10 Selling Tips from an Award-winning Sales Team

Try top-down targeting: Target mid- and non-management level contacts, as opposed to executive-level decision makers, but do it from the top down. For example, email the vice president of sales at an organization and ask him to connect you with one of his managers – so as to not waste his time. Ask him to get feedback from his managers regarding your product to see if it's worth his evaluation. The process usually flows well, as the exec spends little energy while the manager feels obligated to give the product a fair evaluation. 

Be your own marketer: Email your prospects industry related articles that don’t heavily promote your own product, but are still relevant, interesting and informative. This enables you to engage prospects in interesting dialogue, and positions yourself as a resource. Don’t overdo it though; keep it to about one email per month.

Encourage a call back: If you have prospects who won’t return your calls, leave a final, courteous message explaining that it is the last time you will be calling. Prospects who are interested but short on time will often call you back within 24 hours.

Make it easy to call you back: This tip is very simple, but often overlooked … when leaving a voicemail, be sure to give your name and number at the beginning and end of the message. This eliminates the need for your prospect to listen to the entire message again and increases the likelihood they will call you back.

Answer each question with a question: Before you answer questions, find out why they’re being asked. Replying with, “That’s a great question. I am curious

why that is important to you” or “Why is that significant to you?” will help you get more information from your prospects and find out their true concerns and pain points.

Know your stuff: Really know your product and know who will benefit the most by using it. Also, know when someone won’t benefit from using it and don’t be afraid to stop selling to them if it will not be a mutually beneficial transaction. They’ll appreciate the honesty, and may refer someone else to you.

Use multiple touches: Don’t rely on just one form of communication. Follow every voicemail up with an email so that your information is easy to access and readily available.

Remember that more contacts mean more opportunities: When prospecting, “work” several contacts in the same company at the same time. Calling two or three people at once increases your chance to make a connection, and is more efficient then working on one person at a time, particularly since the call preparation is the same.

Use vacations to your advantage: Don’t be put off by those “out of office” messages.  Always follow up with the person covering for your original prospect. These new contacts may be your prospect’s direct report or, even better, their manager. If you’re still in the early stages of your sale, take advantage of this redirect to gain key information and possibly even identify a more appropriate prospect.

Ask for more: If your product is not a good fit for the prospect you are currently working with, ask them if they know someone who would benefit from your product/service. You may end up with several new, highly qualified prospects.