If there’s one thing that salespeople know, it’s that you can’t take your foot off the gas for too long if you want to remain successful. With such a high level of competition in the sales world, it’s imperative that professionals keep their motivation and focus high in order to get results.
This isn’t always easy, of course. It can be difficult to deliver your best day in, day out. However, there are certain habits and strategies you can incorporate into your professional life that’ll help to push your performance to the next level. In this blog, we’ll look at some actionable tips that’ll help to improve your sales performance.
Analyze Your Sales Performance
Salespeople tend to be always focused on the next sale. However, there is value in taking the time to look back at your previous performance. You won’t be able to change the outcome of that interaction, but you can analyze what went right, what went wrong, areas in which you could improve, and so on.
Just by reviewing your performance, you might find that there was one moment that led to success (or failure). And from there, you’ll know what you should focus on (or avoid) in the future.
Review How You Spend Your Day
Do you know how you’re spending your time? You’ll likely have set hours that you work, but that doesn’t mean that you’re actually working for all that period. There could be significant times during the day when you’re doing, in effect, nothing at all. That doesn’t mean that you’re staring blankly into space; it just means that whatever it is you’re doing is not value-adding. The goal should be to try to spend as much time on tasks that will be likely to yield results, whether it’s improving your cold emails or following up with leads, rather than on tasks that won’t bring value, such as organizing your computer’s folders.
Boost Your Customer Facing Time
It’s hard to make a sale if you’re not interacting with a prospect. That’s where 90% of the work will take place. When you look at how much time you’re actively speaking with prospective sales, you might find that it’s nowhere near the level that it should be. Fortunately, this is one of the easier improvements you can make. You’ll be putting yourself in a much better position just by upping your customer-facing time by 15% or more.
Upping your customer-facing time does require some extra motivation and push, but it’s one that pays off.
Find an Accountability Partner
Self-motivation is a tricky concept. Sometimes it’s there, but at other times, it’s nowhere to be found. But no one says that all your motivation has to come from within. It can also come from other people. Having an accountability partner is one of the most effective ways to improve your sales performance. In fact, it’s one of the most effective ways to improve any kind of performance — we’re just simply much more likely to maintain our high standards when there’s someone else looking over our shoulder.
Your overseer doesn’t need to be your boss. Indeed, it probably shouldn’t be. Find someone with whom you have a good relationship, and ask them to review your work ethic and performance. You may consider finding a mentor, who will be able to give you plenty of good advice, and who will also tell you hard truths when you need them.
Set Targets
Studies have shown that people are much more likely to work hard if they have a specific goal in mind. Many salespeople go too easy on themselves, giving them targets that they know they can reach. If you’re looking for an effective way to significantly boost your sales performance, then set yourself a high target. It should still be achievable, of course, but should require an intense bout of discipline and focus.
It may not be sustainable to set yourself high targets each month, but if you have a period where you can really dedicate yourself to your work, then give it a try.
Improve Your Understanding
Most salespeople have an in-depth understanding of what they’re trying to sell. What they don’t have is an in-depth understanding of who they’re trying to sell to. It’s easy to think of customers as all alike, but it’s best to avoid that temptation — the simple reason being that they’re not all the same.
If your understanding of your customers is limited to simply knowing what problem they have, then you’re leaving a lot on the table. The best salespeople take the time to understand their customers’ motivations, pain points, and not only the solution they’re looking for but why they want to solve it in the first place.
Ultimately, there’s a lot to gain by getting to know your customers and prospects better. And the more you do so, the stronger your client relationships will be. It’s a tried and tested strategy for solidifying your relationships.
Utilize Your Connections
Most salespeople dedicate all their energy to their clients. But there’s another approach that you can use, too. You can also dedicate some of your time to your client’s relationships. If they’re interested in your product, then they probably know others who would also be interested in what you have to offer.
You shouldn’t force this, but if you can get an introduction to someone that they know, then you may well be looking at a slam dunk. Close rates are much better for prospects to who you’ve been introduced than they are for cold emails or calls.
Improve Your Listening Skills
Most salespeople are good at talking. That’s arguably why they chose it as their profession in the first place. But there’s more to communication than just talking. In fact, that’s only half the game. The other half is the listening side. This is often a blind spot for many salespeople. As soon as they get in the door, they’re ready to begin giving their spiel.
If you want to enhance your sales performance, then you shouldn’t follow what the majority of salespeople do. You should follow what the best performers do. Successful salespeople understand how to handle the fine balance between listening and speaking. If this isn’t something that comes naturally to you, or you just need some help, then look up some active listening tips.
Follow the Best Sales Performers
And talking of successful salespeople — who are the best at your company? There’s probably a lot that you can learn from them. Ask if you can tag along to see how they handle their job. This is usually best if you have a specific aspect of sales that you want to improve. For example, let’s say you struggle with handling objections. By following the best objection handler in your team, you may solidify one of your weak points.
Engage with the Team
Newcomers to the sales world tend to think that their job is all about individualism. However, while there are certainly individualistic elements, there’s also a team aspect, too. A sales department isn’t a collection of individuals, but a team. It makes things much, much easier to be good at your job if there’s good team spirit.
There are direct and indirect benefits to engaging your team. You’ll become fundamentally better at your job. And you’ll also benefit from a sense of belonging. Studies have shown that employees are much more engaged and all-around happier at their job if they know and like their colleagues.
Know When to Let Go
It’s important to try your hardest to get a customer. However, there’s a point when it becomes foolish not to walk away. At some point, you’ll have to accept that it’s not going to happen. So how do you know when this is?
A good strategy is to learn how long each deal takes on average. That’ll provide a yardstick by which you can measure your time commitments. If you’re going well beyond the average deal length, and there’s no end in sight, then it could be time to try a hail-mary approach. If that doesn’t work, then you should move on to the next one.
Handle Rejection
Your motivation and focus will be high when your confidence is high. It’s easy to set a high target for yourself when you have immense self-belief. But if there’s one thing salespeople know, it’s that success runs don’t last forever. At some point or another, you’ll face rejection — and if you’re not careful, then the corresponding dip in confidence can set you on a negative downward spiral.
Of course, there’s nothing you can do about rejection. It’ll happen. The trick is to learn how to handle rejection. If you roll with the losses rather than letting them impact your perception of your professional capabilities, then your motivation will stay high.
Conclusion
There’s a lot that contributes to a successful career in sales. Without motivation and focus, your inherent skills and talents can only go so far. Take our tips above, and you’ll be on your way towards improved performance.
