As a seller you are working hard to create a full pipeline (funnel) and now that you have all of these companies and some actual sales opportunities on your radar, how will you bring them to closure?

Here are 5 tips to help you gain and nurture more sales opportunities:

1. Re-educate yourself and all that you know about selling. Start by reading about the Buyer Experience Funnel and how the buyer’s process has changed to being nearly unrecognizable by old school sellers. Ardath Albee of Marketing Interactions has written a four-part series called, Capitalize on the Content Marketing Continuum where she talks about the BEF and the very fluid content marketing continuum. She is one of the smartest people I know on the topic, and anything she writes is worth reading.
2. As a mid-market company, you likely do not have as many formalities such as written sales processes and a clear set of tools to help you build revenues. Work to gain clarity on creating a formal process once marketing has sent potential leads to sales. If you are even less formal and have combined marketing and sales, create a clear roadmap to sales closure for each and every customer scenario. This becomes the foundation for scalability and in training new reps.
3. Work closely with marketing so that you are getting good educational content to where your prospective customers are before they contact you. According to IDG Connect*, less than 40% of buyers say they spend their time in the buying process either  interacting with your sales team or reviewing promotional content. The other 60+ percent of your future customers say they are:
   1. In discussions with colleagues (23%)
   2. Searching the web (19%)
   3. With educational content (19%)

[*source: How Online Publishing Changes the Game, Albee]

  4. We know it takes ongoing follow-up to not only reach your prospective customer but actually interact to add value – so where is your plan to do this? It needs to be incorporated into your process and understood by marketing and sales.  Most mid-market sales teams either lack the leadership to create and make sure reps follow a clear and specific nurture plan or they are simply ignorant about understanding their future customer’s buying cycle. We could spend 100% of our work with our clients in this area, so we know there is a great opportunity for your company to put a roadmap together on how to continuously add value with your more-probable prospective customers.

5. Refine and refine again. Look closely at your messaging – what sellers are saying and how they are saying it. Take a random sampling of emails going out to prospective customers as well as any other follow-up communication. Is it clear? Is it compelling? Does your rep sound excited and are they able to convey that to prospects? Is it free of mumbo-jumbo terminology and focused on adding business value to the client company? Coach your sales reps on this regularly – not just when they are new in the on-boarding process.

Don’t forget that it is ok to simply pick up the phone and call your prospective client to ask a direct question or two about the opportunity. Many times they are deluged with other issues, and sometimes they really don’t see the value to move forward as you do (or others around them).

Try these ideas and post comments as to how they work. If you already use some of these, post as a comment what has worked best for you. When you do that, it helps others.

This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet.

Lori Richardson is recognized as one of the Top 25 Sales Influencers for 2012 and speaks, writes, trains, and consults with inside and outbound sellers in technology and services companies. Subscribe to the award-winning blog and the “Sales Ideas In A Minute” newsletter for tips and strategies in selling.

5 Tips for Lead Nurturing to Grow Your Sales Funnel originally appeared on Score More Sales on February 22, 2012.

Yesterday I felt compelled to write about “Strategic Selling,” – Strategic Selling – Remember That? - a term which seems to have been lost amongst more familiar terms such as “Consultative Selling” or “Collaborative Selling” and “Relationship Selling” even “Sales 2.0” The fact remains that whatever label we choose to hang on our preferred style of selling, there are now considerable implications for sales management.

It is my view that for companies to remain competitive now, their sales organization must be able to respond positively to changing economic tides.

As businesses strive to establish customer orientation, sales partnerships and a strategic approach to selling, they are demanding more and more from their salespeople, but ensuring that these new methods are widely practiced and smoothly implemented falls to sales management.

Building Productivity:

Sales productivity is a strategic issue. That’s why problems in this area stem from salespeople being unclear about their company’s priorities – i.e. what their message should be and what they should be selling.

