The role of the salesperson is challenging no matter what the industry, and every member of a sales team feels the stress and excitement of the losses and wins each day as they work through their pipeline. Although there are innumerable factors that influence the overall production of any sales team, each team member is primarily evaluated based on one factor: how many deals got closed. It’s no surprise that salespeople are always looking for an edge when it comes to closing more deals faster and that’s why we’ve put together these five pro tips.
1. Identify the Best Leads Right Away
There is nothing more frustrating than spending time on leads that never turn into deals, so it is imperative that salespeople identify the prospects that are the most likely to close. This is best accomplished by gaining some insight into each prospect’s level of interest in the initial sales proposal, and it is entirely possible to access immediate feedback through a proposal software platform like Proposable.
Through proposal tracking, a salesperson is able to immediately determine who has read the proposal along with the specific sections they have reviewed and how much time was spent on each. Using this new data, the salesperson is now able to identify which prospects are most likely to be interested and can then make a more informed follow-up pitch, ultimately leading to more closed deals in the bag.
2. Create Mutual Goals
Ambiguity is a salesperson’s enemy in the proposal process, so salespeople should make sure that their prospects have a clear understanding of what the proposed deal entails and how each party benefits. When these expectations are outlined and clarified early in the process, it ensures that both parties can feel confident in the agreement and can move forward. If the mutual benefit is clear, both parties will be interested in the deal for the right reasons and will continue to move toward closing.
3. Emphasize Urgency
Salespeople always have to walk a fine line between emphasizing the urgency of the deal and giving the prospect breathing room. There is a risk of placing too much pressure on the prospect that they feel smothered and walk away from the deal. Too little pressure, on the other hand, allows the prospect to feel comfortable about not making a decision. The sales proposal should clearly demonstrate the immediate value of what is being pitched to the prospect, and the sales person should then reiterate a strong call-to-action as part of their follow-up pitch.
4. Instill Confidence
When a prospective client feels unsure about a deal, they are far more likely to decline than to take the risk of moving forward. Salespeople have to make sure that their proposal and pitch succeed in instilling a strong sense of confidence in the prospect so they feel compelled to join with the salesperson in their confident outlook and agree to move forward. If there are lingering doubts, the salesperson should quickly assess and act quickly to address those doubts so that the prospect continues to feel confident regarding each aspect of the proposal so the deal can move to the finish line.
5. Manage Time Wisely
There are certain pieces of information that should be qualified early in the sales proposal process, including each prospect’s budget and timeline. Some prospects will be genuinely interested and will be truly ideal prospects in just about every sense, but if the possible decision timeline is unreasonably far in the future then it will not be worth the salesperson’s time when more immediate deals right now. The same is true of a prospect’s budget. If the budget doesn’t fit the product or service you’re selling, don’t waste your time. Bottom line is; Get as much qualifying information as you can up front, so you can further score your leads and hone in on the most valuable players and not waste time with big talkers.
