Sales Training Tips - Part 2 of 3

This is the second part of a three part series on Sales Training Tips taken from our book The Agile Manager's Guide to Customer-Focused Selling":

Sales Professional's Tip #5 - Use Your Selling Time Wisely

1. Use the hours between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM to speak with prospects and customers.
2. Whenever possible, write proposals, letters, quotations, etc., during the hours you can't speak with prospects (early morning, evenings, weekends).
3. Fill out your prospect lists, sales reports, and forecasts during the times you can't speak with prospects.
4. Offload non-selling activities to anyone you can find who will do them for you.
5. Be more proactive. Let people know when you're available to meet and give them options.

Sales Professional's Tip #6 - Have Lunch with Customers/Prospects. Successful salespeople have lunch with customers and prospects whenever they can. It pays rich dividends. (And don't expect your company to pay for all your business entertainment.) Some thoughts:

• Most salespeople do not entertain their customers and prospects enough.
• Customers may feel a slight obligation to you when you buy lunch. Plus, you get to talk to prospects outside of the noise and confusion of the office.
• Lunches are great for building lasting personal relationships.
• Don't discuss business until your customer/prospect does.

Sales Professional's Tip #7 - Don't Waste Time Making Poor Calls

1. Prepare for each call in advance, and have an objective. Rate the success of each call.
2. Qualify prospects as early as possible. The second best answer you receive can be "no."
3. Know when to walk away.

Sales Professional's Tip #8 - Invest Your Time. Average salespeople are busy during the course of the day. Successful sales professionals are both busy and effective during the course of the day. One of the keys to effectiveness is investing time being proactive rather than spending time being reactive.

Such sales professionals believe that they are the CEO and major stockholder in a franchise called "Me, Inc." They recognize time is the greatest asset they possess. The tools or resources they use to maximize their return on this asset are goals and priorities.

How can you possibly maximize your time without clearly defined goals and priorities? You can't. With so many things to do each day, the only way you can decide which are the most important is to develop clear goals.

Remember: It's not how busy we are but what we actually accomplish that counts most. If you focus on your goals, your activities will be much easier to prioritize.