This month we want to talk about your Fall Financial Harvests and how to maximize your yield from your planting, tilling and harvesting using Profitable Selling?
What is the profit of what you do every day in your sales process? What is the profit of your investment in time as the business owner in the sales process? Do you and your team prospect profitably? Are you prospecting to the right customers with the means, ability, and desire to buy what you are selling? Do you close and negotiate profitably? Do you and your team follow a set and defined sales process?
It is my argument that the sales team and the way they sell and negotiate is either maximizing your profit or taking money and profit out our your pocket as the business owner.
Here is what I mean by this:
Does your sales team close profitably by not pulling punches and asking for the money, and if they do not close, do they follow up until they buy or scream of mercy? I am always shocked by the lack of follow-up post-close that people do not do. Your responsibility is to follow up unmercifully and pull them over the goal line in today’s business environment. The profit in the sales equation is in the close, everything else is a cost, and I want you to be profitable, so you need to learn to close and follow up harder, better and faster. You need to use the phone, email, direct mail, text, video email, content drips, testimonial shares, Facebook messaging and retargeting, and LinkedIn messaging. You need to use all the arrows in the quiver to close today, and the close is the only part of the sales process that puts money into the cash register, so why wouldn’t you do everything you can to close? Go back to Dan’s question, “where is the profit in this?” if the profit is in the close, then close the sale. I always ask the question with sales owners and their sales team how many of you pull punches when it comes to closing the sale? I am always amazed at the number who raise their hands, and I applaud their honesty, and then we teach them how to go for the close. (Those that say yes to me, I also find that when we listen to their calls, they pull the punch on asking or the sale.) But I ask you, “do you pull the punch when you go to close the sale?” Be honest with yourself, it’s just us talking, but your business’s profit depends on your answer.
What about pricing? Do you price profitably? I mean profitably. You get what you put into your sales and marketing effort; your team gets what they put into their sales effort. If you want more money, then sell harder, faster, and at a higher price. What do you mean by harder? Do you and your team have a system that they follow, that you test and monitor daily scripts that they adhere to, that you listen to and do QA audits on, and a process that is tested and gets results? Do you never give away profit by lowering your price (if you need to bundle bonuses, then do that), and do you systematically sell at higher prices? Ah, price. You had to know that I would talk about that with pricing. In client engagement and my workshops, we always teach the concept of raising your prices, they always ask how much, and we use the rule of thumb when in doubt, add a zero. But first, we need to teach them how to add value FIRST.
I love this quote from Phil Jones, “if the price comes before value, then the PRICE looks bigger. If the value comes before price, the VALUE looks bigger.” So you need to add value to all parts of the sales, on the front end with higher investment in customer attraction, during the sales process with Shock and Awe packages, during the close, and market all the way through to the close, and during the delivery of the product with huge value adds to make the price seem paltry to the value they receive, and do you add value to the post-purchase with thank you gifts to drive referrals.
The value you provide and deliver makes the price seem insignificant. “Revenue is for your vanity, and Profit is for your sanity.” How is your sanity? What would you mean to your life, family, business, and bank account? Quit leaving money on the table and letting your staff leave money on the table.
What I mean about Profitable Selling is by looking at every part of your sales process and ensuring that there is no leakage. Do you take inbound leads the same way, do the scripts that your sales team, front desk team, or reception person deliver the caller a compelling offer to move the sales forward? Do they deliver them properly and tested (do you mystery shop to ensure this)? Do you and your sales team close, or do you pull punches? Is your close scripted? Are your words chosen carefully, or do you wing it, or worse, let your staff wing it? See past articles to see how this happens, objections are thought through, and rebuttals are scripted.
Here is my mantra, the close is for the customer, and the profit of your business is created by delivering higher and higher value to customers. If you believe in the value that your product, service, or information provides, then it is your duty to sell them and sell them at the highest profit. Business is too difficult at times not to have fun and make a considerable profit. Your future bank, self, and your family will thank you. If you ever want to talk this through, email me at nick@saleperformanceteam, and I can send you some items to help drive this concept home.