The trend in industry - post economic meltdown - of removing layers of management between the sale force and the general manager presents a challenge to those sales managers who remain.

To begin with, the sales manager becomes an essential link between company strategy and what takes place in the customer’s office. He or she must not only grasp the corporate vision, but be able to communicate it to the sales force in terms of the real effects on sales practices.

Creating Direction:

Sales managers with an intimate feel for the selling process succeed, because their staff regard them as part of the sales team. But coaching the team is as important as playing in it. In other words, sales managers must be prepared to provide training, feedback and support to every individual within the team.

Once committed to the training process, they must routinely reinforce new ways of behaving in real sales situations. They must provide a clear sense of direction on a daily basis, not just at the monthly sales meeting / quarterly review / annual appraisal.

The very best sales managers engage in frequent coaching and feedback, even when their sales people work in remote locations. While encouraging salespeople to air their problems openly and discuss their concerns, sales managers must be able to offer clear and specific feedback for improving sales performance.

Rewarding Change:

The sales manager is charged with translating the company’s reward system into specific improvements in sales performance. Both salespeople and corporate managers count on the sales manager to recognize and reward outstanding achievement – formally and informally.

The process of promoting new attitudes about the customer and the role of the salesperson can be frustrating and slow. Reverting back to recent research there is compelling evidence to suggest that companies will see results sooner if they recognize and reward salespeople – “you get more of the behavior and results that you reward”

The trend in sales compensation appears to be away from commission to guaranteed salary; from compensation based on orders to compensation based on delivery and sign-off.

Interestingly, some of our clients base their ‘salesperson of the year’ award on the basis of customer satisfaction or customer retention, rather than sheer volume of orders or activity.

Summary – And Now the Good News

It is now a given fact, in any sales-related seminar or conference you may attend, that traditional sales methods are being relegated to the annals of history. The new, more discerning customers of today have seen to that. They now wield greater bargaining power, demand more value for money and have become more knowledgeable and professional when it comes to decision-making.

Suppliers are now faced with rising customer expectations and the need to become more flexible to the requirements of each individual client.

Yet, the key to differentiation lies within these expectations since more complex buying decisions lead customers to value closer links with their suppliers.

News: What makes a successful sales team? You can discover what I think HERE

In most industries today, a handful of ideal customers have become universal targets – fact.

Nearly every industrial salesperson dreams of calling on the CEO of those top companies, which logically means that there are maybe 500 customers for a million sellers?

With such intense competition, conventional approaches are not equal to the challenge. Salespeople need to develop strategies that distinguish their products, services and their organizations in the mind of the customer.

Making a sale has always involved an element of systematic planning, but strategic selling – a term which appears to have gone out of vogue – means more than rehearsing product information and timing the close. Strategic selling begins with understanding your company’s strategy, vision and distinctiveness and then selecting high profile customers.

The next step, logically, is anticipating each stage of the buying process – from analyzing the competition to identifying the influencers and decision-makers and being switched in to the buyer’s political issues.

In other words, there is a need for a comprehensive strategic profile and rigorous opportunity assessment process.

Most important of all, strategic selling means stratagizing from the customer’s point of view.

Top achievers see strategic selling as a routine part of their work – not a final resort.

Whatever comes next, strategically minded sales professionals will always be at the front of the queue, and will survive.

Selling at the “top end” should be likened to playing chess – not checkers!

News: Have you checked out this month’s Top 10 Sales Articles which are now selected and published? Some really good thought-provoking writing.

The reality is that we are constantly looking for an edge – to steal a march on the competition – and whilst it is true that professional selling is becoming de-personalized, our ability to quickly get on the same “wave length” as our buyer/prospect/customer, will always provide us with a  significant advantage.

For example, there are four personality types or social styles – Analyticals, Drivers, Expressives and Amiables – and all four have their own unique approach to business, their own language and thought processes, etc.

