Top Sales Success Skill

There are many skills a salesperson needs if they are to be successful. They need to be able to ask great questions, to listen, to have great product knowledge, to follow a process, etc,  and so picking a top skill is always going to be a challenge and something that others will have a different opinion on.

 I have been training and working with sales reps for over a decade and the number one reason I am most often called is that there is a drop and/or a lack in sales. When examining the organisations sales process to find a core reason and identify where their sales pipeline is ‘leaking’, almost inevitably the root cause is a lack of follow-up.  There are a number of reasons why follow up problems are so common. Follow-up is not as rewarding as securing another appointment, doing a proposal or getting a sale. Often follow-up calls find the client isn't quite ready yet, or we don't manage to catch them on the phone, or they're waiting for a decision from a board, or any other raft of reasons.  Sales is such a highly measured role in any organisation and it is very easy to focus on hitting one's KPI’s. This often consists of measurements such as the number of calls you make and the number of visits that you do and the number of proposals that you get out.  These are all very important and, done consistently, they usually do eventually result in sales. However, follow-up is essential because it provides the feedback that we need to know if we are on track with all our activity and because in the busyness of our customers' lives deciding on our proposal, for them, is just another decision they have to make. Your call can often help them to prioritise doing this.

In the sales process, when dealing with the customer and the offering of a product or service, sales reps that are diligent with their follow-up are often the ones who are the most successful. Follow-up increases close rates. This reduces the amount of activity that needs to be done to get the required amount of sales and therefore increases the amount of time you can spend with each customer to truly understand what they want and need. This enables putting together a better quality offering for them.

Follow up goes beyond an individual sale though, it must also extend to looking after a client once they have done business with us. This should be part of the client journey and marketing plan - often detailed in a businesses key account management plan. Following up with our clients to make sure that they are happy with what we've given them builds relationships, helps  to get testimonials, build case studies, collect referrals and starts conversations on what other future jobs they have in the Pipeline

 When a business is truly intent on maximizing their sales, putting laser focus and energy on following up will yield results.

Here's to your success!