How Much Are You Leaving On The Table?

I’ve been challenging my clients with a simple question… Are you leaving money on the table with your overall sales process?

I’m still surprised at how much pushback I receive. 

Let’s Get To Work

Seasoned sales professionals explained all the things they did and all the ways they sold that made them successful in the past.  In today’s more challenging retail selling environment, their efforts have yielded mixed results at best. The tools and strategies that made sales professionals successful in the past are merely the table stakes for the way the sales game is being played today and will be played in the future. 

After listening to a litany of external challenges, I reiterated my question… “Given your solid efforts to date, what could you be doing to maximize your sales results?”

I wish I was able to offer a sure-fire closing technique or a silver bullet for improved performance! Unfortunately, I cannot. The good news is that the two-part answer is simple! Unfortunately, like many simple things, few sales reps are willing to execute them. It all comes back to working harder AND working smarter!

It’s “Both/And” not “Either/Or”

Chances are great that as a sales professional you are already working hard to make a living. I challenge you to look at your past week and explore your existing revenue generating activities: 

You prospected last week – Was it consistent? If it was consistent, when was it most effective. When it was effective, how did you plan to replicate that effectiveness next week! When it wasn’t consistent, how do you plan to improve?

You had sales presentations last week – Did you thank the ones you didn’t close? If you thanked them, did you ask why they chose another option? Will you fine tune next week’s presentations with this new information?

You closed new accounts last week – Did you thank all the buyers, contacts and sources that led to those sales? If you thanked them, did you ask for referrals and information on their next projects? If you did, how will you track your referral process to improve your outcomes?

You called your existing client base –  Did you track your progress through your book of business? How can you add one more “touch” or info gathering meeting this quarter? 

Do the Work

In order to be more effective in the future (working smarter), you need to do prep work now (working harder). It is, in fact, a Both/And situation. The good news is that when you choose to put in the work today, you can be comfortable knowing you won’t be leaving any money on the table tomorrow!

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