by Angie Weber | Featured Contributor
Sales. That thing businesses seem to live or die on. I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again -without money, you don’t have a business- you have a hobby.
At tena.cious, we have gone through countless hours of training to help us be better at sales. I know some of you are cringing even at the thought- no one likes to be a sales person. But all those trainings were so well worth it.
It’s easy to get motivated by sales challenges after you learn some new ways of making it fun. Yes, sales can be fun. The part where it gets hard, is actually following through with it.
After the last time I did a sales training, I was full force! I had my intentions set and put all the practices into place. And you know what happened? I rocked it.
But now that it’s summer, I have seen sales decreasing. Yikes! No one likes to admit this in business, but I truly believe that we can all learn from each other. This means we have to be willing to be a little transparent. And let’s be real for a second; us Minnesotans live for summer, so we need to get out as much as we can.
However, as much as I would like to blame low sales on summer, I simply can not. It is me. All me.
So what the heck happened, right? I promised I’d be transparent with you and I’m going to do just that.
I got way too comfortable with sales rolling in that I let things slip through a little. I stopped being so diligent on my calls and follow-up. And now, here we are. It’s time to get those sales rollin’ back in.
Ready for my super secret sales formula? Actually, it’s not so super secret and I’ve learned this all from other experts. But super secret stuff sounds so much more fun, right?
Here’s what we need to do…
1. Update your work-in-progress sheet.
Did you just read that and think, “Update my… what?!” If you do not have a work-in-progress (WIP), it’s a good thing you are reading this. It’s not hard and we don’t have to complicate it. That wouldn’t be fun, and remember, sales can be fun.
If you don’t have one, it’s time to open up a Google spreadsheet + create a column for each of the following: name, contact information, referral source, notes, next step, potential. I know it sounds like a crazy amount of things to fill in, but I promise you will love this thing.
Once you start adding in your potentials, you will want to look at this every. single. day.
Bonus tip: put the date as the first thing in the notes column- this way you will always remember when you last spoke with them. Plus, they will be super impressed with the more details you remember from your last contact!
The biggest thing you need to remember about your WIP: update, update, update!
2. Create your sales call sheet.
Okay, I know we just talked about doing a WIP, so why would you need this on top of it? Hang with me.
Your WIP is going to be full of potentials, but you will run into those people who will tell you to “check back in a few months” or “still getting stuff figured out.” Your sales call sheet are those hot, hot, hot leads. This one, you actually print out! So get your pen ready.
Create a sheet and list out the numbers 1-20 on it. Each week, you will want to fill in a person/company for each number that you will be calling- yes, picking up the phone, and calling. This is your “check list” for the week so you make sure to get those calls in. So start calling, lady!
3. Team up.
We can’t be trusted to keep ourselves accountable- believe me, I’ve tried. I am lucky to have a team to hold me accountable, but you may need to find someone outside your biz (hint-hint: your biz bestie). But it’s not just enough to have an accountability partner- you need to actually use each other. It might seem a little redundant, but I promise it works. There are two ways you should be communicating with your accountability partner.
First, have a weekly meeting with your person… and don’t miss a single. one. This is your time to lay out your action plan of the who and how on your sales call sheet. I mean, you won’t come to the table with it empty, right? That would be embarrassing! Plus, after you tell someone you are going to do something, you won’t want to disappoint them.
Second, each day, message each other the results of your efforts. But I don’t want you to just say “good” or “bad.” You are going to report to them by following S.A.L.E.
S– sales- how much you sold that day.
A– attempts- what did you do to try make sales? (calls, emails, meetings, etc).
L– low hanging fruit- those sales that are so close you can taste it.
E– education- what did you learn from your day?
If you start this, you might find yourself where I’m at- thinking you can just sneak past a few of these some days. I am here to say: don’t do it. Keep with it and I promise, you will see a difference in your sales… and it won’t matter the season!
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After time spent searching for the perfect job and having no luck, Angie Weber was introduced to tena.cious. Not only did she find her passion for small business, she also discovered one very important thing about herself- she is a true intrapreneur. (You know, those people who act like entrepreneurs, but don’t have as much risk in the game?)
While she co-runs tena.cious and helps clients showcase their personalties online, she also spreads awareness about intrapreneurs- the good, the bad, and the ugly awesomeness. If you want to get an inside look on intrapreneurs, check out here podcast, The Intrapreneur Life.
