Back to Business Sales Training Basics
For many sales teams, the pressure to meet quota at the end of a quarter or fiscal year can be enormous. While many sales leaders believe that at least two-thirds of their sales reps should consistently hit quota, we all know that the quota setting process is fraught with bias, inaccuracy, and misalignment. In fact, Salesforce recently estimated that 57% of reps are expected to miss their quota. To succeed, sales reps need to learn how to better evaluate sales opportunities.
Consistently achieving high quota attainment is not easy. If you want to improve your chances for success, do not panic. Instead, focus on the business sales training basics that, time after time, bring positive results.
4 Questions to Better Evaluate Sales Opportunities
Start by reviewing your major sales opportunities one by one. Ask yourself the following four questions to get at the heart of what you need to do to move key deals forward in a way that makes sense.
- Do I Really Understand Why the Customer Should Buy?
Customer-centric sales reps focus on the customer’s issues and needs and put the customer at the center of everything that they do. Invest the time to interpret the world as if you were your customer and your customer’s customer. Think in terms of how your customer defines success, not what a sale would mean to you or the features or benefits of your offering. - Why Should the Customer Buy from Me and Not Others?
This is when you need to be able to differentiate your offering from your competition with a clear, compelling, and unique value proposition. What is it that you provide that is better, faster, or cheaper than the available alternatives?
Top solution sellers define value both in business and personal terms. How will your offering help your customer succeed? - Am I Talking to the Right Person?
Ideal target clients resonate with what you stand for and appreciate what you have to offer. Our solution selling training participants tell us time and time again that they need to pay more attention to their buyer, the buying process, and the competition.
Are you sure that your contact has the authority and resources to buy from you? Do you understand the decision making criteria? Though your customer may be saying all the “right” things, have you actually confirmed that they are the final decision maker? - Do You Have a Mutually Agreed-Upon Plan with the Customer that Leads to Closure?
While most sales reps are clear on their own internal step-by-step sales process, too many cannot articulate the customer’s buying process. A key to sales success is an action plan that the customer has helped to create that moves the sale forward.
Each and every sales interaction should add value to the client and include what has to happen (and when) to eventually close the deal or walk away.
Approach this exercise as objectively as possible. Evaluate your sales pipeline with an eye toward investing time where it matters most. Concentrate your time and attention on the deals that fit your ideal target client criteria, that appreciate your value proposition, and that have the least risk and greatest opportunity.
The Bottom Line
At crunch time, you’ll be far more successful if you pause and objectively review your sales pipeline. Are you taking the time to evaluate the important buying criteria and asking the hard questions so that you can better evaluate your sales opportunities?
To learn more about how to better evaluate sales opportunities, download The Top 30 Effective Sales Questions to Increase Sales Velocity