As a consequence, the very best sales professionals have become adept at recognizing which personality type they are dealing with and adapt their approach and communication style accordingly.

In every boardroom, you will always find three of the four personality types – occasionally, all four. I have discovered over the years which personality is likely to fill which position on the board, but more on that later…

The Driver

Let’s begin by looking at the characteristics of the Driver: Drivers are action and goal oriented, need to see results and have a quick reaction time. They are decisive, independent, disciplined, practical and efficient. They typically use facts and data, speak and act quickly, lean forward, point and make direct eye contact. Their body posture is often rigid and they have controlled facial expressions.

They rarely want to waste time on personal talk or preliminaries and can be perceived by other styles as dominating or harsh and severe in pursuit of a goal. They are comfortable in positions of power and control and they have businesslike offices with certificates and commendations on the wall. In times of stress, drivers may become autocratic.

The Analytical

Analyticals are concerned with being organized, having all the facts and being careful before taking action. Their need is to be accurate, to be right, precise, orderly, methodical and conform to standard operating procedures, organizational rules and historical ways of doing things. They typically have a slow reaction time and work more slowly and carefully than Drivers. They are perceived as serious, industrious, persistent and exacting.

Usually, they are task oriented, use facts and data, and tend to speak slowly, lean back and use their hands frequently. They do not make direct eye contact and control their facial expressions. Others may see them as stuffy, indecisive, critical, picky and moralistic. They are comfortable in positions in which they can check facts and figures and be sure they are right. They have neat, well organized offices and in times of stress, Analyticals tend to avoid conflict.

The Expressive

Expressives enjoy involvement, excitement, and interpersonal action. They are sociable, stimulating, and enthusiastic and are good at involving and motivating others. They are also ideas oriented, have little concern for routine, are future oriented and usually they have a quick reaction time. They need to be accepted by others, tend to be spontaneous, outgoing, energetic and friendly. They are focused on people, rather than on tasks. Typically, they use opinions and stories, rather than facts and data. They speak and act quickly, vary vocal inflection, lean forward, and point and make direct eye contact.

They use their hands when talking; have a relaxed body posture and an animated expression. Their feelings often show in their faces and they are perceived by others as excitable, impulsive, undisciplined, dramatic, manipulative, ambitious, overly reactive and egotistical. They usually have disorganized offices and may have leisure equipment like golf clubs or tennis racquets. Under stressful conditions, Expressives tend to resort to personal attack.

And Finally – The Amiable

Amiables need co-operation, personal security and acceptance. They are uncomfortable with and will avoid conflict at all costs. They value personal relationships, helping others and being liked. Some Amiables will sacrifice their own desires to win approval from others. They prefer to work with other people in a team effort, rather than individually and they have an unhurried reaction time and little concern with effecting change. Typically, they are friendly, supportive, respectful, willing, dependable and agreeable. They are also people-oriented.

They use opinions, rather than facts and data, speak slowly and softly, use more vocal inflection than Drivers or Analyticals. They lean back while talking and do not make direct eye contact; they also have a casual posture and an animated expression. They are perceived by other styles as conforming, unsure, pliable, dependent and awkward. They have homely offices – family photographs, plants etc. An Amiable’s reaction to stress is to comply with others.

Most people’s first reaction after reading the four profiles is to believe that they fit into more than one category and this is absolutely right. However, everyone has a dominant style and no-one should believe that they fit into more than two because they don’t. Let me explain why:

The Social Styles Model

It is not possible to illustrate with a diagram here, so imagine two boxes on top of two other boxes or if you prefer, a window with four panes. In the top left is the Analytical, top right the Driver, directly below them in the bottom right hand corner is the Expressive. Finally, directly below the Analytical, sitting in the bottom left hand corner is the Amiable.

Note where each style is placed, because this is important. The people, with whom you probably find it most difficult to relate to naturally, are your diagonal opposites on the matrix. So you do need to study the characteristics of your diagonally opposite Social Style.

