Monthly Archives: November 2020

Planning in the age of uncertainty

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Here is a wonderful quote from J.R.R. Tolkien which is particularly apt for the current environment: ‘It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near one.’

Planning is recommended by experts in all walks of life as a way to support business growth but what happens if planning becomes very difficult due to uncertainty, as we are experiencing at the moment? Do you abandon it all together? I believe that you should always have a plan in place, covering short and long term, whilst not forgetting the dragons nearby. Here are five tips I have collected for you to consider:

  1. A tip from Oxbridge Academy Blog:

Focus on what you can control: You have to accept that some things are completely out of your control. For example, you cannot control most of the effects that the coronavirus has had on your everyday life. While accepting the things that you cannot control, you should focus on controlling the things that you can. This can include maintaining a positive attitude, controlling your spending habits, or deciding to learn something new. In the face of a difficult situation, you may need more determination than ever before to work on yourself and get through the tough times. 

  • A tip from Life Lanes:

Have “go-to” people who can help you every step of the way. Having people you can reach to in times of change can get you through even the most uncertain of times. You do not need to know everything. You just need to know people and organizations you can trust to fill in the gaps for what you do not know.

  • A tip from Management Centre:

Use scenario planning instead of traditional goal setting: Scenario planning can get you outside the normal strategic planning box by encouraging you to think about multiple futures and how these futures would impact on what you would need to deliver your mission. They may even, if profound enough, encourage you to change or adapt your mission.

  • A tip from Great Performance:

Prepare yourself for various possibilities: The most challenging part of being uncertain is the inability to feel in control. Being human, we want to know how things will go so as to be comfortable. Uncertainty takes this from us. Things change too fast for us to experience this. Therefore, instead of expecting specific outcomes from life, it makes more sense to simply prepare yourself for various possibilities. For example, you can make lists of the activities that you will perform in case things go one way or another. One of the characteristics of an uncertain future is luck. This is when things go exactly as you desired. It is important to know that luck happens when preparation and opportunity meet.

  • A tip from Your Business Development team:

Always be selling: Planning for growth is one of the key things that will make a difference to your future as a business. Creating new business and improving your sales conversion are born from a structured process which you can set up and follow in any environment. This process takes time so use the downtime to plan and start conversations with people in your target market. This means that when things move forward you will be first in line for consideration.

I hope you have found some inspiration in our Blog today. If you are looking to create a sales process or strategy, we might be able to help you. Click here to find out more or get in touch to discuss your specific circumstances.

What are the key obstacles to selling well?

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‘Learn from the mistake of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.’ Eleanor Roosevelt

This quote emphasizes the opportunity to learn from others and use it as leverage to improve your skills. Is this applicable to sales though?

Sales skills are often referred to in a negative manner, from the ‘gift of the gab,’ to free lunches and going home early on Friday; salespeople are not always portrayed in the best of lights in many organisations. This attitude is also used as a reason for many people to avoid developing their own sales skills, even if it can make a big difference to their business or organisation.

This question is particularly important in current market conditions when new business and additional revenue become even more important. This is precisely the time when marketing and sales departments are scrutinised, and the pressure to achieve tangible results is on. So, the key question is not, can you sell? More importantly it is, can you sell well?

To explain what I mean by learning to sell well, I thought it would be useful to review the key obstacles that get in the way. These are generally divided into three areas:

  1. Understanding your prospect: How much do you actually know about your prospects and their company? Consider questions like:
  • Who are the key decision makers?
  • What are the main issues?
  • What are their key preferences?
  • What is their budget?
  • Who else are they talking to?

The list goes on and it can be easy to forget to ask these questions in the initial process of conversation.  Getting better clarification will help you build your knowledge and discover the best way to approach the prospect and close the sale.

2. Having a clear sales process: How many times have you been told that selling is not rocket science? Whilst I agree that you should keep things reasonably simple, a clear process that everyone works to can help streamline your process and increase productivity and success. Some things to consider are:

  • Speed of response to enquiry
  • Accuracy in identifying needs
  • Demonstrating your capabilities
  • Packages and standardisation of products
  • Your CRM and automation tools
  • Relationship building

3.Setting up a review process: Without testing and measuring, you will never find out if the changes you implemented have made any difference. The review process needs to cover all of the aspects of your sales from lead numbers through sales conversion and individual’s sales targets. Having KPI’s in place will allow you to set a standard and define what success looks like thus helping your team to aim higher and develop.

Selling is one of these occupations that you can keep improving upon; you can always find another way, learn a new skill, or rebuild a relationship. The point of our Blog this week is to remind you of the basics because if you get them right, you can free time to evolve your process and identify new opportunities.

If I have helped you identify some elements that need attention, why not take a look at our new sales conversion support service to see if we can help you shake things up in any way. Get in touch if you want to discuss your specific circumstances further.