A CEO approves executive-level decisions and oversees the company's
entire operations, right? Despite all these responsibilities, should a
CEO bother to spend extra time to improve the company's sales processes
and strategies?
Yes!
A CEO who knows how to run a successful business, understands that the company's survival relies on this.
So
what is a CEO supposed to teach the Sales team? What changes can he
make to help them double last year's profits or at least vastly increase
sales revenue?
- Train them to sell in tough times. The financial crisis of 2008 has seriously affected the purchasing power of consumers. Out dated sales tactics won't work anymore because everyone is giving a discount and consumers are aware that there are brands offering the same products and services.
So
instead of memorizing sales pitches, reps must be trained to focus on
the customer. They should listen closely to figure out the customer's
needs, wants, fears, goals, and dreams. Remember, anything connected to
an emotion can be used as a leverage to make a sale!
- Train supervisors and managers to ask specific questions during a coaching session. Ideally, sales reps must have a coaching session with their direct supervisor at least once a week. This could help them improve, but only if it's done properly. For one, supervisors should ask specific questions about the sales representative's activity. Questions like, "How did it go?" or "Did you make a sale?" doesn't reveal much about their areas for improvement.
Ask questions like, "What's your opening line?", "How did you handle the customer's objection of... ?" instead.
- Teach employees outside of the sales team to help with the company's marketing and lead-generation. The company's admin staff, support team, and HR team also have connections to possible clients. The problem is they are not trained to sell, or even ask for referrals. Those untapped leads are thousands of potential sales lost!