If your sales reps are losing sales, it isn’t necessarily due to COVID-19. Nor is it the time of year. The fault lies with sloppy selling and poor sales discipline. The good news is, you can restore your win rate once you understand today’s selling situation and where you are losing in the sales process.
Today’s Selling Situation
Selling in today’s environment is different, which makes it challenging. The issue, however, is not that you’re selling remotely. The fact is, buyers are cautious right now. They take their decision-making process more seriously than salespeople are accustomed to, and it catches sales reps unaware. As you step back and think about the opportunities in your pipeline and the recent sales you’ve lost, you’ll find:
- Sell cycles are longer. Buyers are taking their time examining different options you offer while also studying your competitors’ recommendations.
- Smaller opportunities. Times continue to feel uncertain, but hopeful. New opportunities are smaller than usual as prospects carefully begin to resume investing in their businesses.
- Increased negotiations. Prospects – and your current clients – want to know they’ll get value for the services they are moving forward with right now.
In this situation, your sales process is what will cause you to win or lose. You have to be disciplined, or you’ll be outsold.
12 Questions to Ask When Reps Are Losing Sales
Use these 12 questions to identify why you may be losing sales and restore your win rate. Answer them honestly, then adjust your sales process immediately.
- Do you uncover the real problem behind the business situation your prospect wants to address?
- When a prospect answers a question, do you seize the opportunity to drill down and learn even more?
- Do you settle for working with the office manager rather than pressing to speak with the decision maker?
- If a prospect puts an opportunity on hold, do you schedule a meeting to check back in so it won’t drop?
- Do you use your sales approach to distinguish yourself from the competition during the sales process?
- Do you uncover hidden concerns that the prospect was holding back and address them?
- When making recommendations, do you connect them to the business needs and situation the prospect shared?
- Do you follow up while waiting for a decision?
- When you receive a “no,” do you question to understand why, treat it like an objection and attempt to address it?
- Do you proactively offer testimonials, references or case studies to paint a picture of what it’s like to work with you?
- Do you confirm that the prospect agrees with the value you presented?
- Do you qualify the BANT (budget, authority, need and timeframe) throughout the sales process?
Fix Your Sales Process
It’s times like these when sales discipline really counts to fill your sales funnel with opportunities you can win. Where you may have gotten away with sloppy selling and shortcuts before, those same practices now cause you to lose sales you previously would have won.
You can get back on track. Follow your sales process without skipping steps or rushing. Get back to basics, then expand on them. Those salespeople who give attention to detail are the ones who are closing sales and winning now. You have to outsell your competitors and wow your prospects. If you aren’t confident in your skills, take a consultative sales training course. With a flawless sales process, you can increase your win rate even in a pandemic.
Author Kendra Lee is CEO at KLA Group. Read more from Kendra Lee here.
