Are You Leaving Business On The Table?

February 19, 2008 at 9:16 pm | Posted in Networking, sales, Sales & Technology, Sales Training, small business | 1 Comment

Undoubtedly, you work your tail off everyday to be the most professional, productive, and successful salesperson that you can be. But, is it possible that you are leaving business on the table? The answer is probably yes! If you are not consistently presenting all of your offerings to your customers, or you are not probing them on a regular basis about their needs and potential opportunities, you are simply handing business to your competitors.

I’m not suggesting that you take a hard-sell approach. Rather, it’s about selling smarter. Using a high touch, low pressure strategy where you are cross-selling and cross-telling your prospects and customers about your products and services is not only highly effective, it’s essential to your success.

It’s your obligation to make certain that your customers are familiar with everything that you can provide. In fact, you’re doing them a disservice if you’re making assumptions about their needs and not keeping them up-to-date on your offerings.

Once you’ve opened your customers’ eyes to everything that you can offer, keep reminding them. Making certain that your customers are familiar with everything that you can provide should be something that you do on a consistent basis. Let’s face it. Your customers are inundated every day with sales reps trying to sell them things and often what is told or sold just weeks before is forgotten.

You don’t want your customers forgetting the plethora of what you have to offer. You must make a point of proactively talking with them on a regular basis to make certain that they are knowledgeable about what you provide. Keep them up-to-date with all of the tools you have: newsletters, marketing material, and even your sig line.

Business is also frequently left on the table because sales reps don’t take the time to truly probe their customers about both their short and long-term needs. Insightful, consistent probing is another key component to winning more business from existing accounts and a smart way to position yourself as a problem-solver, instead of just a vendor. Even if there is another supplier involved, reach out to be the primary source for your customers.

Finally, take the time to record all of the information that you gather from your customers so that you can anticipate future, as well as current needs. This is where a CRM system can really come in handy.

It’s tough out there. Make certain to exploit ALL of the opportunities that you have.

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