When sales just walk out the door.
Copyright 2006 Henry Winter and Livewirebusiness.com
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Are your sales just walking out the door? - literally......

I am still shocked, shocked that so many medium and small
business owners do not document what works for their business.
I don't mean product walking out the door earning you tons of cash.
I am talking about all the sales you could be missing.

What do I mean?

Your top performer has just walked out the door.
How did they become that top performer, what did they say,
what tactics did they use to get them to #1 for your sales?
Do you know? Are they documented, recorded, stored?

A prospect or customer walks in to you store. They walk out empty handed.

Why is that?

You get a phone enquiry it goes no further than that.

Is that what should be happening?

Your sales team follow up leads but get no appointments,
or far less than you expect.

How come?

When they do see someone they fail to convert to the level predicted.

What can be done?

If, deep in your gut, you are not 110% ceratin why, you have a problem.

Because:
a) the expertise that could have helped you just walked out the door
b) the customers "experience" of your firm just left the shop
c) the knowledge to help you just hung up
d) the respondent approached by your sales team did not get
your "business" offer
e) the sales approach just did not work - you need to fix it.

Here is another example. Let's pre suppose you are taken ill.

You run your business, you have all that info in your head.

But now you are laid really low.

If, like lots of small businesses, it is reliant on just a few key personnel
to make "it" happen then you have a problem.

I know you know that it won't happen to you but it could.
And if you don't plan you are in trouble. BIG TROUBLE!

You owe it to your business to make sure that somewhere
is something to make sure that the blue print you created continues!

OK, lets go down a level.

The point is without planning and thinking the lifelblood of ANY
business can walk out the door.

That includes planning for the creation, retention and storage
of key messages. It means constantly ensuring that key skills
are identified, trained, developed, maintained and stretched.

What's more the cost and complexity of doing that are massively
reduced due to the web and very easy to do.
Web training/web messaging/conference rooms etc are in easy reach
of any and every business.

Full blown systems that can do virtually everything you
want can be available for less than $200 a month, some even lower.

Check some out at www.livewirebusiness.com

Everything is now so accessible if you are not doing it your
competitors will be, and that will hand them an advantage.

You don't want that!

For example:

Your written sales message may be "right on the button".

But if the way that message is portrayed over the phone,

or in person, at presentations or in meetings is not, that’s

a total waste. It loses you sales.

If this is happening in your business it is costing you money

and I bet you won't be happy with that? SO, the minute you

have read this blog post, if you have staff working for you go

and compare what you "think" they are saying now to what

they are "actually" saying.

For one client doing this simple exercise highlighted that one

simple statement was on the verge of costing him 33% of the

commercial potential of his product.

That was worth @ £150,000 to his business on just one product line.

Another had a salesman "giving away" a product he should have been

charging for but it was bundled as part of a package and went un detected

until a customer query highlighted it to the business owner.

The potential cost of that was @ £2000 per customer plus

all the work rounds, extra IT support and more that it caused,

let alone the creation of a credibilty gap with the clients.

The trouble is, lots of business owners don't know if this is

happening in their business until its to late. So you need to put it right.

Every time you meet with a client or make a presentation,

your company image is affected - for better or worse.

From a public relations perspective, your business can have no better

advocate than a well-spoken representative. Let’s face it, your most

important personal and business transactions will involve face-to-face

communications, either in person, via video or on the phone.

So consider these 5 short questions:

5 Quick questions to turn your business round

1. When your business makes an “outbound” telesales call do

your staff follow a sales script that re qualifies the prospect,

hits the right emotional and rational buttons, creates the right

response to your approach?

2. Do you do that consistently for better qualification and

improved conversions?
3. Do you do the same when you receive an “inbound call”?
4. Does your sales team present in a tried and tested way?
5. Are they still delivering the same message you thought

they were delivering or has it become diluted by the passage

of time and personality?

Beware lots of sales messages get diluted over time,

they can also get "tired" and need re working or tweaking.

Ask any business owner using a good telesales team

"FACT - Winning sales scripts convert".

If you hesitated, or answered yes to any of the above questions ,

it's time you put it right.

If I can help you create winning scripts for talking, meeting with,

presenting too, receiving and making approaches to suspects,

prospects and customers let me know.

If nothing else at least go check all the above is not happening in

your business as it does in many others.

A script that makes the right ”connection” with your target

audience will ensure you get the best bang for your buck.

If you feel you are not getting the best return from your current

efforts I would like to help you make sure you do.

If you have a business with sales messages of any kind that

need rekindling to boost flagging sales or refreshing dried up

prospects I am the one they call.

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About the Author

Henry Winter is an author, marketer, adviser and coach to small

and medium sized businesses. He specialises in bringing sales messages to life.

Ask about his "WordSwordTM" methodology.