Take advantage of social media.
A lot of salespeople use social media sites like LinkedIn and Twitter to sell better these days. There's even a word for it: social selling. Here are a few LinkedIn hacks that will help you sell more.
Use certain words that strengthen your sales pitch.
Certain words and phrases could be magical when you sell. For example, using "because" can totally change the way you sound. Check out the 13 words every salesperson should use in their sales pitch.
Buy software that helps you sell more.
From software that simply store sales data to the more sophisticated stuff that predicts certain buying behavior, sales-related tools are completely reinventing the industry. Here are 10 sales apps that will help any salesperson sell more.
Write better cold emails.
Cold emailing still remains one of the most tried-and-true sales tactics for generating new leads.
The template above should give a good idea on how to write better cold emails. Here's why:
1) Clearly identifies the sender, his current role, and what he’s trying to sell.
2) Pro tip: if you don’t know who to send an email to, just ask!
3) Clearly lists the exact time and date, while mentioning the length of the call.
WHAT YOU CAN LEARN:
"Identify yourself clearly upfront, verify whether you’re talking to the right person, and clearly mention how much of their time you want (and when do you want it)."
You can find more cold email templates here.
Wake up early.
The best salespeople are early risers: 76% of them are up before 7 a.m., while 35% are up before 6 a.m., according to a recent Salesforce survey.
Learn from the best.
In order to be the best, you need to learn from the best. Salesforce once put together a sales playbook based on the advice from Dave Rudnitsky, one of its best salespeople ever, and shared it with its entire sales team. See the full playbook here.
Personally engage with customers.
More buyers are finding it "absolutely critical" to have sales reps who are personally engaging before signing a deal, according to a recent Salesforce survey.
Be responsive with email.
"When you are busy, don't let an email from a customer/prospect go hours or days until you respond. Take 15 seconds to acknowledge their email and let them know that you intend to respond within 'X' timeframe," says Bernard Sullivan, an enterprise-account executive at Salesforce.
Give discounts.
"Always give a discount to someone who tends to bargain. Customer acquisition cost: a bit higher. Customer ego boost: priceless," Rohan Ayyar, marketing expert and columnist, told Salesforce.
Call people by their first names.
This is sales 101. It makes prospects feel more special and could increase your chances of closing a deal.
Sometimes you'll have to work on weekends.
According to a recent Salesforce survey, 61% of salespeople work on weekends.
Listen more and talk less.
"For those who sell to people with different backgrounds, listen more and talk less. Keep asking why till you understand what's really driving change in the business," Tarun Pant, commercial-account executive at Salesforce, said in a recent Salesforce report.
Know your data.
Analytics matters. Know your numbers and fully understand what impact it will have on your sales.
Be smart about hiring and coaching.
You need the right mix of people on your team to maximize sales potential. Here are some tips on how to hire and coach the right people.
Say "thank you" more often.
"Often times after I sell an initial deal, I ask the customer to a 'thank you' lunch or a coffee date. Once the deal is done, I find that the pressure is off and it’s easier to build rapport and get the customer to open up about long-term goals," Jessica Medeiros, account executive at Salesforce, says.
Now go crush your numbers and get paid a boatload of money!
Salespeople are often the highest-paid people at most companies. In fact, some of the top sales execs in tech were given at least $5 million in total compensation last year.