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Picture this: you’ve given your sales team everything you believe they need to hit their targets. They’re trained up on sales software, they have their scripts ready, and they’re making calls everyday. But they’re still not hitting their targets. You’ve done everything you can, but it’s still not working, and now you’re lost. If this is you, I understand how discouraging it can feel to know you have to improve something when you thought you did everything right.
It was four years ago. I was working as a freelancer, trying to get more clients, but I was stuck.
I trained up on using paid media to drive more sales, so I started using this approach. I built the funnel exactly as I had learned. I created the ad content exactly as I’d learned. And I’d jump on sales calls and do exactly what I’d learned.
But for some reason… I wasn’t getting any clients.
It was frustrating. I’d done everything seemingly right, so why wasn’t it working?
What am I doing wrong?
Is my sales approach not right for my buyer?
Is the framework outdated?
Long story short: I changed my strategy and instead started focusing on generating traffic by using organic methods (as opposed to paid media), I started to build relationships with customers before even jumping on a call, and I started to win clients.
That’s right. I started to hit my numbers.
Now the solution I found is not necessarily the right solution for you. But there are universal tactics that you can follow to solve this seemingly impossible problem.
Let’s dive in.
Step 1. Ask the Right Questions
You need to ask the right questions to find out where the problem is coming from. It’s no use trying to fix a problem when you don’t even know what the problem is.
And questions are just the thing that’ll help you find out what the problem is.
First, start by asking questions around your sales team’s performance. These questions will help you find out if the problem is actually coming from your sales team (spoiler alert: the problem might not be a sales problem).
Questions to consider asking:
- Are my sales team’s numbers down consistently across the board?
- Are there some reps who are finding more success than others?
- Are certain products or services over or under performing?
- Have there been any changes in my customer demographics?
- What is my team’s average close rate?
Then you will want to find out if there’s any problems in your broader pipeline which may be impacting your sales team’s performance. For example, a lack of leads will result in your team not hitting their targets, but a lack of leads could point to a product or marketing problem. The point is that it’s broader than just sales, and you need to ask questions to check this.
Some of the questions you can ask for this are:
- Are my leads down?
- How many form fills did I generate last month?
- How many enquiries did I get from my website last month?
- Asking these questions will help you find out if what you’re experiencing is a sales problem or marketing problem. It gives you a starting point to fix your problem.
Next, look at the broader industry to understand whether it’s a broader problem that many businesses are experiencing.
Speak to friends and colleagues at other companies in your field. Are they experiencing similar struggles? If they are, perhaps there’s nothing wrong with your current strategy and it’s just the market at the moment.
Step 2. Shift Your Mindset
Once you find out where the problem is coming from, you can begin to move forward.
However, this requires a mindset shift.
Rather than seeing challenges as a string of costly disappointments and defeats, you need to shift your mindset to view these challenges as opportunities.
Opportunities to improve your sales process.
Opportunities to invest in sales training and educate your sales team.
Opportunities to do better than you’ve ever done before.
You can’t change what’s in the past, but you can set yourself up for greater outcomes in the future.
Without this mindset shift, you’ll only exacerbate the problem you face, and you’ll never find a solution.
Step 3. Keep Morale High by Focusing on Training
Training your team isn’t just about improving their skills so that they achieve better results. It’s also about morale.
When sales reps learn something new, whether that’s a new tool or a new technique, they get reenergised to do their work better. For example, if a sales rep learns about 1:1 video, they immediately want to put it to use to better connect with prospects.
This energy helps them be more productive and happier during their role, which can only positively influence their performance and the numbers that you’re focusing on improving.
On top of this, now is a time when we are asking our sales teams to quickly adapt to a new normal, in some cases changing how they’ve done things for years or decades. AI and new technology has changed the way we’ve done things in the past, and it’s going to continue to do so.
This adaptation must be assisted with training, but you can’t just give them any and all training. They need the right sales training. And they need to roleplay these skills every week to reach their targets.
Some resources to help you:
- Using Assignment Selling to Improve Sales Close Rates
- How to Roleplay Effectively to Improve Sales Performance
Step 4. Remove friction from your sales process
How can you make your sales process easier, faster, and smoother for your customers to buy from you?
You can achieve this by creating a “sales free” experience. What does that mean and how can you do that exactly?
Creating a “sales free” experience
According to a study from Gartner, 33% of all buyers would prefer an entirely “sales-free” sales experience. In other words, buyers don’t want to talk to your sales reps at all (or only in a limited manner)
With the internet now being the predominant point of research for most buyers there is less of a reliance on the sales or customer service department of a business.
Did you know that on average, today’s buyer has already made 80% of the buying decision BEFORE the first sales call?
Marcus Sheridan, Author of They Ask, You Answer
In the past, the customer journey went something like this:
- Customer speaks to salesperson
- Customer desires product or service
- Customer purchases product or service
In this sort of customer journey, sometimes the customer has some idea of what they want before they speak to the salesperson, but even in these cases, the customer NEEDS to have that chat with the salesperson so that they can become informed and educated to make the right decision for their purchase.
This sort of customer journey no longer exists.
Today, a buyer has generally already decided on what they want before they even speak to a salesperson, because they’ve done all their research online already.
Is your sales process optimized for these consumers, or are they all funneled into the same experience, regardless of their buying preferences?
In other words, are you producing content that answers your buyers most pressing questions and then providing this content to your buyers to assist in their research process? To truly create a “sales free” experience, producing and sharing content that educates buyers is a good first step.
How can you start producing content that builds trust and educates your buyers?
A regular brainstorm meeting between your marketing and sales teams will ensure a steady stream of content that will help align your efforts. In these brainstorming sessions, marketing team members should ask the sales team what questions are coming up in their sales calls.
From there, marketing should create content that answers these questions, and sales reps can start using this content in the sales process.
However, in order to succeed at this, your marketing and sales team needs to be aligned so that they can work together effectively.
Step 5. Listen more than you pitch
Too often, salespeople spend the bulk of their sales call talking about how great their solution is. They charge through a lengthy pitch deck highlighting dozens of features — all while the prospect sits there, forced to drink from a fire hose.
Studies show that the most successful sales reps spend the majority of their time in meetings listening.
This means asking questions, prompting self-discovery, and building a relationship.
You can use an AI tool like Gong or Chorus.ai to analyze call recordings and see if your team is spending too much time pitching. If so, devote some meeting time to practicing the skills of questioning and listening. P.S. You should practice this with your team through roleplaying too.
Step 6. Invest in Training and Culture
If you want your sales team to be successful – now and in 12 months’ time – you need to invest in ongoing training.
Whether that means courses or books, your sales team should be learning on an ongoing basis. But learning is not enough.
Your sales team needs to put into practice what they’re learning. This is where roleplaying comes into play. To be truly successful with this, you must build a culture around roleplaying in your business.
Make it a weekly commitment. Or if that’s too hard, a fortnightly one. But commit to roleplaying workshops at least twice a month with your sales team. Talk about it. Embed it in your culture.
Why can’t I just run roleplay workshops without going to the effort of embedding it into our culture?
You can, but it won’t have the same effect. You want your sales team to believe in what they’re doing wholeheartedly. This is what will bring the right energy to the table when it comes time to practice and grow with each other. That’s why it’s so important to focus on culture.
So, what’s next?
After you follow these six steps, your sales team will be on their way to winning more deals.
The next thing to consider is aligning your sales and marketing teams. By aligning these two teams, you can increase your team’s close rates, shorten the sales cycle, and become the most trusted voice in your industry.
