4-19-2013
Does your sales team understand what it means to sell without numbers? What if you had a sales mantra that said, ?It?s critical that we sell results,? or, ?We sell solutions that produce a solid return on investment?? The question ?How do I sell without numbers?? creates a belief that unless you have numbers, you are doomed to failure ? and that if you have numbers, you?ll be the big winner.
Don?t get me wrong, I know having numbers (ratings) is important when dealing with transactional business. But it?s not the most important thing to business owners who care about driving results.
Your ratings and how you compare to your competition are a gigantic distraction to the sales effort. Instead of worrying about how your audience size compares to your rival across the street, you should focus more on areas like weekly quality appointments with new prospects and key customers, producing results, proving return on investment, and earning renewal business. Selling without numbers doesn?t have to be an issue, if you concentrate on the numbers that actually matter the most.
Selling without ratings is all about changing your paradigm and focusing on the right numbers. Here are five vital areas that will lead to your sales success.
Quality appointments. Are you holding your team, or yourself, accountable for the number of weekly quality appointments with new prospects and key customers? These would be appointments where you have a specific agenda that includes finding needs and presenting ideas. This is a real number you can measure, and if you have this number on your side, you are going to find plenty of success.
Customer service. What if you surveyed all of your best customers once or twice a year to see how you were doing at meeting their expectations? Create a costumer satisfaction index, and hold yourself accountable for the score earned. Then build a plan to continually improve in this very critical area. If your team is providing top-level customer service and scoring high in your CSI, you are on your way to revenue success.
Producing results. Results are the key to long-term success. If there is a number your sales team needs to win, it?s the number of success stories and case studies that show your station or stations delivering results. The sales team that can show the most and best examples is going to earn the most business from the business owners that matter. While others might beat their chests with ratings numbers, your team will be able to point to the number of local businesses that have been able to grow because of the good work you are providing.
Proving return on investment. The secret to building strong ROI is making sure clear expectations have been set before the campaign starts. Then set up weekly or biweekly ROI meetings with your client to check in and see how things are working and determine what changes may need to be made to deliver the necessary return on investment. The numbers that matter the most to a client are the ROI numbers, and by focusing more on your client?s business than your own, you will earn a customer for life.
Renewals. Earning renewal business is essential. Attrition of 35 percent or more puts a ton of pressure on finding new business, year in and year out. The saying goes that it?s much easier to fill a bucket when it?s not leaking from the bottom. Focusing on renewals is all about plugging the leak in the bucket. A significant number you should look to improve on, and win, is the percent of renewal business. What if you were able to retain 80 percent? Think of the difference that would make. That?s a sales number you control, and one you should focus on. Selling without numbers or ratings is all about changing the focus for what?s important. The areas mentioned in this article are the numbers to concentrate on.
Matt Sunshine is EVP of the Center for Sales Strategy.
E-mail: mattsunshine@csscenter.com
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