New Financial Year Sales Tips! OK I have a confession… I love this time of year. It’s a time to reflect on what I have achieved for the year and to set some new sales targets for the New Financial Year. There are two simple things that are measured in sales. Activity (what you do) and Sales (money in the door). You have to do the activity (code for phone calls, proposals, client visits, negotiations, etc) in order to get the sales figures that you need.
There’s a famous saying by Lewis Carroll that I like: “If you don’t know where you’re going; any road will get you there!”
So if you are going to set yourself a sales goal… Let’s look at how I can help you get there with these sales tips!
Sales tip #1: Knowing your Numbers
Like any good journey, we have to start with where you are at. Here are some questions that will help you with this:
- How many clients do you have?
- What is the average sale per month for each client?
- How many transactions are there per month?
- What is the average transaction size?
Sales tip #2: Setting your Goals
Now… where are you going? Like any activity in your business, sales is driven by setting targets and knowing what activity will be required to meet those targets. Set some targets for sales to existing and new clients. How much money are you going to make each month from new and existing clients?
Sales tip #3: Reaching your Goals
How are you going to get there? Part 1. There are typically two types of inquiries (leads) that come into your business. Warm leads are those that are referred from an existing client or associate, and so know something about your business. Cold leads are those that know little or nothing about your business and so need to be ‘warmed up’ (introduced to your business) before you can convert them to a client. Here are just some ideas on how you might bring in new business. Warm Leads:
- Have a referral program
- Tell your clients in meetings
- Talk about it on your website
- Write an article about it on your next newsletter
- Have a rewards program for referrals
- From clients
- From your staff
- From other people associated with your business (suppliers etc)
Cold Leads:
- Get on the phone and call your ideal client
- Direct Mail targeted to your ideal client to offer them help with a key concern
- Network: Go where your ideal client interacts offline
- Go where your ideal client interacts online:
- Institute a ‘Pay Per Click’ promotion
- Advertise in places that your ideal client reads and interacts
Sales tip #4: Activity drives Dollars
How are you going to get there? Part 2. Now that you have set the goals (in dollars), let’s look at what activity is needed to reach those. In order to make a sale, you have to have an inquiry, talk to the potential client, send them a proposal and then negotiate and ask for the business. You should know what numbers are needed at each of these stages to meet your goals.
Sales tip #5: Just do it!
My last piece of sales advice: One thing that is always true is that the more people you talk to and ask to buy from you, the higher your sales will be …. So don’t wait, get out there and talk to some potential clients today!
Sales tip #6: Measure – Measure – Measure
It’s about getting “Crunchy”! Break your activity and dollar goals down to weekly, monthly and quarterly so you can see your progress. Write them down, keep them somewhere visible, report to them regularly to someone so that you are accountable. To help you with this, I have created a Setting Sales Targets spreadsheet for you…. downloadable FOR FREE from my website.
