Are there any unknown Barriers to selling that exist in your company?
This past week, I was having difficulty logging into an app I use for my work.
Firstly, after trying to log in, I was blocked.
Secondly, several emails and two days later, I hadn’t heard back from anyone.
This despite their emails and website suggesting their response time was 24 hours (which is ridiculous, by the way—it should be within hours, at most).
I’m guessing you’re nodding your head in agreement, having had a similar situation.
Let’s turn the tables for a moment.
Is it possible that your business or team is making promises that aren’t kept?
Each week, I talk to at least a dozen business owners.
With rare exception, everyone is searching for more sales.
In some instances, it’s a desire to replace sales from a lost customer.
Other times, it’s an objective to enter a new market or launch a new product.
When I speak with their sales teams, however, what I uncover are barriers to selling.
- Extensive meetings that take sales staff away from prospecting and follow-up.
- Procedures and policies that add unnecessary bureaucracy to the sales process.
- Reporting requirements that take hours each week to complete.
- Consensus meetings that delay writing and submission of proposals.
The problem isn’t always that the sales team isn’t selling, it’s that they have too many other things that distract or take them away from selling.
This is why the first step in my Forensic Sales Audit is to understand what a “day in the life” of a salesperson looks like.
What is distracting them from completing the activities to generate more sales?
If you’re not sure whether there are barriers to making sales in your company, ask those who sell for you to document their days.
Write down what they complete every hour for two days.
They can use bullet points to keep things simple, but above all the goal is to flush out any obstacles or barriers that take them away from selling.
Once you identify the barriers, you can either leave them in place (recognizing the time impact they have), replace them with something less burdensome, or finally eliminate them altogether.
If you want to sell more, start with uncovering the barriers to selling that hold your sales team back.
This Week’s Exercise >>>
- What are the key activities your sales team should be spending their time on?
- Determine what an “average” day looks like?
- What needs to be replaced or removed to ensure selling activities remain a daily priority?
© Shawn Casemore 2021. All Rights Reserved.
The post How Barriers Are Limiting Your Ability to Sell appeared first on Shawn Casemore | Sales Growth Consultant | Keynote Speaker.