Now, what I can share with you is that the majority of professional salespeople are Expressives – so clearly, they are going to find it most difficult to relate to and communicate with, Analyticals. That is a challenge in itself, because there will always be at least one Analytical within the formal DMU!

What is even more interesting is that Top 5% achievers (yes, a favorite term I know) are Drivers! So you see, they have no difficulty getting onto the same wavelength as Analyticals, because they are side by side and of course they have total synergy with other Drivers, plus, they relate well to Expressives. But, they have little in common with Amiables.  Why is that so significant? Well, quite simply, the Social Style that you are least likely to find in a boardroom is…….. yes, it’s an Amiable!

So, which Social Style do the various residents of the boardroom typically have?

Managing Directors are typically Drivers, as you might expect.

Finance Directors are usually Analyticals

Sales Directors are nearly always Expressives

Marketing Directors are also Expressives

Technical Directors are almost always Analyticals

And Finally…

In Sales:

Level 3 Top 5% Achievers are normally Drivers

Level 2 Sales Professionals are typically Expressives

Level One Emerging salesmen/women are almost always Amiables

It is of course dangerous to generalize and there will always be exceptions. However, based on my experience, I have very rarely been mistaken using this concept of personality identification.

News: Of course it is “change-over” day at Top Sales Management today, and that means a brand new “How to” guide; the latest sales team development session; another sales management coaching article, plus new tips – all designed to help you become the very best sales leader you can possibly be!

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change” – Charles Darwin

Whatever got you where you are today will not be sufficient to keep you there. A rapidly changing environment is the regular background against which organizations must develop.

Change is continuous and will become more rapid as we move forward over time. Senior management must be capable of reacting to those changes and be prepared to take advantage of them and yet stay within the overall framework and agreed strategy.

The role of strategy is fundamental if the people within an organization are to be enabled to make the level of contribution of which they are capable. Strategy, based on a good grasp of the core competencies of a business, is an essential precursor to achieving optimal shareholder value.

The world’s leading organizations continuously seek to improve their performance. There may be unlimited potential for achieving accelerated improvement, but if this potential is not being realized, good change agents must line up and mobilize all the forces (or drivers) for improvement.

There are five main drivers for improvement within organizations:

• Strategy

• Lean operations

• Balanced culture

• Customer responsiveness

• Leadership

Strategy sets direction and gives focus to improvement. It must however be deployed throughout the organization to be effective.

Processes need to be mapped and analyzed in a methodical way. Projects must be managed. Problem symptoms traced to root causes. Data must be collected before decisions are taken. Trends in customer preferences detached and fed back. Improvement activity of any kind reported on and coordinated. Improvement action measured – just about everything should be done to a discipline.

A balanced culture means effective, creative management of people. Customers are served by people, processes are managed by people. Only people can deliver quality improvement. For them to work well, they must be empowered, given direction, measured and reviewed. Success must be recognized.

Customer responsiveness keeps the organization focused on customer needs, reactions and changing requirements.

Finally, leadership ensures that everyone is enthused and supported to work on the strategy, improve processes, serve customers and become active team players.

So you see, that is just how important leadership is!

News: Have a great w/e! – JF

Just a quick post to share a tip posted today over at Jill Konrath’s Fresh Sales Strategies Blog encouraging sellers to be more succinct, and to communicate in the way that your prospective customer wants. Can’t stress it enough – this is one of the biggest foundational issues for success in selling.

Jill is doing a whole series on what salespeople should never do - based on an interview that Forbes Magazine did with her.

Talking or Writing Too Much in B2B Sales originally appeared on Score More Sales on February 16, 2012.

Years ago when I started in B2B sales, there was one way to keep track of customers and prospective customers – writing on lined, yellow note pads and putting these precious notes into manila file folders. appointments were kept in our Daytimers and planners – all paper based. Some of my sales colleagues would hand-write on the tabs of the file folders  and add tabs to hanging folders– these tools were our “lifeline” to keeping track of potential sales opportunities and all our connections.

