New York, October 31, 2022 - The spooky season is upon us, and as salespeople are reflecting on the past year in preparation for 2023, there are a handful of common themes and fears that have emerged.
The past year has left a mark on how we understand the world around us, and that directly relates to how we do business - specifically, within the sales industry. There has been a significant shift in the way we deal with tough business decisions, cutbacks and new products. And while it is natural to have some anxiety about the future unknown, recognizing these common themes can help alleviate the fear and better prepare you for what's ahead.
Below are the top five most common fears amongst salespeople in 2022, and tips for how to manage them - making you a stronger salesperson in 2023 and beyond.
Unable to achieve set targets and quotas
The number one fear for a salesperson is related to not achieving target goals and quotas. Understandable, yes, especially with the rise of global economic uncertainty.
A tip for managing this fear is to develop a detailed understanding of your sales funnel and create a strategic and detailed workback - end to end. While doing this, keep in mind the conversions needed at each stage, a breakdown of the customer buying process and weekly targets. Take advantage of your sales CRM’s insights and data reports as these will help you to track your progress and highlight where you might need to make adjustments in order to hit your quotas.
Administrative tasks are piling up
Administrative tasks and activities are part of a sales role; in fact, Pipedrive’s State of Sales and Marketing 2021/22 survey indicated that just over half (54%) of salespeople spend most of their day on selling. Other time spent is allocated towards research and prep before calls, updating and recording information into various systems and filing paperwork. With most of your day bogged down with tasks, is there enough time to sell?
This fear can be minimized through analyzing your sales process. Ask yourself how you organize your day and how you prioritize selling activities. Do you start or complete any given task at a specific time of the day or week? By scheduling your day out according to task you’re allowing yourself dedicated time where you’re not jumping from task to task - creating a more efficient workflow. Whatsmore, you reduce lag time by not having to figure out what needs to be done next. Another tip for increasing productivity is utilizing the automation features that your sales CRM offers - saving you time and decreasing possible mistakes.
Sean Evers, VP of Sales at Pipedrive, talks about Halloween scares
Securing a big deal
By nature we salespeople are optimistic, yet we fear that the “big deal” won't land this month or even next quarter. We all know the feeling of having a committed deal, but maybe it's with an undecided customer who is still in talks with a competitor trying to steal the deal.
The key here is to truly believe that there is a compelling reason for the customer to engage, act and commit to you being the right choice. To achieve this, you must be transparent and mindful of your customers budgets, key decision makers, business values and expected ROI. With this reassurance from you, the customer can confidently move forward through the sales process towards the finish line.
Believing in your product or service
From time to time we all start to question what we’re selling - especially when we know that what we’re offering doesn't have all the features a customer is looking for and even then, it may still be more expensive than alternative products. This is where a salesperson can focus on the value that a product or service provides by highlighting key features that are important to your customer, respectively. If you focus on the wins, you can't lose.
As the seller, it's your job to understand the customers needs even better than they do. Discuss their needs, what solutions are available and at what price and finally a plan for the sales and implementation process. This is also an opportunity to showcase your level of expertise by introducing the buyer to helpful features or additional products that they may not have known were available.
Hearing the word “No”
Hearing the word “no” is difficult for anyone to sit with and unfortunately, it's a response salespeople receive on a daily basis. While rejection may never get easier to handle, there are ways to bounce-back and with a clearer sense of direction and purpose.
Before a sales call, have a checklist ready of potential follow-up questions and solutions. This way, you can start to collect some insight and find commonalities - better preparing you for the next hot lead.
