Taking clients out to lush and lavish dinners, sporting events or nights on the town. Working 4 hour days and spending the rest of the afternoon on the golf course with your favorite client. A little wooing and the client would be wrapped around your finger and your goal would be met for the month. Ah, those were the days.
It may exist somewhere, but good luck finding that job. Times have changed. More competition and tighter budgets make the sales process more challenging. Clients who are too busy during the day to golf and would rather be home at night with their families than at a baseball game with you.
It used to be that if you had a gregarious personality and plenty of confidence, you were guaranteed success in sales. While these qualities will still help you tremendously, being successful in sales takes so much more.
Take a look at these suggestions and you might just find that making some of these changes to your strategy will help you grow your sales in an economy that hasn’t seen much growth!
First, be aware of your competitors, their products and their prices. This will allow you to start off with a more competitive proposal. Leave room for negotiation, but know that if you aren’t competitive to begin with, you might not have a chance to negotiate. Price and value DO matter!
While the dinners and sporting events might be a rarity with customers, do attempt to create a personal relationship with your clients. Just be sure to add a personal touch to moments that they will remember. Send a small gift for your client’s wedding or birth of a child. A card on their birthday. A little thoughtfulness will go a long way in building a relationship. It simply isn’t going to guarantee the sale.
Include added perks in your business proposal. Do not simply sell them the product they are looking for, but show them some VALUE. Include something extra. For example, I work in publishing and I might try to bundle together some print advertising with web advertising and throw in a list rental to show them the overall value. My spouse works in business technologies and may throw in a free used fax machine or printer to enhance the value of his proposal.
Finally, be sure to provide continued service to your customers. Often times, even with the best of intentions, we get busy and once the sale is done, we do not speak to our clients again until it is time for them to buy. If you need to flag them in your calendar to stop in once a quarter, do that. Do whatever it takes to keep you organized and keep you in the forefront of your client’s mind when it comes time to buy again.
With a little more work, research, organization, and aggressive selling practices, you’ll be just as successful as ever.