The Only 3 Ways to Improve Your Sales with Steve Elwell

Steve Elwell and Joe Lynch discuss the only 3 ways to improve your sales.


[00:22] A few weeks ago, I had Steve on the podcast to discuss the buying process. In that interview, Steve said something like “there are only 3 ways to improve sales” which I found very intriguing. In today’s podcast, Steve and I will discuss those 3 ways to improve sales.

[01:16] Steve, I got lots of great feedback on the buying process podcast, but now I want to discuss a new topic, The Only 3 Ways to Improve Your Sales. Before we begin that discussion, please review the buying process with us again as a starting point.

  • The buyers (our prospects) have a process for determining if they want to buy our product or service – that is the buying process.
  • The buyers control the buying process, as salespeople, we can only attempt to influence the buying process.
  • The sales process should always be aligned to the buying process
  • Since we don’t control the buying process, salespeople can only do their best to understand how their customers buy.

[02:33] What is the first way we can improve our sales?

  • Increase the number of opportunities you have available to you using the following tools and strategies:
  • Online presence
    • Websites
      • Content like blog posts, videos, and podcasts
      • Search engine optimization
    • Social media
      • LinkedIn
      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • Youtube
    • Advertising
    • Magazines
  • Brand and messaging
    • Customer-focused
    • Increased credibility / reputation
  • Focus on one market segment
    • Develop critical mass in a market (retail, distribution, e-commerce, etc.)
    • Specialization
  • Hire more salespeople
    • More lead generation with existing customers and new prospects
  • Networking, lead generation, relationship building (offline)
    • Promotion
    • Conferences
    • Industry events
    • Feet on the streets

[09:59] What is the second way we can improve our sales?

  • Reduce the amount of time that it takes to get to a decision.
  • Have a sense of urgency for everything within our control.
  • Do not extend the time required by making the customer wait for information from you.
  • “Keep the ball in the customer’s court.”
  • Standardized processes.
  • Systems that improve efficiency.

[13:00] What is the third way we can improve our sales?

  • Improve the rate of success at which you can close by
  • Better salesmanship.
  • The relative strength of the offer.
    • Product or service.
    • Perceived value.
    • Alignment to the buying process.

[16:03] To summarize, the three ways to improve sales are 1.) Increase the number of opportunities you have available to you. 2.) Shorten the amount of time that it takes to get to a decision. 3.) Improve the rate of success at which you can close

  • Yes, that’s it, however, there are a few things that are critically important to improving sales that we didn’t touch on:
    • Sales filter.
      • A set of criteria or questions that qualifies new opportunities
    • Upgrading your people.
      • Hiring better people
      • Training your people
    • Managing your people better
      • A good sales manager can positively impact all three areas that we discussed today.

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Steve Elwell

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