Once Microsoft Outlook came out, well – life was anew. Some of us cutting edge sellers gradually started to trust this system to corral all of our contact information, flawed and all – and then the advent of big, high-end customer relationship management systems started to appear. For many years they were cost-prohibitive for small and mid-market companies.

In 2012 there are so many tools to help you with keeping track of business, of clients, of prospects, of deals, of appointments, of webinars, of client communities – we are on overload. Time to step back and focus on what is most critical –

People.

People do business with people – not with companies – not with CRM tools. The growing community interaction online and how brands and businesses are integrating into Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest is staggering.

Keep your focus on people, and use tools to having conversations with them. Whether you are with a Fortune 500 company or a mid-market business, you won’t suddenly have transactional virtual business replacing multiple, trust-building phone or in-person conversations. Some of the latest web tools are amazing – but they will only give you an ASSIST in building business. They don’t take the place of a phone meeting, a conference call, or an in-person meeting with your voice and your part of a 2-way interaction with them. Yes, you can offer video messaging – it is a huge step beyond words and still photos.  But once you do that, you need to follow-up through voice messaging and connecting live.

If you sell anything that has some nuance or complexity to it, there is no replacement for human interaction. As a seller, work on these two things:

Your communication skills – what you say, how you say it, who you say it to, and how often

What you say is your pitch, your blurb, your intro. This is the point where you have just seconds to engage your reader or listener. If you lose them, they are gone. It’s very hard to get them back.  Work on this! Share the value that you bring to your prospective customer, not how great you and your company are.

How you say it is about your conviction, belief, and passion for your area of expertise. When people do not hear or feel the confidence in your voice or words, you can lose them and not get them back.

Who you are communicating to is critical – if you are not reaching those involved in decisions, you are at a big disadvantage, because these folks will basically be selling you to others. Is that what you really want? Work to understand who all is involved in the project and find ways to loop them in.

How often is your follow-up, which leads us to the next point – whether you have a single or multi-faceted strategy for follow-up.

Your multi-faceted strategy – do not just follow-up by email or Twitter DMs. At some point, suggest or create a call, or send a note, or create a short video and send it to your prospective customer.  This does not always work, but it is clear that just because YOU prefer Twitter your prospect may not – or your DM might get lost. If they DO prefer this as a communications vehicle, you’d be foolish to keep calling them by phone or sending emails. Be flexible, and when you do connect, ask them how they prefer to communicate.

Follow up is often confusing to sellers -  how often to follow-up, and at what point do my many follow-up attempts become a liability? The answer is a bit long-winded – if you believe you have a service or a product that will greatly help or support your prospective customer, it is upon you to follow-up until the point that they understand your offer and accept it or turn it down. In other words, you don’t just stop following up because you don’t hear back from them. Space your contact out – unless there is a time-based deadline, you will follow-up on an on-going basis. The problem for most sellers is that they are just “checking-in” (that’s what you do at an airport, not with your prospects) and not always thinking of how to add value. We’ll talk more about ways to do that in a future post.

This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet.

Lori Richardson is recognized as one of the Top 25 Sales Influencers for 2012 and speaks, writes, trains, and consults with inside and outbound sellers in technology and services companies. Subscribe to the award-winning blog and the “Sales Ideas In A Minute” newsletter for tips and strategies in selling.

People Skills Grow B2B Sales While Tools Make It Easier originally appeared on Score More Sales on February 16, 2012.

It is a much debated question, so to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the formation of the Top Sales Experts team, I am going to share my thoughts on the subject.

To begin with, I think that anyone calling themselves a “top sales expert” probably isn’t!

