If you've been trying to increase your sales but haven't had much luck, maybe it's time to review some basic questions. Answer the following questions as honestly as possible. If there are answers that you don't like, then work on those areas one at a time until you're happy with that particular issue. Resolving these items will result in a significant boost in both your sales numbers and your morale.
1. What do I like best about my job?
When you're passionate about something, that passion will come across to others. So decide what it is that you really enjoy about your job and then see if you can spread that joy out to other areas. For example, if you love networking, maybe you can adjust your sales approach so that it more resembles a networking encounter.
2. What do I dislike the most about my job?
No job is perfect, and there will always be activities you just don't enjoy. The trick is to minimize those activities or even get rid of them altogether. Many salespeople who loathe cold calling have moved to inside sales and find that they get far more satisfaction out of their jobs.
3. What do my customers like most about me?
Hopefully you've gotten appreciative calls and emails now and then from satisfied customers. Do they reference the same subjects, like fast response time or a great attitude? If you're not sure about the answer to this question, you can also call up a few of your favorite customers and ask them.
4. What do my customers like most about my competitors?
Prospects will often bring up a competitor or another product on the market during the initial sales appointment. If you hear the same comments over and over, you should definitely make a note. Again, if you're not sure of the answer, your customers are an excellent resource.
5. What are the top reasons why prospects decide to do business with me?
Prospects will often make the decision to buy based on something completely unexpected, like an off-the-cuff comment you made during your presentation. When you close a sale, always ask why the prospect decided to commit. Then you can work those reasons into your presentation.
6. What are the top reasons why prospects decide not to do business with me?
When a sale fails to close or is postponed indefinitely, it's important to dig for a reason. Uncovering the truth can be tricky, because often prospects won't want to tell you why they decided not to buy. This is especially true if the reason is something like a bad reputation or the fact that you told a joke the prospect found offensive.
7. Which of my weekly activities don't contribute to my sales?
Most sales jobs have at least some non-sales activities, be it filling out paperwork, composing reports, or attending internal meetings. Having a few such activities is fine, but if you find a large percentage of your time is being eaten up by these projects, ask your sales manager if he can help you get rid of some of them.
8. What parts of the sales process do I excel in and what parts need more work?
Judging your own performance can be difficult, so the best way to answer this question is to ask a fellow salespeople or your sales manager to shadow you for a day or two and then give you their opinion. Of course, if you look at your sales metrics and discover that your appointment booking ratio is terrific but your closing ratio is really low, that's a pretty clear indicator of the problem.
By Wendy Connick
http://sales.about.com/
1. What do I like best about my job?
When you're passionate about something, that passion will come across to others. So decide what it is that you really enjoy about your job and then see if you can spread that joy out to other areas. For example, if you love networking, maybe you can adjust your sales approach so that it more resembles a networking encounter.
2. What do I dislike the most about my job?
No job is perfect, and there will always be activities you just don't enjoy. The trick is to minimize those activities or even get rid of them altogether. Many salespeople who loathe cold calling have moved to inside sales and find that they get far more satisfaction out of their jobs.
3. What do my customers like most about me?
Hopefully you've gotten appreciative calls and emails now and then from satisfied customers. Do they reference the same subjects, like fast response time or a great attitude? If you're not sure about the answer to this question, you can also call up a few of your favorite customers and ask them.
4. What do my customers like most about my competitors?
Prospects will often bring up a competitor or another product on the market during the initial sales appointment. If you hear the same comments over and over, you should definitely make a note. Again, if you're not sure of the answer, your customers are an excellent resource.
5. What are the top reasons why prospects decide to do business with me?
Prospects will often make the decision to buy based on something completely unexpected, like an off-the-cuff comment you made during your presentation. When you close a sale, always ask why the prospect decided to commit. Then you can work those reasons into your presentation.
6. What are the top reasons why prospects decide not to do business with me?
When a sale fails to close or is postponed indefinitely, it's important to dig for a reason. Uncovering the truth can be tricky, because often prospects won't want to tell you why they decided not to buy. This is especially true if the reason is something like a bad reputation or the fact that you told a joke the prospect found offensive.
7. Which of my weekly activities don't contribute to my sales?
Most sales jobs have at least some non-sales activities, be it filling out paperwork, composing reports, or attending internal meetings. Having a few such activities is fine, but if you find a large percentage of your time is being eaten up by these projects, ask your sales manager if he can help you get rid of some of them.
8. What parts of the sales process do I excel in and what parts need more work?
Judging your own performance can be difficult, so the best way to answer this question is to ask a fellow salespeople or your sales manager to shadow you for a day or two and then give you their opinion. Of course, if you look at your sales metrics and discover that your appointment booking ratio is terrific but your closing ratio is really low, that's a pretty clear indicator of the problem.
By Wendy Connick
http://sales.about.com/
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