If your reps are losing sales, you have 2 options.
Option 1: Blame external factors, like current economic uncertainty.
Option 2: Critically evaluate the current market, your sales process, and sales reps’ skillsets.
It’s easier, but option 1 will shrink your sales pipeline. The added effort you put into option 2 pays off when you restore your reps’ win rates.
Today’s Selling Situation
Buyers are cautious right now, making revenue generation a challenge. Prospects are taking buying decisions more seriously. Salespeople aren’t used to this level of scrutiny and competition, and it catches them unaware. As you step back and examine the opportunities in your pipeline and recent sales you’ve lost, you’ll find:
- Budgets are tighter. The market feels uncertain. Companies are being careful with their spending. They’re investing in strategic and necessary projects but holding off on everything else.
- Sell cycles are longer. Buyers are taking their time examining different options you offer while also studying your competitors’ recommendations.
- More decision makers. More people at all levels are involved in the decision-making process. One client we work with established a New Initiatives Review board to ensure every new project has full business justification.
- Increased negotiations. Prospects – and your current clients – want to know they’ll get value for the services they are moving forward with right now. (Tip: Double check that your reps know how to talk about price with prospects.)
In this situation, your sales process causes you to win or lose because it directly impacts your ability to sustain and grow revenue. When reps are losing sales, they may not be following the process. Or their sales discipline has slipped. The end result is the same – your company will be outsold, and revenue will drop.
12 Questions to Ask When Reps Are Losing Sales
Use these 12 questions to identify why your reps are 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 resume the conversation in the future 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 the prospect is holding back and address them head on?
- When making recommendations, do you connect them to the business needs and situation the prospect shared?
- Do you follow up frequently 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, not just at the beginning of the sell cycle?
Fix Your Sales Process
It’s times like these when sales discipline really counts to fill your sales funnel with new opportunities you can win. Where a salesperson may have gotten away with sloppy selling and shortcuts before, those same practices now cause them to lose sales they previously would have won.
According to Objective Management Group, while 82% of salespeople have the desire to succeed, only 59% are committed to doing what they need to do to be successful. You must give them a sales process they can follow and then hold them accountable.
3 Steps to Get Reps Back on Track
When your reps are losing sales, you can improve sales performance by focusing on your sales process. Here’s how:
- If you don’t have a documented sales process, implement one. It is a foundation element of your revenue generating system. Only 35% of salespeople follow a consistent sales process. Without a documented process, reps wing it using charisma and what they believe worked last time. With a documented sales process they have proven steps they can follow and you can monitor.
- Hold reps accountable for following your sales process without skipping steps or rushing. When your team sells the same way every time, you can quickly identify what’s working and what needs to be adjusted, then take measures to fix it. Sales closing rates increase. Revenue generation is back on course.
- Coach, guide and train your salespeople. Listen in or ride along with reps to hear where their skills have slipped, or where they need to level up their sales abilities. In today’s market, focus on consultative selling skills. Improve their ability to stay in the moment with prospects and pivot where the conversation needs to go, uncovering compelling reasons to buy and building trust.
Top salespeople follow a process with stages and steps you can track and measure. They are consistent and pay attention to details. They sell consultatively throughout the sales process. These are the reps who are closing sales and winning in this market. When your reps are losing sales, ask yourself if this describes how your salespeople sell.
Level Up Your Sales Process and Consultative Selling
In the current market, your salespeople can’t be sloppy. Your sales process can’t be spontaneous. Your salespeople must outsell your competitors with precision and a consultative approach to increase their win rate and succeed.
If you need assistance creating a proven sales process that fits your target markets, or aren’t confident in your team’s consultative skills, let’s talk about your situation. It may be time to define your sales process or level up the team with consultative selling training to amplify your revenue generating system.
Contact us to schedule a call and let’s work together to get your sales team back on track.
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