It is getting harder by the second to establish oneself as a successful sales professional in the competitive market today. With the rising competition and staggering growth of technological advancements, it is also getting harder to reach estimated quarterly sales numbers. But with persistent hard work, an unrivaled skill-set, and some smart sales moves, you can make it to the top of the pyramid. Here are 4 ways sales professionals can increase sales numbers:
- Take time to build customer rapport
In today’s world, sales professionals often find it unnecessary to build customer rapport prior to establishing customer-seller relationship. In the interim, it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but multiple studies show that relationship built upon proper rapport-building tend to last longer, yielding more desirable results in the long run. It also adds to customer loyalty, urging previous buyers to buy again. Customer Relation Management (CRM) models also help companies build a sense of trust and loyalty with customers.
- Turn to Sales Evaluation
Another important factor in finding mainstream success in the competitive market is the determination of shortcomings that may have stalled the growth of sales numbers previously. This can be done through sales evaluation. With proper sales evaluation, sales professionals can find their strengths and weaknesses and identify what parts need improvement. This helps improve sales efficiency, and, in turn, drive more profits.
- Follow your Leads to different social media platforms
Social selling is a new trend in the sales market. Companies have reported a drastic growth in the sales sector over the past years, since the advent of social selling. A successful sales professional not only knows how to be present in the social sales circle but also how to drive sales out of it. It is important, however, that sales professionals follow their leads, even if it requires doing so on different social platforms—Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.
- Personalize campaigns but don’t overdo it
A study shows that most companies that try to personalize campaigns tend to over-personalize it. The campaign then feels forced and yield little to no result at all. Personalizing can add to the sense of reason and relatability to the customers, urging them to buy the product. A customer buying home appliances from an online store and getting recommendations for home accessories is an example of hyper-personalization.
- Ask for referrals from loyal customers
A big advantage of having built a positive customer-seller relationship is the possibility of them referring you to someone who’d be interested in buying your product, or vice versa—these are called referrals. Referrals not only help sales professionals find more leads, but they also improve the odds of those leads actually buying your product. Since these references come from people the potential clients usually trust, the professionals have already done half the job—build rapport and trust.
Successful sales professionals ask for referrals from customers that have been loyal to the brand, and in most cases, those referrals have yielded more than positive results, increasing sales numbers.
- Don’t run away from cold calling
In the modern market, most companies look down on the prospect of cold calling. It is considered to be an ‘outdated and ineffective practice’, according to many critics. However, when cold calling is used efficiently, it has proven to be very effective. Cold calling pertains to calling a previously uninterested client to try and persuade them to buy a particular product. It may also refer to urging someone who doesn’t necessarily fit in the realm of the focus demographic to buy a product. More often than not, sales professional who turn to cold calling try to tell potential customers how their product is different from the other products in the market, instead of telling them how the product fits their needs. These are people who do not think your product is something they need, so your job is to make them feel otherwise. Trying to tell them why it is different is just as good as not calling them at all.
Conclusion
The market today is overflowing with sales professionals and companies that are at the top of the sales game. It is undoubtedly hard for sales professionals to rise through the competition. But if they follow the key principles and show persistence in the face of failure, they will find that it isn’t impossible—not yet.
