The past 12 months have provided some stand-out moments that will never be forgotten. From the success of London 2012 to Barack Obama’s dramatic return to the White House, and from the launch of Natural Training’s book The Natural Sales Evolution to the meteoric rise of ‘k-pop’ (in particular, Gangnam Style). As a period of time, it’ll take some beating.
For us though, now is all about moving forward. Despite having a great year in sales training we thought it was high time we started looking ahead. In sales it’s essential to be focused on the future, learning from what’s already past and building a stronger proposition to move forward with.
Today you should be thinking about how your selling strategy is going to evolve in 2013. Here are our top FIVE tips for generating an effective and modern selling strategy – all of these should be part of your preparations between now and when you launch into your first sales meeting in January:
1. Work out your ‘moments of truth’
Moment of Truth is a translation from the Spanish ‘el momento de la verdad’ that described the moment in bullfighting when the bullfighter looked into the eyes of the bull – each one realising that one of them was going to win. Swedish businessman Jan Carlzon wrote a book named Moments of Truth (1985) and likened those ‘moments of truth’ to when we are with customers – what is the experience during each of these pivotal moments and how does it contribute to the overall relationship? For example, during a four week, multi-stage sales cycle, there will be maybe three to four really key moments where you look into the whites of the customer’s eyes, and you either win, or you lose. Think beyond closing – because you are on show at every stage, whether it’s replying to an email or picking up the phone. Being able to identify when and why these moments arise is a particularly useful part of your selling strategy.
So think: in 2013 will you be able to recognise your moments of truth? If you can ascertain what it is that helps you move a prospect into ‘buying mode’ you’ll take control of the sale and control of your revenue and profits.
2. Become better at closing – do it faster
Sounds obvious, but closing is such a crucial part of selling that developing your own technique should form part of your strategy for 2013. By closing effectively and efficiently you can dramatically cut the amount of time you spend nurturing leads and losing valuable time that could be spent generating fresh interest and sales. Taking six weeks to close a deal that could be closed in two is a sure-fire way to waste you and the customer heaps of time.
So, think about how you can accelerate the close on your prospect’s side. Introduce incentives and penalties, and never stay out of touch for long. Faster closes mean more time for proactively selling, rather than chasing!
Read PART 2 of Five ways to generate a modern and effective selling strategy in 2013 early next week. Here at Natural Training we’re constantly working with sales teams to support the development of their own selling strategies. We’d love to talk you through our approach to sales training as well as our approach to developing selling strategies for 2013. Call the team on 0207 043 1582 or email hello@naturaltraining.com.
