Too busy to sell!?
In your role you no doubt wear many hats. One of those hats will be your sales hat. How do you continue to bring in new business whilst juggling all your other duties? When you are busy and your attention is pulled in many directions, quite often sales activity goes to the bottom of the list.
But if you don’t take the time to focus on your sales activity, there is a risk that 3-6 months down the line, your sales pipeline will have dried up and your business starts to fall into ‘feast or famine’ where you have periods of great hights and massive lows.
It is important to keep your activity consistent, so that your pipeline also remains consistent.
Some signs to look out for which means your pipeline may become week
- You haven’t had a new lead or enquiry in the past 2 weeks
- If you haven’t had a meeting with a prospect in the past month
- You haven’t sent out a new proposal in the past month
Business operates on a lag. If you don’t have proposals pending, it is unlikely that unicorn customer is going to call tomorrow and say ‘I know we have never spoken before, but I want to use your services and start with immediate effect. Take all of my money!’
So how do you nurture your pipeline when you are so busy?
1.Dedicate your time
It is difficult to maintain consistent sales if you don’t dedicate time to it. Block out time in your diary, whether that’s an hour per day, or you hit it all on one day, it is just as important (if not more important) as many other tasks. Treat it like a meeting. Book the time out of your calendar, so you don’t get anyone try and slip anything else in there. If you have a set day and time to undertake your sales activity, it will prove much more productive than scatter gunning it any time you have a spare thirty minutes
2.Existing Customers
Whilst searching for new business is important, it is also imperative to focus on your existing customer base. Why not give them a call and check in with them? Customer retention calls can be an easy to way to make sure your customers are happy and gain feedback, but it is also a great way to cross-sell or upsell your services in order to give your sales pipeline a boost.
3.Referrals
A great way to win new business is through word of mouth and referrals. Never be afraid to ask your happy clients for referrals. Do your clients know anyone who has a similar challenge to them? Can they connect you with them? This is a really great conversation to have with your existing customers and a positive way to make introductions to new contacts.
4.Use Social Media
Sales doesn’t have to be done by picking up the phone. A super effective way to prospect for new business is through LinkedIn. Think about companies that you would like to do business with – these are likely to be companies with similar challenges to your current customers. Seek out who their decision makers are through LinkedIn. You can also utilise your current connections by seeing who they have as connections. It’s a simple and non-intrusive way of connecting with people.
5.Outsource your sales activity
Outsourcing your sales is a great way to keep sales pipelines alive. Or if you want your sales team to keep selling, why not outsource your customer relations and account management to allow them to continue performing to their maximum potential
If you would like to find out more about how to maximise your sales potential, get in touch here