Many business owners believe the most important thing for 2020 is sales. And that’s because sales solves a lot of problems. Perhaps, but in reality it also creates more challenges & opportunities. But for now we’ll focus on why businesses are not selling at the level they need to, or feel they should.
1st Question – Is this a lead generation problem or a sales conversion problem, or a combination of both?
If it’s a lead generation problem, then we ask these important questions:
- Can you succinctly identify your target market?
- Do you understand the demographics, geographics, and psycho-graphics of your target audience?
- What is your value proposition, and how are you different from your competition?
- How are you creating mind-share? What channels are optimal for your target audience?
- Do you have sales or business development staff? If so, are they expected to farm or hunt? Are they the best fit? And where are they allocating their time and energy relative to your target audience?
We distinguish marketing from sales in that it’s the role of marketing to generate awareness and drive traffic to the website or phone. And it’s the role of sales to convert at a high rate those who qualify as prospects.
Do you have a strategic marketing plan? In addition, do you have a tactical marketing plan?
If the challenge is sales conversion, then we ask these important questions:
- Are you selling on features & benefits, or on the emotions of your prospects?
- Are you in a commodity space where lowest price wins? If so, how are you creating tremendous value in the mind of your prospect?
- Are you clearly articulating how your product/service makes a difference in your customer’s life? Convenience, effectiveness, efficiency, etc.
- Are you chasing every prospect, or do you know where to say no? And where to say ‘you’re mine!’?
- Do you have the right sales person? Have they been trained? Have they been provided the right tools? Do they have an experienced & trained manager? Are the standards proven and fair? Is the compensation structure right?
- Do you have a culture that only rewards ‘coffee for closers’, or ABC (Always Be Closing)? Or are you rewarding the right effort/behaviors?
- Is the prospect the decision maker?
- Is it the right time for your prospect?
- Is your competition doing better with their message, reputation, value, quality, experience, online rankings, etc.?
- Did you really connect with your prospect and understand her/his motivations?
- Do you have the right systems, including CRM?
- Do you have stories and testimonials from your customers that help your prospect feel the impact of selecting you?
