Hot Wings, Cold Sales

We can all agree the sales game isn’t as easy as it used to be. In order to be competitive and stand out from the crowd, we can no longer wing it. We have to work smarter and harder. That’s what I heard from leading advertising sales experts at the Niche Media Conference in Nashville in 2013. 

 My three take-aways from these sales experts were: 

1. Do your homework – not only do you have to know your product inside and out, you have to know about your customer. Do your research on the company’s website, social media channels, and the buyer’s LinkedIn page. Research to understand your customer’s needs or challenges and be the solution provider. That will help you win their business. Customers are smarter than ever. They know the difference between winging it and winning it. 
2. Perfect your process – don’t be random. Winging it won’t work anymore. Plan ahead for next week’s sales activity. Create a list of calls/meetings for the week. Block out specific times for prospecting and client calls. Shut down email and remove any other distractions while prospecting. Start the process over the next week, and the week after, and so on. 
3. Practice – athletes don’t wing it. Singers don’t wing it. Successful sales people don’t wing it. Practice your phone script. Practice your opening & closing. Practice how to communicate your solution. Practice how to overcome objections. Practice your “ask” off.  

You may be hot at winging it, but I bet your sales are very cold. Follow these steps and you’ll put the heat back into your sales game. 

Written by: Jennifer Reeves, sales and service director at Serendipity Media, LLC