How to Increase Your Future Sales
Sales in its nature are quite challenging, let alone the added challenges of the Covid-19 on the market and people. It has become clear that we won’t be back to business as usual any time soon. The process has become more complex; starting from finding the right buyer until closing the deal. The nowadays climate makes it feel sometimes as if it is impossible to close a deal. In this light, it is rather recommended to start getting creative when it comes to your sales and letting go of the sales techniques used during the pre-pandemic era.
So, here are some ideas on how you can increase your sales in the post-pandemic era to shift your focus from temporary fixes to a more sustainable profitable sales strategy:2
1. Embrace the fact that buyers are becoming more and more cautious: Buyers nowadays are much more educated and they have access to information as much as you, the service provider, do. Given the fact that customers understand that they have a wide selection of choices, they would rather turn them into a purchase where a connection is made. Pressure-style sales are no longer the answer anymore. Covid-19 has built many barriers when it comes to approaching customers, nonetheless, buyers would prefer developing a relationship with salespeople who consider their needs.
2. Use word of mouth and peer recommendations: It is no secret that the unprecedented circumstances that humanity has been going through created some sort of collective sense of anxiety. When we are anxious, we tend to search for what comforts us, i.e., how others are dealing with what we are going through, or rather what we are going through is a common endeavor. In times of crisis, people tend to be cautious; and what is the better way to comfort someone into taking an action than telling them “we are all in this together, and I did this, and it turned out just great!” Word of mouth plays quite an important role in advocating a purchase or vice versa, in this sense: you can add different methods as part of your sales solutions; “Provide a list of past customers they can contact, collect video testimonials, or you could even set up a meeting with previous customers so your prospect can get insight into how products/services work post-sale.”
3. Serve as a trusted source of information: Customers do not buy and that is that; they rather search and collect data about the good or the service they are contemplating and you can simply be the source of this information. You can simply provide all the answers and the information that a customer may want by carefully studying the SEOs and what the customer is mostly invested in. While on it, you can create informative content related to your industry and present it via blogs, video tutorials, reports, and other forms that can rather help your customer form an educated decision based on reliable information.
4. Be an advisor, not a salesperson: “Please do not pitch me anything!” a sentence that many tele-sales agents have been hearing since the lockdown with all the vagueness it brought; the least thing expected by customer was for them to receive phone calls pitching services or goods. What is the best alternative then? Customers feel they want to deal with industry experts when they need to. Customers want to be consulted, advised, and to rather have conversations with professionals who would actively listen to their needs and situations and get bespoke solutions in return. Not all organizations face the same issues, and not the same issues call the same courses of action. It is rather helpful if you provide your customer with valuable solutions that align with their business goals and objectives.
5. What incentive will you give your customer: Implementing a discount scheme always has its magic when it comes to sustaining and rather increasing sales. The reward-style programs always serve as an effective incentive to build customer loyalty and establish a steady stream of business repeat. It helps to brainstorm what matters to your different customers and start building your incentive programs accordingly.
6. “I am not here to sell, I am here to help”: Making this your motto can help fundamentally in attracting fruitful opportunities with a wide selection of customers. Building your sales process on helping others will guarantee a steady flow of money. Your asset here is trust. You can list down ways you can provide your customers with actual help to rather strengthen the business relationship.
7. Be results-oriented: Always go to a business meeting with an end this end in mind; how my help/service/consultancy will help in my customer’s bottom line? Highlighting how your sales solutions can help your customers achieve their business goals is one fundamental factor in increasing sales in a post-COVID-19 time, where assurance is a very important thing to hammer on in an unprecedented atmosphere of uncertainty.
After all, the scene is continuing to host the aftermath of the pandemic for a few years. So, it helps if you continue your sales processes with a fresh prospect and an open mind to the ongoing changes.
1Ermidis, J. (2020). 5 ways to increase sales during a pandemic. Retrieved from Sales Force Search. Accessed 28 March 2021, https://www.salesforcesearch.com/blog/5-ways-to-increase-sales-during-a-pandemic/
2Claire McConnachie (2020). 7 creative ways to close more deals during the covid era. Accessed 28 March 2021, https://www.salesforcesearch.com/blog/7-creative-ways-to-close-more-deals-during-the-covid-era/
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