90 Days to Better Sales: A Few Tips

At the recent Atlanta Sales Leadership Summit, we held breakout sessions titled "What Can We Do Now To Boost Sales in the Next 90 Days?" I've compiled the following list of tips from the various teams that participated. As always, the key is to "execute brilliantly."

If you have questions or have other ideas you'd like to add to the list, send me an e-mail at [email protected] and I'll compile them for next week's blog.

1. Conduct a thorough customer review and determine what you've sold to each client -- and what you have not sold to each client. Create a specific action plan to contact each customer with a special offering to show them your "other services or products." Make the plan easy (i.e., contact 10 a week). This is a great sales meeting idea.
   
   
2. Create a weekly Blitz Day program, either by telephone or by cold-calling teams in selected areas of your territory. Set up a contest for the most "hits" and make it fun.
   
   
3. Put more executives on every face-to-face sales call. Team selling will improve sales; more ears and eyes on every prospect leads to better strategy.
   
   
4. Increase sales skills and product knowledge. Schedule intense training to improve objection handling, selling your firm and closing skills. An increase level of product knowledge builds confidence.
   
   
5. Conduct a companywide contest with a focus on generating referrals. Create teams of sales, support and customer service personnel. The team with the highest number of referrals wins!
   
   
6. Create new marketing campaigns with "special packages" (year-ending or new year offerings). Work your vendors for "specials."
   
   
7. Create a 90-day sales contest with a weekend hotel/dinner package. This could be for the highest percentage of quota for the period, sales or new customers.
   
   
8. Host two executive forums with an "expert" to speak on business challenges (i.e., CPA, ROI on project management, business management ideas).
   
   
9. Increase your focus on securing your existing opportunities. Make sure you have a visible list (on a whiteboard, for example) of the top 10 sales opportunities and hold strategy sessions with multiple people discussing each opportunity.
   
   
10.  Create a Customer Appreciation Event at your office. Invite every customer, user and selected prospects to this event. Give tours and promote existing packages and new packages. (See No. 1.)

Ken Thoreson, president of Acumen Management Group Ltd., "operationalizes" sales management systems and processes that pull revenue out of the doldrums into the fresh zone. During the past 12 years, our consulting, advisory and platform services have illuminated, motivated and rejuvenated the sales efforts for partners throughout North America. Move up and move ahead! Acumen Management provides keynotes, consulting services and products designed to improve business performance. 3f4qb8v9ge

Posted by Ken Thoreson on November 30, 2009