Passively waiting for sales to pick up without formulating a strategy to aid the process is like expecting a crowd of eager concert goers to sing along to a complicated song that they have never heard of. It might be a really good song as much as you might have a really good product. You trust the product, and you are certain that it is sure to fly off the shelves. No matter how great the product is, you do still need to formulate a sales strategy in order to create awareness. Sales will always remain a focus point because a business that’s not making money is sure to fail.

The rate at which a business closes it’s deals also counts. If the business takes too long to take off, it might crash before it gets off the ground. Having a sales strategy is good, but being able to close deals faster is even better. This article explores the sales strategies that will help you close the deal faster.

Clarity

Reluctant buyers are usually unsure due to the lack of clarity. When prospects are not sure about the product or the business, they may ask a series of follow up questions in order to get more clarity. It can be a good sign when customers ask questions, it shows a level of interest. However, there are customers who are immediately turned off when they don’t readily understand the business or the product. Grey areas and ambiguity should be avoided at all costs – some clients lose interest and it can take much longer to close deals.

Keeping the sales pitch as brief as possible to avoid overwhelming your prospects is a good approach, but it’s also important to carefully think about the questions they might have about the business or the product – before and after drawing up the pitch. In your sales pitch, make sure that all the important questions are covered. The more transparent and forthcoming you are, the higher the chances of closing the deal quickly.

Listen

Walking away from rejection without a lesson is more disappointing than the actual rejection. In order to find a lesson, try to take time out to listen to the reasons why your prospects are not signing up for your products or services. You might realise that the rejection follows a similar trend or realise that you need to make certain changes to your sales strategies.

Feedback that’s not coming from your target audience can be distort, focus more on what your target audience has to say.

When doing sales calls, communication is instantaneous. It’s a more intimate way of speaking to your prospects. A sales consultant can make the mistake of focusing too much on their sales pitch and what they have to say opposed to listening to what the prospect is saying. A robotic emotionless tone should be avoided at all costs. The conversation becomes one sided. The prospect might not feel comfortable enough to respond back or ask question because on their end it feels like they are talking to a machine.

Follow up, but don’t annoy

You do want a definite answer from your prospects so that you can decide whether you should continue to pursue them or not. In order to get a definite answer you might have to do some follow-ups with the people that you have spoken to. Follow-ups are important but they tend to borderline annoying. Some believe that you need to annoy the prospects if you have to until you get the answer you want. You can only use this approach if you are 100% sure that it won’t turn the potential prospects off. You can use different approaches for different kinds of people.

Why is annoying a potential or business associate a bad thing? Simply put, they might never want to talk to you again. As long as the communication line is still open there is always a chance that you will be able to sway them. If they block you from communicating with them, the chances become slim.

What would typically annoy clients? Calling them profusely and/or frequently sending them e-mails and SMS’s. Prospects might specify the times they are available to talk, when these times are not respected it might annoy them and make them feel like their space is being invaded. A condescending tone when talking to customers in an attempt to show them that you know what you are talking about and they can trust you, does more damage than good.