Is your sales team working hard but just not getting the sales they should be? The market place has changed dramatically from the 80’s and 90’s. What worked well before just doesn’t cut it any more. Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to improve your conversion rates. A couple of them are:

Know Why Your Customers Are Buying I’m sure your product or service is excellent but that’s not why your customers bought it. People buy to solve a problem they have or to fill a need. Study your current customers and develop a profile for each one. What industries are they in, how big is their company, how many employees do they have? What business issues do they have? Are they in growth mode, exploring new markets or developing new products? You need to know as much as you possible can about your customers.

If you feel you don’t have enough information on your customers conduct a survey. Ask them what their business issues are, what solutions/products they’ve tried in the past. Find out if their company is headed in a new direction and let them know you would like to work with them to help them succeed.

Once you have developed profiles on all your customers analyze them to find the common issue and/or need. Then focus your sales efforts and material on addressing these needs.

Use Several Tactics You won’t be able to reach all of your clients with a phone call or a fax. The proper use of websites, trade shows, networking, public speaking, article writing and press releases can add lots of qualified prospects to your list.

Make Sure Your Sales Team is Trained to Deliver Maximum Performance Once you have developed a good size qualified list you don’t want to place in at the mercy of a less than qualified sales person. Be sure your sales staff have skills that are current. Old style scripts and approaches just don’t work today. Get professional help and remember with professional assistance you may be able to do some of the work yourself and build your sales along with your expertise.