Top Ten Tips for Sales Success

The Sales Coach, Greg Donlan is a successful sales strategist, trainer and keynote speaker who has spent more than 20 years helping businesses grow their revenue by providing insights into the ‘science of selling’.

With experience including stints with leading organisations including Myer, Seiko, Coca Cola and Ericsson, successful leadership of national sales teams and his extensive work with his own clients, Greg has been able to help businesses not only survive, but thrive, through the GFC and, more recently, the challenges of the pandemic.

For this issue of our Member Newsletter, Greg has provided his Top Ten Tips on how small and medium-sized businesses can turn sales from an ‘unexplainable art’ to a repeatable and scalable scientific system.

“This process outlines the science which underpins successful selling, and how to build a reliable and repeatable selling system,” he says. “Following this process will give you a persuasive edge and help you gently control and progress a sales opportunity, to deliver the most successful outcomes, time after time.” Regardless of the size of a sales team, Greg says there are ten essential areas of focus for a sales manager – here’s his checklist, together with some pointers on the areas to consider and address at under each step of the process:

1. Building the Sales Strategy Market opportunity – revenue objectives – gross margin expectations – target sectors – competitor behaviour – threat of disruptors

2. Sales Function Structure Business development – account management – internal sales – customer service – technical sales

3. Defining the Roles Single or multiple sales responsibilities – revenue & margin expectations – activity requirements – planning & reporting ownership

4. Selecting the Team Always be looking – watch the candidates – review skills & experience – capacity to follow a process – look for learners

5. Helping the Team to Plan Territory plans – key account plans – call cycles

6. Building the Customer Education Systems New business sales process – project sales process – account management systems

7. Creating the sales system templates Meeting agendas – educational touch points – industry tips & insights

8. Coaching the Players Field coaching – team coaching – class room training

9. Analysing Data CRM – industry information – market intelligence

10. Motivating the Group Salary packages – incentive schemes – peer recognition – team morale

For more information or to delve deeper into the science of selling, go to www.thesalescoach.com.au