Phil Lauterjung

We are now in the dreaded fourth quarter, and some are saying that the recession is over.  Maybe, maybe not.  That doesn’t change the fact that sales teams everywhere are scrambling to put up bonus-earning numbers for 2009.  That, of course, assumes that you were dealt reasonable quotas to begin with.  Okay, okay I hear the grumbling already about that topic.  You’ll need to take that up with your boss – I can’t help with that one.

What I can do is give you 4 key strategies to help increase sales.  If you only implement one you will grow sales somewhat, but if you use all four you will grow sales exponentially.  That’s got to sound good for the 4th quarter and getting a running start on 2010.

Here you go:

• Increase the quality of your leads. No brainer you say?  Try looking at your stats so far – there is always room for improvement.  The best way is to make sure you have a solid prospect profile.  Include industry, job title, company size, location, and any other data points that describe your ideal customer.  Make sure that your marketing efforts are targeting that profile and then prioritize your leads using that criteria.
• Increase your conversion rate. If you do the first strategy right then this one is easier.  Make sure that you’re giving follow-up priority to those leads that best fit your prospect profile.  Be sure you are talking to the actual decision maker.  If their buying cycle indicates they won’t be buying before the end of the year, give the lead back to marketing for nurturing (staying touch on a regular basis) and concentrate your time on higher probability leads.
• Increase the dollar value of each sale. This is another one that seems obvious, but doesn’t always get the attention it deserves.  Look for opportunities that aren’t expressed in the prospect’s initial inquiry.  Listen for added ways to help the customer, and then listen some more.  While a $250,000 deal is ten times larger than a $25,000 sale, it never takes ten time the effort to sell.  Did I mention that you need to listen?
• Decrease the time and effort needed to close the deal. Always be monitoring trigger events involving your prospects.  Today’s internet tools make this easier than ever.  See Sales Tools for ‘Warm’ Cold Calling for some of these tools.  These trigger events can give you clues to know which deals have a greater chance of closing.  If you read about a prospect landing a key new customer that could easily speed up their need for your product.

Do these now and you’ll have a better 4th quarter this year.  Keep doing them and you’ll have a better year in 2010.

Let me know how you do, and if you have ideas to add please comment below.

Photo – © Ljupco Smokovski – Fotolia.com

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