Turning average sales teams into top performers

In today’s sales landscape, hitting target figures has become increasingly challenging. With just 29% of salespeople meeting their Q4 targets last year and a projected 40% for this year, it’s clear that sales metrics are trending downward.  

However, amidst this, a distinct group of top sales professionals continue to excel, regardless of economic fluctuations. Their exceptional performance poses an intriguing question: What sets these top performers apart from the rest?  

What are the mistakes many salespeople make? 

Hard Sell = Hard Buy 

The pressure on salespeople to meet targets creates a paradox. The more they focus on meeting quotas, the less attention they pay to understanding the buyer’s needs, complicating the buyer’s perception on the products benefits.  

1.     Aimless, haphazard outreach leads to generic, self-centred approaches and messaging, significantly reducing the likelihood of buyers even responding. 

2.     The relentless focus on meeting sales targets often prompts people to rush straight into the sales pitch. Unfortunately, this premature engagement is unlikely to be aligned to the buyer’s needs, lowering the chances of closing a sale. 

3.     The more focused a salesperson is on maximising spend from a client, the more likely they are to inundate them with numerous options. Paradoxically, this makes the buying decision even harder and riskier, ultimately leading to indecision. 

4.     Neglecting to guide the buyer through the decision-making process – while leaving them to navigate among an increasing number of stakeholders, invariably extends the length of the sales cycle. Worse, this approach can lead to total sales stagnation, with some 53% of opportunities transitioning to ‘Closed lost’ due to client inaction. 

What are the top sales performers doing differently? 

Easy buy = Easy sell 

In essence, they step into the buyer’s perspective. While maintaining a strong commitment to hitting targets, they recognise that achieving this goal hinges on enhancing the performance of each customer they engage. Diligently researching their clients, they craft solutions tailored to resonate with each buyer, personally. Departing from a traditional hard-sell approach, they assume the role of advisor, who cuts through the noise to assist their customer to achieve their desired outcome.  

·        Personalise Put themselves in to the buyer’s shoes and tailor approaches. 

·        Educate Learn and teach about blind-spots and best practice. 

·        De-risk Proactively anticipate buying barriers and increase confidence in the purchase. 

The Flume Advantage 

Flume are experts in modern buyer behaviour, cutting edge sales approaches and behaviour change.  

To find out what changes you could make to propel your team into top flight sales performers, try out our free, 4-minute Sales Scorecard and download our new Sales Excellence Benchmark whitepaper for free. If you need help to transform your sales team, your sales culture or with ongoing team development, check out our blog, follow us on LinkedIn, or contact us.