Author: mike

I’m amazed when I hear sales people and managers tell me how slow summer is for their business.  It’s almost like they’re resigned to the fate of poor summer performance and are already thinking about how to make up their losses in the fall.

Now I understand that many people take vacations in summer – a week or so here and there – but they are working all the other time aren’t they?  Even if your particular business slows down during the summer months (trade show, etc.), that doesn’t mean you can’t pre-book business or build relationships, or get referrals, etc..

The fact is, top 20% producers still find ways to make their quotas in summer, and they also find ways to set up the end of the year so they exceed their revenue goals, earn their bonuses and have a great holiday season.  And you can, too.

Here are Five Ways to make sure your Summer Sales Sizzle, and ways to make sure you end the year strong as well:

#1)  Have a Strategy.  80% of your competition approach summer like they approach everything else in their sales career – they ad-lib their way through this season and hope to run into business.  The top 20%, on the other hand, know exactly what objections they may encounter, they are prepared for them, and they have a specific selling strategy in place before they pick up the phone.

Do you have your “Summer Special” ready to counter the “Slow summer price objection?”  Do you have your “Pre-Fall Purchase Special” together to get pre-orders from those companies who are waiting until mid September?  What is your compelling reason for your prospects to act now?  Will they increase market share while other companies are sitting on the sideline?  If you don’t have a compelling reason as to why they should buy now, then develop a pitch today.  Whatever you do, don’t go in blind.

#2  Make more calls before noon. In summer, most people can’t wait to leave the office and enjoy the sunshine while it’s here.  It’s a proven fact that during summer most of the work, and attention given to that work by employees, takes place during the morning hours.

You need to capitalize on that work flow energy and dedicate yourself to making as many of your calls as you can before noon.  That doesn’t mean you stop calling after noon, but try to put off your other activities like paperwork, quotes, etc., until later in the day and do the bulk of your calling in the morning.

Also, try to make an additional 5 calls per day.  If you can accomplish that, you’ll put in over 315 additional calls this summer.  That, combined with morning calls, will pay off for you big time…

#3  Be prepared to talk vacation. Need an instant rapport builder?  Ask your prospect where they are vacationing this summer and then let them talk!  Did you notice that I used an assumptive question here?  I didn’t say to ask, “Are you taking a vacation this summer,” rather ask “Where are you vacationing this summer?”

After you listen and ask some questions about their vacation, it’s time to get back to business.  Try a good transition sentence like, “You know _________, many of my clients are taking vacations as well and they are making sure to get all the business done that they can ahead of time so they can relax and enjoy their time off.  I’m taking orders now for (your product or service), how many (your product or service) do you think you’d like to order before you leave?”

Adapt that script to fit your selling situation, but use it after talking vacation – you’ll get more order than you think…

#4  Set your prospect up for the fourth quarter. Many fourth quarter deals are set up – and sometimes even completed – during the summer months.  Here’s the key, though:  Don’t do what 80% of your competition does which is simply to get a time to call back in the fall, but rather, get a “pre-order” from your prospect up front.

What you do is get all the information on a possible order size, need, circumstances, dates, etc., and then tell your prospect that you will “Have that order ready,” and that you’ll leave it open in case they need to add or subtract from it when the time comes.”  Then go ahead and send your prospect out the order form, contract, P.O., etc., along with a date of follow up or fill.

While I recognize that not everyone will go with this, just imagine what an impact you’ll make to begin assuming sales this way!  Plus, there will be a percentage who will go along with this.  Believe me, this is Top 20% selling all the way!

#5  Invest in your own training. Now that the summer is here, if you’ve got some additional time (or your team does), this is the PERFECT TIME to invest in their development.  The smart companies use the summer months to improve their team’s selling skills so they are sharp and ready to take advantage of the fourth quarter.

Remember, if you’re not doing something to improve, then you probably aren’t improving.

So there is your summer recipe for sales success.  Use any of these five ideas to improve your results and you’re sure to have the best summer (and fall) yet!

I don’t know about you, but 24 hours in a day isn’t enough. And 8 – 9 hours for work just barely covers the paperwork, order follow-up, client calls, e-mails that need answering, voicemail messages, etc. “You mean you want me to prospect and find closing time, too? What, are you kidding?!”

Sound familiar? It should. Sales reps and their managers constantly tell me they are on the run the moment they get in the office. Just opening their email can take them on a 2 to 3 hour journey away from what they should, want, or need to be doing to drive sales (like the prospecting, closing or reorder calls). What to do?

The answer is in effective time management. I just finished giving a new seminar on this subject, and in this article I’ve boiled down the Five Secrets to help you leverage the time you time so you can get the important things on your calendar done sooner.

Here they are:
Secret #1 – Identify the Two Most Important things to do each day, and then do them. Identifying these priorities is actually easy. Each night before you go home, make a list of all the things you need to do the next day. Once that list is completed, ask yourself, “What two things, if completed, would have the biggest impact on my bottom line?”

Once you’ve identified these two items, make them your top priorities for the next day and commit to getting them done. Unlike most people who struggle with many conflicting activities that rob them of their time, by adopting this one habit, you’ll move into the top 5% of all business executives and managers.

The most effective executives and business owners are “doers” and the way they are able to accomplish great things is they have the ability to identify the important things and they commit to getting them done.

Secret #2 – Start each day with your top two priorities and work each one through until it’s completed. Then cross it off and complete the next one. Resist the temptation to multitask other activities while you’re working on your priorities, and don’t start the next one until you’re done with the first one. Working each one through to completion is the key.

This builds momentum, a sense of accomplishment and empowerment, and most importantly you’ll actually be getting your important priorities done each day.

Key #3 – Start with your most important (or most difficult) priority first. Accomplishing one or two important tasks always leads to more success — and always frees up the most energy. Once those “mountains” are out of the way, you can easily and more enjoyably take on your other tasks of the day.

Most people do the opposite: they put off the hard (and most important stuff) and get caught up in the time robbers. This is a sure recipe for feeling overwhelmed. Do the opposite — start with the hard, and watch your day get easier.

Key # 4 – Group your other activities. Paperwork, checking e-mail, checking voicemail, etc., are incredible time drains. The worst thing to do is to keep checking them every few minutes. Make a schedule – perhaps after you cross off a priority you allow 15 minutes to check these things and then go right back to your next priority. Paperwork and other non-essential activities especially are best grouped at the end of the day.

Although these things seem important (and some are) don’t keep getting tangled up in them. You must stick to your top two priorities (like 2-3 hours a day spent cold calling — a top priority that pays for itself many times over). Grouping your activities allows you to get all of the other ‘stuff’ done but not at the expense of your priorities.

Key #5 – Prepare your next day the night before. Before you leave the office, make sure you have your written list of priorities and grouped activities timed and written down. This helps you stick to a schedule when you get to the office, and that’s another secret of effective time management.

It also allows you to get more rest because you’re not worrying about or planning your day as you’re trying to fall asleep at night.
These are the Five Secrets to Effective Time Management. Any one of these Secrets will make you more productive, reduce your stress, and help you get more out of your day. If you use them all together, you’ll be amazed by how much more successful you’ll be as well.