Persistence is key for achieving success in Sales

“Success in sales is an outcome of going beyond your limits everyday”

An exciting schedule that challenges my limits on a daily basis to achieve happy customers is one thing that I am passionate about. An industry agnostic sales skill has helped me even switch my job from a media(space selling) and event marketing to IT sales where everyday excitement remains intact. Discovering the unknown terrain of a prospect and establishing a customer relationship gives me the immense satisfaction of an achievement.

Through the many sales hits and misses there is an enormous amount of learning and development. Thinking back here are the top five practices that have positively influenced the sales success for me

BEST PRACTICES:

1. Choose the right Target-Always target the right prospect in the preparation stage, so that you could relate easily to their needs and provide appropriate solutions. As they say, “Preparation is half the battle won”. Do your research well. Listen to what your current customers find as your strength. Know your competitors and their targets well.

   Also consider who has the need for your product or service, examine the industry verticals, key positions, number of employees, company culture, geography, etc of your target well. Remember that not only should they have a need for your product or service, but also the budget to purchase it?

2. Be Persistent – Most importantly once you identify your prospect, be diligent and persistent in pursuing them through multiple channels, such as social media, personal meetings, forums/events, messages, etc. This will increase the chances of building the right rapport.

   Having solid follow up strategies and tactics will separate you from the dozens of other sales reps who calls the same prospects as you. This gives you a distinctive edge. Make the most of your follow ups and watch your sales grow.

3. Assess the need- – Look for the right opportunity to assess, and understand the need of your prospect so that you could offer your best service exactly at the right moment, through which you can demonstrate your customer-centricity.(Measuring stage).

   Find out what current surveys, studies or blogs are saying about your prospect’s industry and their future trends, where you could showcase yourself as unique business partner with loads of information and projections.

4. WOW factor- Offer unmatchable proposals using the right mix of prospect’s needs (as assessed), make the right competitor comparisons, highlight your strategic strengths, industry expertise, along with your great customer references, etc. Your proposal must create a WOW perception to the prospect. (Attracting stage)
5. Build great Customer Relationship: The key to achieving success in sales is not only by winning the prospect on the above counts, but it is also critical to build a great relationship after converting to a customer, through activities such as (Customer relationship stage)
   • Post-deal or continuous customer support
   • Timely delivery
   • Sharing competitor, technology, and relevant industry trends

To sum up, these are some best-practices based on my experiences in achieving success as a sales professional. To conclude, put your best efforts in every phase of the sales journey, be focused, smart, persistent, and strategic in – “ Finding, Targeting, Pursuing, and Converting Prospects into Happy Customers”. HAPPY SELLING!!