BY Rachel Cagle
All right! 2020 is finally well behind us, and it’s time to get your sales numbers back up to where you’ve wanted them to be for the past year! While coming up with new sales strategies is always important to your success, there’s another equally important thing. You need to ditch those outdated strategies that are holding you back.
Outdated Strategies on Sales
According to Jay Fuchs, writing for HubSpot, quite a few of them need to go.
Relying on Discounts
Keeping a discounted offer in your back pocket isn’t a bad fail-safe in sales. However, if you’re relying on that discount as a crucial part of your sales strategy plan, that’s when it becomes a problem. Don’t let discounts be the first thing you think of when your prospect raises an objection.
If a prospect is hesitant, it usually means they need more information about how your product or solution will work for them specifically. They need to understand the benefits before they feel comfortable making a purchase. So, if you meet hesitation with an instant discount offer, you’re going to make prospects question if you have any faith in your product. If you truly believe in what you sell, why wouldn’t you believe it’s worth its full price?
Cold Calling
Obviously, you need to continue reaching out to prospective customers. What’s outdated is not doing enough research to make your sales calls warm calls. A sales strategy that includes cold calling doesn't yield great results since you need to know more about the prospect or their needs to make a conversation enticing for them. So, warm call your prospects by researching them and crafting a personalized message. This strategy builds your credibility. If they don’t answer, that’s okay too. Don’t be afraid to make follow-up sales calls.
Qualifying Prospects on the First Call
The point of the first conversation you ever have with a prospect is to convince them that talking with you at length during another call or meeting is worth their time. You only have a few minutes to convince them with this outbound sales strategy. If you spend that precious time attempting to qualify the prospect, you’re shifting the focus to you. Sales reps already have a reputation for being pushy and selfish. If your prospect agrees to a sales call, don’t make the call all about you. If you make that mistake, there won’t be a second call.
Relying on Case Studies
Your current clients' recommendations and experiences can be invaluable to your future sales. However, if your sales and marketing strategy is dependent on case studies, you’re in for a rude awakening. Your prospects care about how your product or service will help them specifically. Yes, it always helps to underscore your presentation with proof that your product worked for a similar client. But your prospect wants to hear about your personalized strategy for them, not just what you did for someone else. Keep your sales strategies tailored to the prospect at hand, or they may lose interest.