, and you should too. Why? Because it works. Lead magnets are just that: magnets that draw leads in like a magnet draws metal.
Lead magnets can be as simple as you want, but the idea is you offer your potential customers something of value for free or with a significant discount. That brings them in, with the hope that they turn into a paying customer.
Step 6. Provide value
I often get asked how to cut through the noise that bombards us every day and get a message out there. What's the answer? Provide legitimate value. It takes time to create the value and takes even more time to get it noticed, but when you do, you won't regret it.
Think about the last time you had to research sometime online. If you visited 10 websites in your research, what were the one's that stood out? Probably the ones that provided the most value. They scratched your itch. They answered your questions. They provided value to you, usually free of charge. Those sites get noticed, recommended and eventually purchased from.
Step 7. Follow up
All of the above will be in vain if you don't follow up. Why? Because we're all forgetful. You can be doing it all right, but if you don't actively send a follow up email or give a call a week later, then good chance your initial sales pitch has been covered up by 3 inches of other paperwork.
Let's get practical. The needs of every small business are quite different, but I'd highly recommend having some sort of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool. This will enable you to keep track of your leads and customers, manage your communication with them and set reminders to follow up.
Here are a few CRMs that are great for small businesses:
- FreshSales - affordable, user-friendly
- Zoho - affordable yet technically challenging
- SalesForce - pricy but great
- HubSpot - free option
There are tons more practical tips we could offer, but we’ll save that for another month.
As always, if you have any questions or needs for your small business related to
affordable website solutions or
SEO, give us a call today at
717-742-4769.
Contact Information
LOCATION
342 N Queen St. - Warehouse D
Lancaster, PA 17603
Let's Connect!
Footer
By completing the form and submitting your information above, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