It’s rather like telling someone that you have high levels of integrity; or that you are a great lover; or that you are kind to animals; or that you are incredibly brave – I mean, have you ever had to trust yourself? Make love to yourself? Given yourself a pat? Given yourself a fright? So how do you know? These cannot be personal attributes that are “self-awarded” but rather observations made by a third-party or parties.

“Guru” is another word that seems to be tossed around like confetti more and more frequently to describe anyone with an opinion about anything sales related, and it seems to me that the more one has to say, the more likely it is that they will earn that “mantle” – even though much of what they are actually writing/discussing/suggesting, might be of little value. This is the quantity versus quality fallacy.

Our primary objective when we formed the TSE team all those years ago, was to gather together as many of the foremost thought leaders within the sales space as we possibly could, so that we would collaborate; share ideas and work together to continually improve standards within the profession.

TSE is a very eclectic group of individuals, each with their own area of specialization: Some are best-selling authors; some have built huge global consultancies; some only operate within the Fortune 500 arena; others prefer to work with SME companies; a few go out of their way to be highly visible and indeed, vociferous; others work “under the radar” – BUT, all have at least one common characteristic, they “get it”

That is to say, working to “win-win” principles, is second nature to them, and they all give generously.

Despite a common misconception, we don’t allow just anybody in. We nominate just four new members every year, and each of those have to receive at least three references from existing members.

The TSE team is populated by genuine sales experts, but they would never admit it!

News: Today’s post was taken from the February edition of the Top Sales magazine: If you haven’t downloaded your free copy yet, you really should  …

It’s a mistake to think that because a customer has expressed dissatisfaction with your product or service, they will not come back to you.

They won’t return if you handle the situation badly. However, some of your most vociferous complainers could become your most loyal customers, because you handled the situation well and treated them with respect.

This means recognizing some essential traits:

• Customers want to be respected
• They want attention
• They want to be appreciated and recognized
• Most of all – they want to be understood!

Losing Customers

Why do businesses lose customers?

My experience this week is, sadly, a typical example, and regular visitors here will know that I am on a campaign – crusade even – to improve standards of customer service, and I’ll describe those experiences on Saturday.

A survey with which you may be familiar, asked customers why they changed supplier/vendor. Here are the results:

• Developed a good relationship with another supplier (5%)
• Less expensive products elsewhere (9%)
• Unhappy with service/product (18%)
• Because of the poor attitude of the supplier (68%)

Your Customers Are the Lifeblood of Your Business

It is never easy to win new business, which is why we should nurture existing customers and try to minimize problems and inconvenience.

It’s a good idea to:

• Make regularly visits or calls – spotting trouble early on can help prevent it
• Reply to calls/queries as soon as possible
• Talk to your customers – find out about them
• Keep them well informed
• Conduct regular reviews of your performance – see your service through their eyes

Ensure that the lifeblood keeps flowing through the veins of your business.

Solving Problems

Suppose they are difficult.

Few people are truly difficult. In any case, it is important to make a distinction between difficult people and difficult behavior, which is often a result of non-co-operation on your part.

• Focus on the problem (challenge?), not on them
• Show interest – bring out their likeable side
• Put yourself in their shoes – remember empathy?
• Be personal – use their name if that’s what they would like
• Appeal to their better nature – ‘as a parent of small children you…’
• Cultivate their goodwill

Saying Thank You

Let your customers know you appreciate them. Find little ways to thank them for their custom, especially when they are not expecting it. This is a great way to attract compliments – especially after sorting out a difficult problem.

• A simple, but sincere thank you card – personalized
• Gift vouchers
• Cards at Christmas or other appropriate festivals – Diwali, Hanukah, Eid
• VIP days for special events, launches, dinners
• Social gatherings for key clients

Loyalty cards are very popular now with many organizations. Discounts, bonus points, free samples, all help to make your business stand out.

Compliments & Comments

Why do we find it difficult to accept compliments?

Is it because:

• We don’t have enough faith or pride in our product?
• We think it’s probably a back-handed complaint?
• We don’t trust people?
• We don’t know how to react? (How about ‘thank you’?!)

