No matter how you bring your prospects through the door,
you will have to contact them. There is no getting around
this fact. And whether you are a cold-call specialist or an
internet marketer who generates their own leads, you still
will need to follow-up with prospects. But, here's the
problem. Most people end up losing their sale. Without
realizing it, they make important mistakes that lose them
money. The bottom line is that over the years, I have
observed that people make five common mistakes in sales:
1) Wasting Time. People waste time. Obviously, watching
TV and gossiping on the phone are obvious time wasters.
But, some time-wasters are less obvious, but still as
dangerous. At the end of the day, there is no greater use
of your time than talking with prospects. That's it. Any
time that you spend doing other activities is taking away
from this critical process. Of course, you need to spend
time on other activities, like marketing and managing your
team. But, never forget that 80% of your work day should be
spent on talking with new prospects.
2) Living with Poor Discipline. Poor discipline is
different than wasting time. Top performers organize their
week, set goals and have standards and benchmarks that they
strive to achieve. They get up early in the morning and
keep going until they have finished their tasks. Even if
they have a sick child or a broken dishwasher, they
understand that there are always hurdles in life; however,
they still achieve the goals that they set.
3) Practicing Poor Follow-up. A few years ago, there was a
study done on the follow-up statistic of purchased leads.
72% of purchased leads are never called. And even more
surprising, only 3 out of 10 people are given a call when
they enter their information in a website. Top sales
people not only follow up with their prospects, but follow
up with their prospects with a proven series of between 5
and 20 different steps. You should send your prospect a
series of emails, a phone call, an invitation to an
opportunity call or an online webinar, a letter in the
mail, etc. Research suggests that you will close 75% more
leads if you have a systematic follow-up program.
4) A Poor System. An entrepreneur without a system will
never, ever come close to the systemized entrepreneur. If
you have a step-by-step process that you follow, you will
be more successful. Top sales professionals have a system
for the following three areas:
a) Generating leads
b) Managing leads
c) Following up with leads
5) Being Too Dependent On Your "Leader". This is one of the
most insidious problems in the sales industry. People come
into their business hoping that the "person at the top"
will show them the magic formula for success.
Unfortunately, there isn't a magic formula. Top leaders in
the industry forge their own way and make their own
success. When people become too dependent on others for
their success, they will never make it to the top. Remember
that the sales profession contains some of the richest
people in the world. One of the most wonderful parts of
sales is that there is no limit on what you can achieve.
However, there are some important factors to take into
consideration when pursuing a successful career in any
sales job. Make sure that you never make mistakes that will
cost you the sale!
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Jessica Swanson is an extremely successful entrepreneur,
marketer and life coach who has achieved a high six-figure
income. She has mentored hundreds of others on how to
achieve the same results. You can visit her at
http://www.JessicaSwanson.com
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