How to Improve Sales Close Rates

To improve sales close rates and drive up return on
investment takes time, not to mention better use of sales resources. In
selling, the ratio of leads that do not convert to sales may suggest
that buyers are unconvinced that you are knowledgeable of the products
or services they require. So how can salespeople improve their sales
closing rates?





Here are some tips to assist salespeople in closing sales:

1. Know Your Product And Service: Even today one of
   the simplest ways to improve sales close rates is to learn and
   demonstrate your company’s USP’s. Learn what makes you and your product
   stand out from the competitors. What is your company’s value wedge? This
   alone will demonstrate your knowledge of the market and will show your
   understanding of what your prospect needs and what challenges they face.
   B2B selling requires in-depth knowledge of industries, people, products
   and trends. There is nothing worse than being unable to answer a simple
   sales question, because you have either not prepared or researched –
   resulting in you (the sales person) being caught off guard.

2. Create Awareness Prior To The Sales Pitch: A study
   has found that it takes salespeople 8 phone calls to get in contact with
   their prospect. Think about how long they have been on hold, time spent
   leaving voicemail, updating the database, doing follow-up emails,
   scheduling multiple follow-up calls, not to mention the resources and
   efforts to firstly source this lead. All of this time attempting to
   speak to the prospect – you finally get a hold of them, they don’t know
   who you are, what company you represent, they are busy and are probably
   not interested in talking to this stalker.
   However, if you have previously interacted and engaged over a period
   of time (sharing content, articles and information) with them on a
   social platform, your name may already be familiar to them, they may
   already know what company you represent and of your industry knowledge
   from blog posts and conversations on LinkedIn. Try to begin the
   conversation by sharing your social media insights on the prospect, ask
   questions and get feedback – find out what their problems and challenges
   are. Have a planned approach based on your social media insights to
   build a relationship, do not just blast your sales pitch. Your goal is
   to share your knowledge and demonstrate your understanding of the
   challenges within their industry.

3. Solve The Prospects Problem: Focus on the prospects
   problems and how your company or product can make life easier for them –
   think solving problems, saving time and money. Be careful not to
   promote your product or service outright, your goal is to assist the
   buyer in solving THEIR problems.

Asking questions enables you to diagnose the prospects pain and the
implications of this on their business – time to market, manpower and
costs. It is imperative to demonstrate what is at stake if this
challenge is not resolved, show the prospect your understanding of their
challenges and become a trusted advisor.

4. Customize Your Pitch: This feeds into my previous
   points, many salespeople believe a generic script will work for every
   prospect when in fact – no two sales are ever the same.

What issue is this specific prospect trying to solve? For example,
the salesperson will need to tailor a software package to a specific
customer, so why use a generic sales pitch for all of your leads? Adapt
your sales strategy to your prospects needs; delivering a customized
sales pitch will demonstrate your knowledge of what solution would best
suit them.

5. Qualify Sending The ‘Requested Information’ Email:
   If the prospect asks you to put everything you have just said in an
   email – Pause for a moment. Instead of accepting the outcome, inquire as
   to what specifically they would like to see in the email. This in-turn
   encourages the customer to open up to you about any questions or doubts
   they may have. If the prospect cannot outline what they would like in
   the email, you need to revisit your opening questions. By not just
   accepting the ‘requested information’ email, salespeople keep the
   process on track in a way that will come across as a more genuine and
   less robotic salesperson.

6. Time You’re Follow-Up: This could be scheduled
   while your brand is still fresh in the prospects mind, not too early
   though, as it is inherent not to pressurize the lead. Research has shown
   that 75% of marketers believe it is a combination of a knowledgeable
   salesperson and an acceptable time frame which results in a positive
   follow-up. Be aware that if you schedule an auto-response through a CRM
   platform, it must be customized and relevant to that particular
   prospect. This in turn encourages relationship building – whereas a
   generic response will actually hinder your efforts. Research has shown
   that all too many salespeople lack the discipline to follow-up with
   prospects in a timely manner.

How to Improve Sales Close Rates | Instant Lead Generation For Social Selling