Many small business owners do not think of themselves as sales people, but they are!

Indeed, most have had no formal sales training and would not even consider describing their role as ‘company salesperson’.

The reality is that it is not a lack of sales ability that prevents business owners achieving their full potential but a lack of attention to the things that can really influence results.

By giving some thought to the following we are confident that you will see a positive impact on your business in 2015.

1. Put in the necessary effort. Do not neglect attention to the sales effort. It can be easy to make excuses to find other things to do but you need to be disciplined. Allocate times during the working week when you will concentrate your efforts on contacting existing and potential new customers. There are many ways of doing this but be specific with who you are targeting and the reasons why. Think about what’s in it for the customer.
2. Don’t forget to follow up. It is no good sending an introductory e-mail as part of your sales process (as many do) but not then make a follow up call to progress. The same is true of quotations. Do not assume the customer will contact you if they wish to go ahead. It is not necessarily top of their priority list but you can bring it back to the top by phoning to follow up and make it easy for them to say yes.
3. Follow up but don’t pester. Do not give up because you do not get the go ahead on the first call. Explore the customer’s situation and take your lead from the customer on when is the best time to follow up again. In the meantime, if you have thought about some alternative options that may suit the customer better call them to arrange a further meeting.
4. Don’t avoid it. It is easy to find any number of reasons not to make sales calls but your business will suffer if you don’t. Set yourself easily achievable targets. Allocate certain times of the day or week to do this. Take time away from the office to make calls if this helps.
5. Be enthusiastic Show a genuine interest in your customers business. Ask questions. Build a relationship with them. Have pride in who you are and what you do. Let them see how much you care about providing him with an excellent service.

Tony Mills