CEO Advisor Newsletter August 2014
10 Proactive Methods to Increase Sales
CEOs, presidents and business owners are always seeking ways to enhance sales performance. It is up to you to focus on sales and manage your sales team effectively for optimal results.
CEO Advisor, Inc. works with business owners and CEOs of small and mid-size companies on sales strategy, sales management, sales training, sales team building, sales goals, sales CRM implementation and other critical factors to maximize your sales.
Here are 10 ways to address sales performance head-on and increase your sales and profits.
Contact Mark Hartsell, MBA, CEO of CEO Advisor, Inc. today for a free consultation at (949) 629-2520, email MHartsell@CEOAdvisor.com or visit www.CEOAdvisor.com.
CEO Advisor, Inc. works with business owners and CEOs of small and mid-size companies on sales strategy, sales management, sales training, sales team building, sales goals, sales CRM implementation and other critical factors to maximize your sales.
Here are 10 ways to address sales performance head-on and increase your sales and profits.
- Sales Management - You are focused on the weekly number of sales calls made when you need to focus on all the metrics: daily sales calls initiated, weekly scheduled discovery and closing meetings, weekly scheduled discovery and closing conference calls, new sales opportunities generated weekly, monthly proposal presentations, monthly and quarterly sales in deals and dollars, close rate and sales goals vs. actual sales. Holding your salespeople accountable is a critical driver of sales. Focus on the above and you'll increase sales performance substantially.
- Sales Goals - Review your Sales Goals at least monthly with your sales team at your weekly sales meetings. Motivate your sales team at least quarterly by highlighting the upside of your Sales Compensation Plan and creating healthy competition among the sales teams as key factors in improving sales performance.
- Sales Training - At an upcoming sales meeting, have your salespeople describe the steps in your sales process, including how to conduct a discovery meeting with a new prospect. If the salespeople are not able to do so effectively, focus on training at your sales meetings on a consistent basis and make sure all sales processes are documented and a normal course of business by all sales team members. Sales training must be at the center of your sales team's culture.
- Sales Pipeline - Increased sales activity on a daily basis is critical to building your sales pipeline with qualified prospects, decision-makers and budgets ready to buy. Train your team to qualify prospects and seek out decision-makers with a need, urgency and a budget ready to spend. By focusing on qualified prospects, you will increase sales substantially and have a continuous, healthy sales pipeline.
- Prospecting New Accounts - Too many salespeople spend excessive time on customer service issues and not enough time selling new prospects. Sales will increase when your salespeople focus their time on doing what they do best...sell.
- Overcoming Objections - In your on-going training at sales meetings, train the sales team on overcoming the most common sales objections they face every day. Overcoming objections can be the crown jewel of closing sales, so cover these in your sales meetings and after prospect closing meetings. Remember, a No is just one step closer to a Yes.
- Referrals - Ensure that all salespeople ask for a referral from a client or prospect and track referrals consistently. Referrals improve sales and reduce the sales cycle substantially.
- Referenceable Customers - Make sure that all sales team members have a list of customers with references provided. With that, train your sales team to only provide references once the prospect is fully qualified and committed to buying your products and services. This will avoid uncommitted prospects from inconveniencing your customers. Make sure your sales team has all the necessary tools to maximize sales.
- Consistent CRM Use and Productivity - Consistent and productive use of your sales CRM by your salespeople is critical. To optimize your sales pipeline and closed sales, make sure that your salespeople are properly utilizing your CRM and verify this by generating the needed reporting weekly. Hold your sales team accountable and you will improve sales dramatically.
- Sales Trainer/Advisor - Most sales managers or business owners only train new sales hires for a limited period of time, and most new hires don't have the training or sales goals to optimize results. Improve sales by providing professional sales training to all salespeople and sales management.
Contact Mark Hartsell, MBA, CEO of CEO Advisor, Inc. today for a free consultation at (949) 629-2520, email MHartsell@CEOAdvisor.com or visit www.CEOAdvisor.com.
CEO Advisor, Inc. Celebrates its 10th Anniversary of Business Advisory Services
- CEO Advisor, Inc. (www.CEOAdvisor.com), a leading business advisory firm in Newport Beach, CA, is celebrating its 10th anniversary of advising CEOs, presidents, business owners and principal executives of small and mid-sized businesses. CEO Advisor® is focused on Orange County, CA clients, but serves clients nationwide in many industries.
- CEO Advisor, Inc. differentiates itself from other business advisory firms in multiple ways. The company provides business consulting and advisory services exclusively to small and mid-size companies. Specifically, CEO Advisor, Inc. advises CEOs, presidents, business owners and principal executives in a one-to-one focused business relationship that is both effective and affordable.
- The company focuses on growth and strategy, which entails advising its clients on all aspects of the business to achieve growth, including business strategy and planning, sales, sales strategy, sales management, sales team building, marketing planning, finance, accounting, funding, operations, and mergers and acquisitions advisory services.
- CEO Advisor, Inc. is also very hands-on in its approach with actual work performed and progress made on a weekly basis. Additionally, CEO Advisor, Inc. owns significant intellectual property as a differentiator, including three trademarks of "CEO Advisor®" and over eighty variations of Internet domain names containing "CEO Advisor" enabling the company to "own" the term CEO Advisor in the marketplace.
- Additionally, CEO Advisor provides business advisory services affordably and effectively with hands-on work performed to assist CEOs, presidents, business owners and principal executives of small and mid-size companies on growth, business strategy, business planning, business processes, sales strategy, sales team building, sales training, marketing, operations, finance, funding, mergers and acquisitions advisory services to grow their businesses to the next level.
- As a trusted CEO Advisor® to business owners since 2004, the firm specializes in providing business consulting services in a one-to-one advisory role on a weekly basis to address specific issues and maximize sales, profits and business value to generate a substantial return on our client's investment.
- Mark Hartsell, CEO of CEO Advisor, Inc. states, "Our mission from day one is to actively participate in helping and advising CEOs and business owners on critical issues and growth initiatives to achieve your goals and grow your business to the next level. We advance this mission every day by providing an extremely high value to our clients."
- About CEO Advisor, Inc.
- CEO Advisor provides business advisory services affordably and effectively to meet the specific needs of small to mid-size companies in a wide range of industries, including technology, media, professional service firms, light manufacturing and many more.
- CEO Advisor's mission is to advise CEOs, presidents, business owners and principal executives with the needed expertise and focus, coupled with hands-on advice and work performed to grow your business to the next level.
- Contact Mark Hartsell, CEO of CEO Advisor, Inc. at (949) 629-2520 in Orange County, CA, by email at mhartsell@CEOAdvisor.com or visit us at www.CEOAdvisor.com for more information.