Growth and Sales Insights

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Becoming a sales leader is everything but easy. Every step of the sales process needs to be planned thoroughly and executed the right way. But, what is the "right way"? While there are some old school sales tactics that might have worked in the past, they just don't work for today's buyers. In this article we'll review the "right" and "wrong" sales tactics, and what's working today.

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Sales reps don't spend all of their time on actual selling, as everyone would assume. Actually, they spend only 35% of their time doing "sales". Luckily, there are ways to help sales reps to maximize their time and do more of what they do best - sell your product or service.

Image source: Harvard Business Review 

Exceptional sales reps are one of your company's most valuable assets. With that in mind, it's no wonder so much is invested in their training at over $70 billion annually. That averages out to over $1459 per person. Yet, all of these investments made in sales training are not generating enough ROI. Employees who participated in traditional curriculum-based sales training forgot more than 80% of the information that was taught to them in 90 days, as studies show.

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As a business owner, you can't avoid the responsibility of being actively involved in the sales process - regardless of the size of your company or the success it has achieved. The problem is - business owners are not salespeople and often lack necessary skills to make a successful call, which can result in mistakes that cost companies time and money. However, you can still improve your sales skills - even if you're a business owner and not an experienced sales person.

Image source: Harvard Business Review

Having more offers to choose from typically means you're better positioned. Knowing that you have many offers to leverage puts pressure on your counterpart to make a better offer so you don't leave the negotiating table. However, research has shown that having multiple alternatives can bias negotiators more than dealing with one single offer.

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Not only do big deals not come around often, but they take a lot of communication to close. You have to work across different departments, shareholders, and secure objectives before a mutually beneficial relationship is created for any big agreement.

Image source: Harvard Business Review

We all have to act as salespeople sometimes - even if you're not one. At some point in your career, you'll have to sell your idea, your team, or even yourself. But how can you expect to sell something without formal sales training or sales team experience?

 Image source: Entrepreneur

It's no secret that exceptional sales reps are one of  the most valuable assets to your team. It's also no secret that the American job market has become tighter, which make rockstar sales reps even more precious. The best ones are either already engaged in work, or, if you're a small business owner, their rates might exceed your budget. Whether you're an inbound sales team, remote sales / inside sales teams, or outside sales - the difficulties of bring on great people are crucial to your business.

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