Top 5 sales mistakes that business owners make and how to avoid them.

Before I get started, I want to share with you the “code” to a successful business.  80-90% of your time should be focused on sales and marketing until you make your first $1Million, anything else will slow down your success.  How many people have I stumped on this code I wonder?

1. Business owners do not focus on sales.

There are so many passionate business owners out in the market which I love to see, they are great hair dressers, computer technicians, coaches, accountants, mechanics etc and they are all very good at doing their job or their “core business”.  However, when you are a business owner you need to focus on more than just your “core business”, you need to know where the next dollar is coming from, what goals you have and what kind of client is going to come walking through your door next.

This is the kind of focus that I am talking about – pure sales and marketing focus.  How much have you invested in your sales and marketing – and by this I mean education, books, research etc.  If you start heavily investing in sales activities and marketing campaigns prior to knowing how to do it in the most effective way you will start burning a very large hole in your pocket.  Invest in the education then you can work out how to invest in the activities.  So... Do your research!

2. Business owners are getting the wrong kind of leads

The leads we get as business owners can come from a variety of different places, websites, advertising, business networking, referrals, exhibitions etc and all of these leads go towards building a list, or a customer database.
A customer database is a great thing to have – as long as it is the right lead list.  What do I mean by this?  The right lead list is responsive and obedient.  When your list becomes responsive and obedient then they are the right leads – because this means when you contact them you conversion rate will be a lot higher than if you have a unresponsive and disobedient list.  You want your list of leads to WANT to hear from you, and feel that they are getting some great value from you and your organisation.

The only way to get the right list is by understanding who your perfect client is and what they want from you – not what you want to give them.  Once you have that nailed, then the right leads and list will be easy to get.

3. No sales process or system.

When I ask many of my clients about their sales process 99% of them will look at me blankly or tell me that they will make 10 cold calls a week.  This is a sales activity and not a process or a system.  The reason the processes and systems are important when it comes to sales is simply because it allows you to measure your success.  Some processes and systems that you could put in place are;

   1. Measurement of how many leads per day are you getting – and where are they coming from
   2. Measuring conversion rate
   3. Measuring your average $ sale
   4. How many closed sales per day, per week, per month, per quarter and per year
   5. Total sales
   6. Amount of contacts made
   7. how many clients have you managed to upsell or upgrade.

Having these measurements in place allows you to see what is and isn’t working, and how your sales investment is shaping up i.e. are there any gaps that you need to go and learn how to fill?

Most business owners also don’t have a process in which follow when it comes to having a sales conversation – here is a quick one for you to have a look over;

   1. Build rapport – this is an integral part of any client relationship no matter what the industry
   2. Validate – this is not a false promise but a way to encourage your client for making a great decision in just looking into your product or service
   3. Build a mountain – most sellers here in Australia have been taught to “aggravate” the pain of a buyer, at Nexus Coaching Group we will never teach you that, but build a big picture with you client – or a vision.  NB: the vision may be moving away from pain.
   4. Consult on choice – a great question to ask here would be “how can you see (insert product or service) helping you achieve (insert client “mountain”)
   5. Back track – this is simply going back over the decision of the service or product that you are talking about to help secure the decision – see it as a confirmation or a summary
   6. Ask for business – so many sellers either are too scared to complete this step or simply forget.  Ask the question – you never know until you do!
   7. Next steps – this may be a follow up email or phone call to confirm that payment has been received etc.

4. Business owners will sell and not consult.

When speaking with a potential client it is really important to understand their need to buy and what is driving those needs.  If you are actively “selling” to that person they will have a tendency to close down and protect their emotions or reasons.  If you consult with them – asking them questions and being genuinely curious about them your client will then start to allow their emotions and their buying reasons to emerge – giving you greater insight into their buying decision.

5. Business owners often forget to build momentum.

We all understand that when you run a business that sometimes you need to be chief cook and bottle washer – and that building momentum with your clients is the last thing on your mind, but it is the first thing that a client is looking for.  If you have promised to deliver something and it takes 3 weeks to do so – you have lost that client.  Building momentum is very much a rapport building exercise – enjoy the journey of the sale and you will realise that the momentum will follow.