By David Crary 
Everybody needs to improve their sales. Selling more products and services is what keeps your business going. It’s easier said than done though, right? Where do you start? Let’s go through some of the most frequently-asked questions about sales in the green industry, so you can get a handle on your business’ sales and easily get them up where you want them. Here we go:
1. What are some of the biggest mistakes sales reps make that cost them the sale?
- Sales reps don’t shoot for the immediate goal, which is to get someone who needs their services to take the next step in the sales process. Don’t get bogged down trying to close a sale if your job is to get the prospect to set up an appointment for an estimate. Find out what the client needs. Then guide them to the next step in the process. Let the salesperson doing the estimate or the follow-up caller close the sale. Stay focused on your next step and you’ll be more likely to succeed.
- Sales reps don’t follow up soon enough. When reps procrastinate and don’t get back to clients, the competition can beat us to the follow-up and win the sale. Don’t let that happen! Have a policy in place to hold reps accountable to do the follow-up calls within 1-2 days.
- Sales reps fail to get an appointment set because they don’t know the availability of the worker who will be at the appointment. “I’ll call you back to set up that appointment” leaves an opportunity for another company to get their appointment set before yours and leave you behind in their dust. Solve this problem with field service software so your reps always know what days and times are available for appointments.
- Sales reps don’t listen to the prospect. So many bad things happen when the sales reps don’t listen- everything from trying to sell the wrong services to not even hearing when the prospect accepts an offer because the rep was expecting to hear “no” and just kept going with the sales pitch. Because it’s such a prevalent problem, talking too much and failing to listen will be explained more in FAQ number 2.
2. What is the most important aspect of a sales call?
Listen. Listen. Listen. Sales reps should be talking an absolute maximum of 70% of the call, while the prospect gets at least 30% of the talking time. Before you can sell a product or service, you need to know if the prospect needs it! Why waste your time and the prospect’s time if there is no way they can use your service. Don’t try to sell ice to Eskimos or landscaping to an apartment tenant. Be helpful and respectful on each call. Ask questions that uncover customer needs and offer services that fit those needs. If you always qualify your prospects by learning if they could even use your services, and then give them helpful insight, your sales calls will be much smoother and more successful.
3. What communication method is best?
Based on the findings from our free Green Industry Buyer Report, buyers prefer email to all other methods of communication. Roughly 70% of those surveyed chose email as their preferred method of communication, and only about 25% preferred phone calls. This means email is extremely effective in the green industry. On the other hand, I’ve always found it effective to vary my methods for sales. Phone calls, social media, and even door-to-door sales can be effective in addition to email. After you’ve made initial contact, you can ask your client which method of communication and time of day works best for them and cater to that.
4. How do sales reps define their target buyers?
Your sales reps need to be continuously trained in who the company’s target buyers are. The sooner they can identify which prospects are likely candidates for customers, the less time they waste chasing a sale that’s not meant to be. Accomplish this through an onboarding program that coaches new sales reps through their entire first year, so they can learn what your customers look like at different seasons of the year. Teach them the attributes of your target buyer and train them to study current clients to learn new attributes of your target buyer.
Fine tuning your sales department is essential for the survival and growth of your green industry business. Your company runs on sales first, so take the time to get these first things first and expand your customer base. Invest in your sales team continuously and reap the benefits year after year.
For more detailed information on green-industry target buyers, download our free Green Industry Buyer Report today.
