What if this could be the month you break through your financial set-point?
Do I have your attention now?
Most people seem to sell the same amount every single month. Or, they have an awesome month, but the following month is tough and they fall behind on their sales. It’s kind of like a roller coaster. Sound familiar? That number is YOUR financial set-point. You can also think of it as your “sales average”—or that average number you keep running into month after month.
You don’t have to be on that roller coaster. The key to consistent selling is to shift your financial set-point once and for all so you can develop a consistent high level of sales every month. My goal is to share the most important things you can do to make that shift, stay on track every month, and reach your goals. And, most importantly, so you can sell more this month!
11 Ways to Sell More this Month:
1. You have 15 days, not 30. We are trained to think that every month is comprised of between 28 and 31 days. For the sake of simplicity, let’s say we have 30. That’s a problem! Why? Because if you think you have 30 days in a month to reach your sales goal, you won’t have a sense of urgency in the first part of the month, which will kill the rest of your month. Instead, I want you to think you only have 15 days in the month. Imagine if you had to have all of your sales in by the 15th of the month, what would you do differently? How much would you sell the first few days of the month? The first week? Do you see how that changes everything? Try it! Or, if you have a sales team, have them try it.
2. Speak with intention by using “when,” not “if”. You’ve probably heard this before. It is better in a sales conversation to use “when,” not “if” when you talk to a client. This shows the client that you actually WANT to do business with them. You’d be surprised how much your intention to help them and the use of “expectant” language will help you close more sales.
3. Expect it. We started to address this above already, but I really want you to begin to expect to get the sale rather than to think that you won’t. Most people spend way too much time worrying that they probably won’t get the sale that they miss the opportunity to actually expect it. When you expect the sale, you use different words, you sound more confident and the client actually believes you want to earn their business. What a concept!
4. Give choices. People feel in control when they have choices. However, sales professionals and entrepreneurs usually talk themselves right out of the sale when they ask close-ended questions (“yes/no” questions) instead of offering choices. Watch how your sales rise when you give your prospects more choices (from options to meet to options for packages).
5. Call more than five times. Statistically, 50% of sales professionals only make one call to their prospects and then they give up. One call, that’s it! Statistics also tell us we need to follow up at least five times if we want to close a sale. When is the last time you followed up five times? Okay, don’t answer that. Instead, make a decision to start following up more, or at least until you close the sale.
6. Connect with intention. I wrote a lot about this in Selling with Intention. The key to connecting with intention is to imagine that the person in front of you is the only person in the world at that moment. He or she is the only person who deserves your attention in that moment. When you give people that amount of attention, and you stop thinking about everything else on your to-do list, you’ll be surprised how many more sales you close.
7. Set a sales stretch goal. If you’ve known me for a while, you’ve heard me talk about the critical importance of having a sales stretch goal. If you are my client, it is a non-negotiable item. Why? Because without a sales stretch goal you will not grow your sales. Sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t have one. If you don’t create a stretch, you will stay in the exact same place. Or, even worse, you will go backwards.
8. Define your top 20% and call at least five of them. Stop working with clients who waste your time. You know who they are! They aren’t a good fit because they don’t appreciate your products or services, they don’t pay on time, they never refer, they only see what’s wrong, etc. Determine who your top 20% of clients are. Who is your favorite client? What are their attributes? What would it be like to work ONLY with clients like that?
9. Track it. Clients who track their sales regularly often double or triple their sales in a short amount of time. Why? Because they know exactly what’s in their pipeline. A good rule of thumb is to know that approximately 25% of your pipeline will close on any given month. Now, refer back to #7 above. Review your sales stretch goal and then determine how much you need in your pipeline if only 25% of it will close every month.
10. Follow up. Follow up again. And again. And again. And again. Just in case you missed #5, I wanted to make sure to review it with you again. I truly believe that this is where most sales professionals and entrepreneurs fall short; they don’t follow up enough times. It’s not that the client doesn’t want to do business with you. It’s that you haven’t given them enough of an opportunity to say “yes.”
11. Sit there until you get a “yes.” When you are meeting with your next prospect, I want you to imagine that your back side is actually glued to the chair. You aren’t allowed to leave that meeting until one of two things has occurred. Either you have closed the sale and you have their payment information or you have a next step on the calendar.
Are you feeling unstuck? Maybe even excited about selling again and what is really possible?
Fantastic! Then my mission is accomplished.
Oh, but wait, there’s more.
Joel A. Barker said, “Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.” You need more than ideas. The next step is to take action!
Of the ideas above, I want you to pick three you can implement this week. And three you can implement the week after. And three the week after that. And two the last week of the month. Put them in an order that makes the most sense and that gives you a sense of inspiration. For example, I would recommend implementing #1 first.
This really can be your best month! Just take the time to create your plan and follow through!
