Once you have the basic sales techniques mastered, there are six advanced strategies you can use to up your game as you navigate the ever-changing sales industry.
Overall, these strategies are quality of life changes that will improve your performance and boost your levels of success by helping you expand your sales and customer service skills. Those strategies are:
Time Management: Making a schedule and prioritizing your time is extremely important. To become a great salesperson, you need to make sure you have a schedule you stick to religiously. Keeping an up-to-date and note-filled calendar that you can look at first thing in the morning and last thing before you go to bed will help you manage your time more effectively.
Use of Technology: With all the ever-advancing technology at our disposal, the world of sales has never been easier, or more complicated. While technology will provide you with all the tools you could ever need to stay organized and improve your customer communications, you must put in the time to learn the technology if you hope to benefit from it. Finding potential customers has also been made easier thanks to social media but you must stay on top of the learning curve in that area as well. Researching those potential customers prior to a first meeting is also easier than it’s ever been but again, you must put in the time to optimize results.
Personal Connections: Customers want to feel like they are being listened to and that they are important. Empathy is a great sales tactic that allows you to connect with your customers in a meaningful way if you are genuine and don’t come off as fake. If you can relate to your customer through shared experiences, you can earn their trust and loyalty. You should always remember that your job as a salesperson is to become friends with your customers and that you took this job because you like interacting with people on a deeper personal level.
Use of Metrics: To make sure your sales process is repeatable and measurable; metrics must be part of your sales process. Using metrics to gauge what’s working and what isn’t is an extremely effective way to boost sales. You can even use them to track which pitches are more successful. Make sure your process is repeatable and that your goals are measurable goals and time sensitive.
Referrals: The most reliable way to reach prospective customers is through word of mouth. Referrals are essential as they create lasting connections with customers looking for feedback that they can use to make an informed decision. Referrals are essentially free advertising. The things to consider when looking for referrals are the length of your relationships, the customer’s satisfaction, the rate of communication between you and the customer, and whether the customer communicates with you.
Consistency and Integrity: The sixth and final advanced strategy is to provide consistency with all your interactions with customers and maintain integrity. Providing consistency means giving the same quality pitch and customer support to everyone you deal with. Even when things get tough, you must stick to your guns and stay consistent. Maintaining your integrity means treating all your customers with the same level of respect regardless of the size of the account. You never know? Some day they may turn into to big customers. Or, they might refer you to that career defining big fish!
