A Manager’s Guide To Improving A Sales Department’s Close Rates

Managing a sales team is a demanding job. If you aren’t making consistent sales, you aren’t likely to see much success and growth. Even if you have premiere products and the best skill sets and products in the business, the inability to close the deal will result in lackluster profit margins.

How to Up Your Game

Most salespeople will admit that there are aspects of the job that they aren’t always happy about, but shifting your mindset and communicating value to your customers will ensure that your team will rise to the top consistently. Through training, practice, and application of these strategies, you’ll improve your closing to the point that you and your team will run to the finish line.

Know Your Clients

The most essential step you must take to improve your closing rate is to know your target audience. Potential clients can smell a fake sales pitch a mile away, so building relationships and trust from the get-go will allow you to gain a solid footing and let customers hear how you bring value to the table. Ask the following questions when crafting a target demographic:

  • What am I selling?
  • What problem am I solving for my customers?
  • What do I have in common with my clientele?
  • How do I add value and purpose to their lives
  • What makes us superior to other companies?

The more you can craft your ideal audience, the easier it will be to serve them.

Address Common Concerns and Objections

When it comes to sales, consistency is key. You’re bound to have objections and negative responses to sales pitches but refuse to take them personally. Common objections such as “I can’t afford your products” or “I don’t need this service” must be addressed before sales conversations begin. Showing your client the true value of a service, such as a return on investment, will be hard to argue as the two of you wheel and deal toward a mutually beneficial agreement.

Something else to consider addressing during a sales close is the value of your particular product or service. Showing your clients that you can add value and purpose to their lives that improve life as they know it will be hard to argue with when it comes to asking for a sale. Sharing personal stories of success will also build trust with your clients, allowing you to soften your approach and take a more relatable style of sales that will yield results.

Shift Your Mindset

A salesperson with a limited or negative mindset toward sales will not yield success as readily as one who embraces the opportunity to help others. Shift your mindset from an “audition” to the fact that your time is valuable, and that you have something that others need to improve the quality of their lives. Just this simple shift will help to boost confidence, which is what sells products. Your confidence and belief in your product will bring people to you in droves, asking if they too can have what you are offering.

Set Up Systems for Success

Don’t waste time trying to convince difficult clients that they need your product. If you have a particularly resistant client, let them go in favor of someone who sees your value and quality products and is ready to purchase. The law of averages is a powerful one; the more sales you ask for, the more sales you are likely to get. Refuse to take rejections personally, and focus on communicating excellence and authentic quality that sells itself.

Ask!

Many salespeople fail to close the deal because they don’t like to ask! Teach your sales force to ask—simply, and humbly, after you’ve done your part to lay the groundwork for a positive client relationship, and move on if the answer is “no”. In time and with consistency, you’ll begin to see more and more “yes’s” come your way, which will infuse your whole team with confidence and newfound motivation.

Stay positive, proactive, and purposeful, my sales-minded friends, and know that your honest, authentic efforts will not be in vain. In time, you’ll become a formidable sales force to be reckoned with, one that brings in revenue and reputation for your business.

Brett Sartorial
 

Brett is a business journalist with a focus on corporate strategy and leadership. With over 15 years of experience covering the corporate world, Brett has a reputation for being a knowledgeable, analytical and insightful journalist. He has a deep understanding of the business strategies and leadership principles that drive the world's most successful companies, and is able to explain them in a clear and compelling way. Throughout his career, Brett has interviewed some of the most influential business leaders and has covered major business events such as the World Economic Forum and the Davos. He is also a regular contributor to leading business publications and has won several awards for his work.