Sometimes in the hectic world of small business it can feel like you don’t have control of anything. But that is not true. There is one very important part of your business that you can always remain in control of. Can you guess what it might be?

It’s your revenue.

That is why it is vital to perfect your sales process, especially the all-important sales interview. If you understand the metrics of your sales activity then you will know exactly how many sales interviews you need to conduct each month to achieve your targets. Then, once you have achieved success with the interview, don’t fall into the trap of thinking the job is done. The real work comes with the after-sales service.

Let’s take a closer look at how you can perfect the sales activity in your business.

The Sales Interview

Business is all about conducting a saleable activity for profit. Unless you are actively enrolling clients or customers in your business then it is going to be very difficult to achieve a good profit. So, you will need to have a robust procedure in place for generating sales.

It all begins with a strategic marketing approach. This is when you cast your net into the market to find people that might be interested in your business. Once you have found those people you need to qualify if they are a true prospect and open the opportunity for a sales interview.

The sales interview is the key to bringing new customers into your business. It is your chance to get in front of your prospective client and uncover a need of theirs that lines up with your businesses service offering. Once you’ve determined the need and shown your prospect that your business is their solution, you are ready to convert them from a prospect to a paying client.

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t immediately convert the prospect. According to Hubspot 63% of people requesting information on your company will not purchase for at least 3 months and 20% will take more than 12 months to buy.

With sales, you need to be prepared for the long game. By ensuring that you follow up regularly with varying methods of contact (phone, email, social media messaging or drop into their workplace) then you are likely to bring your prospect on board at a later stage.

Understand The Sales Activity – The Metrics

In small business, there are a lot of things to get done every day and sometimes sales calls and interviews get pushed to the bottom of the list. I hear so many small business owners say they aren’t a salesperson. But you don’t need to be, you simply need to take some of the tactics that the best salespeople use and apply them in your business.

How many sales interviews did you conduct last month? And how many sales conversions did you make?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions then how do you know what you need to do to hit your targets?

Knowledge is power, so by knowing your numbers, you are in a position to set real and achievable sales targets. Then you can forecast for the future and predict the outcome for the coming months.

The first step in gaining this knowledge is to collect the data. Over the course of several months, anyone involved with sales needs to be vigilant with recording the sales process. Note down the number of sales calls you make in a week, then how many of those calls result in a sales interview, and finally how many of those interviewees you convert into paying customers.

You will only gather this information with time and effort. It is not something that you can look up online as every industry is different and you will need data specific to your business offerings. But once you have this information, you can use it to drive your business forward.

Now that you have the data it is time to use it in conjunction with your sales targets. If you know how many calls you need to make a sales interview, and how many sales interviews you need to close a sale, then you know how many of each you need to complete to achieve your target. Once you know how many calls and interviews result in a sale you can break it down into a daily total so you know how much sales activity you need to conduct each day to meet your sales budget.

For example: You want to close two $500 sales a day. On average, it takes you 6 calls to find 2 prospects, and then you convert 1 of those to a paying customer. So if you want to close 2 sales a day, you would need to make 12 calls and book 4 sales interviews. If you did not manage to close your 2 sales on a Tuesday, then on Wednesday you would need to make 18 calls and book 6 interviews to stay on track.

When it comes to sales, metrics are important because it is a numbers game – the more people you contact, the more you can hope to convert.

After Sale Service

Once you get the sale, it is important to welcome clients to your business with a proper onboarding process. This will create the right set of expectations and answer many of their questions. What should they expect? What are their responsibilities? And what are yours? Will different people in your organisation be carrying out different aspects of the work? Who should they contact if they have questions? Clearly map out the pathway for them so that they feel comfortable and informed.

But it doesn’t stop there. Just because the client has bought from you and is now enrolled in your business, the work isn’t over.

It is important to maintain a touch point system with clients on an ongoing basis. You never know when they might want to buy more from you.  If you continue to communicate with them regularly then you can build a relationship of trust and let them know what you have to offer.

How Can I Get The Sales Working Well In My Business?

I know how busy it can be as a small business owner. So if you are ready to move forward and grow your business with these sales techniques, get in touch with me here at Generate Accounting. Not only am I a Chartered Accountant, but I also have an extensive background in sales, leadership and management.

That all means more bang for your buck when it comes to actionable business advice. If you would like to take the first step towards growing your business, then book in a FREE strategy session with me, Angus Ogilvie, to get down to the nitty-gritty specifics for your business. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by sitting down and having a conversation with me.