Recruit Sales Staff

'Eat your own Dogfood' - don't propose a product/service that you do not use yourself!
'Sell' rather than 'Tell' - don't become a walking brochure and sell through effective questions to understand your client needs
Accept that you are a sales professional and ask yourself what it takes to be as effective a sales person that you can possible be
After every sales meeting send a personalised diagnosis and proposed prescription
Always be asking - never leave a meeting without asking for an order, the next meeting, the path forward, etc.
Always maintain solid eye contact
Ask for referrals/testimonials in the letter accompanying every invoice
At the end of every appointment put a date in the diary with your client for the next appointment even if it's for a review/update meeting
Avoid talking price to early - sell first, provide the value that your product/service offers
Be convinced - be convinced and proud that your product/service adds value
Be realistic with what your product/service will achieve - always be honest
Be yourself and remember the 3 'li's - i) Profit - how will my product/service improve efficiency, decrease cost, provide return on investment, etc. ii) Peace of Mind - what peace of mind will my product/service offer my client and iii) Purpose
Before every sales appointment have a good night's sleep - go into every meeting full of energy, enthusiasm and a fresh face!
Build a portfolio of testimonials and referrals to build trust and rapport
Build rapport before you get to an appointment, establish empathy
Buying cycles are 40% longer in tough economic times - make sure that you have the pipeline to cover this.
Call after completing every piece of business to check satisfaction and gain referrals
Check daily your attitude and belief systems to be as successful in selling as you can possibly be
Don't be desperate - be there to help. If your advice helps you might not get the sale today but as you've been helpful and given solid advice this will hold you in good stead to win business at a future point
Don't chase every opportunity - thoroughly qualify beforehand and focus on the best opportunities. Save time by chasing everything and pour that time, effort and resource into the sales that you really want to win.
Enjoy the sales process - enjoy the ride and the journey where it takes you. Learn something from every sales process
Ensure all ongoing contracts, like maintenance contracts., have a review date. Increase prices gradually in line with your own service providers - maintain your bottom line.
Focus on putting your clients first and the sales will come
Focus on winning bigger accounts (and then keep them by consistent delivery) remember that 60% of IT spending comes from the top 2% of global 2000 companies
Get repeat business and always get referrals - get more business from fewer clients - have rich relationships
Go to the University of the Car! You spend more time in your car than the average university undergraduate spends at lectures. Spend this time wisely by listening to audio books rather than the radio. For £7.49 a month you can download any book from audible.co.uk (even those that cost £80) AND you'll get a free ipod! Listen to sales tips on the way to every sales meeting.
Have a sales process and follow the sales process to achieve systematic consistency
Have professional paperwork - make sure that the branding and message is consistent throughout
Have scripts and guidelines - you don't have to follow that but it will help you achieve consistency in your sales performance
Keep abreast of the latest news and technologies. Know your client's market - cut out articles and send article links to your clients
Keep in contact - Xmas cards, thank you cards - always keep your brand alive in your client's mind.
Know your numbers - keep a record of calls to appointments, appointments to quote and quote to margin (sale). If your ratio is 4 appointments to a sale then you can cope with 3 successive rejections easier as statistically your next meeting will be a sale!
Let your client speak - don't tell. Let your client identify and articulate the problem before you start to prescribe the solution
Listen effectively - see if they are using 'see', 'feel' or 'hear' phrases and correspond with their language
Make sure that your premises and car are clean and tidy - first impressions count and good buyers will check the state of your car as you pull into their car park!
Map out your customer experience and have feedback points along the entire path of your service delivery
Monitor your sales pipeline and cash flow daily
Never , ever make price your Unique Selling Point
Never launch straight into your sales pitch at an appointment - build rapport and be interested in them, their business and what they are looking to achieve
Never negotiate too early and never negotiate on price - always try to persuade to reach agreement without varying the margin
Never promise anything that you might not be able to deliver
Offer 100% transparency
Offer 24/7 contact to your clients
Offer incentives and freebies that add value to your client
People buy from people that they'd like to buy from over price
Persevere - always keep going but more importantly make every call as fresh as your first.
Personalise every sales correspondence that you send - email, letters, etc. If you send standard mails personalise them around the conversations that you've had.
Provide price versus cost comparisons
Quote with trust. Put yourself in your client's shoes - does what you are proposing offer value?
Record your sales calls and as a manager record your sales staff
Remember that the person that 'orders' the work isn't always the one that 'authorises' the work.
Research the business and the person that you're meeting beforehand. You'll find the career histories of many directors on thinks like LinkedIn and Ecademy - 'gen' up beforehand
Respect every customer - make them aware of potential obstacles and hiccups
Review your sales process on a regular basis - is it as successful as it can possibly be
Run a seminar - invest in the seminar by getting good speakers that will add value to your clients
See the dream not the product - what the product/service will achieve for your client rather than the product/service itself
Sell more to existing clients. Look after your major clients - 80/20 rule
Sell safety and reliability - sell the financial stability of your business , offer guarantees and detail your product reliability - sell on safety. In tough economic times buying decisions are more frequently made by committee and wrong buying decisions are scrutinised more carefully. 4 out of 5 will pay more if the chances of a successful result are higher (or the risks are deemed lower). Remember the famous advert "Nobody ever got fired for choosing IBM"
Sell yourself first - then your products and services
Send a thank you card with every invoice
Use mirroring at every opportunity both on the phone and face-to-face
Use your personality to be the difference - people still buy from people
Work your pipeline, know your pipeline, pipeline is key
You're judged by what you do rather than what you say. How frustrating is the phrase "your call is important to us, please hold" when you've been holding for 30 minutes!