Sell or Close Shop
The life blood of every company, big or small, is sales. No sales means no company.
It does not matter what sector or niche you operate in. If you are not able to sell your goods or services to your desired customer, you are dead in the water. So a question you might ask is what now.
You have opened your company. You are already trading, looking for customers. You have no sales team. You have made or ordered product. Just you and 2 other team members who know zip about selling. You have some adverts running and potential customers are calling in, but none are buying.
Is it your product?
Is it the price?
Is it your team that can’t sell?
This would be where I would start:
- you have a product that you have research and are convinced its a winner all day
- you have adverts running and are getting some interest
- people like your posts
- people like your product, like really like it
But no sales.
Do you suck?
Do you close shop?
Is your product not as good as you think?
My first answer is NO to all these. Here is what you need to consider:
- there is customer interest, otherwise no one would call in
- do you know who answers the phone or emails from customers
- do they know your product and can they listen?
- what are they saying to this customer ?
- is there a predictable path the customer follows when calling in?
Finding answers to the above question is the start of your road to getting that all elusive first sale.
If there is interest in your product but still no sales, this means you are not converting your enquiries to sales. People are calling or emailing but do not end up buying from you.
Not buying from you does not mean they do not end up buying somewhere else, possibly spending more.
If we assume that your customers are ready to buy then this is the number one place to start.
Note that your ultimate goal is to get the customer to sell the product to themselves and buy from you. The goal is not you selling your product to them. The difference is that when a customer sells themselves on your product, your job becomes simpler and the customer drives the closing of the sale.
This is the best possible sale because the client will never feel forced or bullied into the purchase. It was their choice to buy and not you selling to them.
Once you are clear that there is demand for your product, before you start advertising and bringing customers to your website or phone lines, you need to create a simple customer journey. A customer journey is simply a map of the steps you take the customer through to conclude a sale. This is important so that you can create a standard customer experience and have the right checks to ensure you are not losing customers through your own poor process.
Example of Steps to a Sales Sales Process
Creating and following this blue print will help you develop and grow a culture of sales in your company. When things are clear for the customer, there is less pressure on them and more honesty and a willingness to buy.
If you do not have a sales process and would like help developing one specifically for your products or services; please book a discovery call with me below.
Get Your Sales Right
If you are starting a business or have a new role in a sales environment, then this book is for you. Available in ebook and soft cover formats.