By Michael Gunther –
You’ve probably heard plenty about the “art of selling”—the ability to reach your audience on an emotional level by building relationships. But that art is just one aspect of a solid sales strategy. What you don’t often hear about is the science that truly drives the sales effort forward. If you’re struggling to close sales, take time to review the science behind your strategy. When you track your efforts scientifically, you can determine exactly what you need to tweak.
Here are four ways to inject science into your sales strategy:
1. Create client profiles. A failure to close sales could stem from targeting the wrong audience. Think about your top 10 clients, and analyze them via psychographic, demographic, and technographic tools. Then go through the same process with your 10 least favorite clients. You’ll soon notice which traits you favor over others. Use that information to create an Ideal Client Profile, and then work to seek out only those clients who fall into that profile.
2. Outline your processes. Every company’s process will be different, but the ultimate goal is to create a step-by-step outline for how you handle sales. That gives you the ability to closely review a single aspect when something isn’t working. For example, some companies benefit from redefining employee roles, while others benefit from changing specific tactics in the sales strategy.
3. Track measurements. Measurements allow you to determine the strength of a sales strategy. Tracking can be as simple as an Excel spreadsheet or a more in-depth Customer Relationship Management tool. Either way, determine whether you need to measure your sales efforts by day, week, month, or quarter, and then track the details of what’s happening with your sales leads.
4. Obtain client feedback. Every time you finish a project, ask your client for feedback on your performance. From their end, there could be things that you just simply don’t see. Review your processes through your client’s eyes to shed new light on client interactions.
Bottom Line
When sales are flailing, create a hypothesis and test it out. Evaluating your processes and skills from a scientific viewpoint will help you to determine the soft spots in your sales strategy. Continue to measure and fine tune monthly until you are implementing the strategies that will allow you to achieve consistent sales growth. Remember the old sales adage, “sales is either an easy, low performing role or a hard, high performing role”—to grow consistently requires solid effort, hard work, and positive energy to achieve your goals
Michael Gunther is the President of the Golden Gate Business Association and leads Collaboration Business Consulting, which is a team of highly skilled business professionals who are dedicated to assisting proactive individuals in building scalable, profitable businesses.