Compliments tell us what we are doing right and give a boost to our morale. If we allow it, they bring us pleasure.

Some customers just mutter a comment, because that’s how they are. They don’t really want you to take them up on it (it’s a good idea though to take note of what they say and, if appropriate, ask ‘Is everything okay?’).

And Finally

Some key lessons on keeping abreast of customer needs and minimizing complaints:

• Use as much of the available technology as possible – make it work for the customer
• Focus on customers as individuals
• Listen and act on what they say
• Increase the value of each customer – especially in the long term

Finally, finally, welcome complaints – always, always, welcome complaints

News: If you make your way over to Top Sales World today, you’ll find an excellent tip from Linda Richardson - “Make a List – Delete Excuses” and you can also catch a brand new Top Sales Hardtalk interview with Anthony Iannarino - “Take Your Clients as You Find Them” all HERE

Today in most of the Western world, Valentine’s Day is celebrated. Valentine’s Day makes me think of passion, love, and romance. From a business standpoint, you can fall in love with the process, methodology, and tools you use to build sales – because your mastery will result in you growing sales. If you don’t love it, or even like it –  we highly recommend outsourcing some of  it. Why? Because when you love what you do, it does not seem like work, it is simple, and it can become a strength. For those who think that follow up to prospective customers is a chore, I would ask if you think it is a chore to go online to your bank account and watch your money grow? It’s all relative, isn’t it? [Note: most people don't follow up enough. Just by focusing on this one aspect of selling - the actions of following up with prospective customers - when done properly - WILL grow revenues.]

Here are 5 ways to boost your revenues, so you can fall in love with  this aspect of business building:

1) Be clear on the value you offer. Clarity – what it is that YOU do (your company does) that differentiates you and might cause someone to do business with you rather than someone else. You gotta know this!

2) Really know who your prospective customer is – who are they, and what makes them tick? This is called demographic and psychographic research. It helps you to find your prospective customer where they are, and it helps you find potential referral partners who also work with your niche.

3) Have a plan – 5, actually…. if you are a larger business, this is basic stuff. Every business needs a baseline business plan – the roadmap for your business growth and to keep employees’ focus. You need a sales plan and method of growing revenues on an ongoing basis. Some companies integrate their marketing and social strategy into the sales plan. The financial plan is the backbone of business growth and success – don’t just bring money in but grow profits while you are at it. Finally, have a plan for work / life “balance” – at least have the plan to shut business down out of your mind enough to participate with family, friends, and those you care about in a way that works for everyone involved.

4) Do a “Monday Morning Check-in” with your sales team. Even a solopreneur can team up with a like-minded business building entrepreneur to do a twice-weekly check in. Monday you declare what business activities you are working on, and on Friday you review what business building activities actually happened. Roll those activities that didn’t get done into the following week. This will keep your focus on revenues on an ongoing basis.

5) Respond to the Market – Was your website last updated in 1999? Do you know that when people meet you or hear about you, the web is the first place they go to check you out? In years gone by it was the receptionist  who made the first impression to your business – now it is your online profiles, articles, blogs, and other searchable activities. If you have an outdated presence, it gives the impression that you are slow to change – if you don’t want this image, you can alter it. Better to have one great webpage that you direct people to than a bigger, poor website.

What is just ONE area of business you can think about updating? What area did you just update? Brochures? Sales collateral? Your Newsletter? Post your comments and suggestions below – it always helps others, and can help you to articulate it.

Lori Richardson is recognized as one of the Top 25 Sales Influencers for 2012 and speaks, writes, trains, and consults with inside and outbound sellers in technology and services companies.  Follow the award-winning blog and subscribe to the Sales Ideas in a Minute newsletter for tips and strategies in selling.

Fall in Love With Sales Success Today originally appeared on Score More Sales on February 14, 2012.