How to maximize the sales preparations of your team

In sales, you only have a few moments with your clients to create that personal connection and discover unique value. From the first lead gen qualification calls and  demos to presentations and  follow-up calls, you want to maximize results, whether to advance the opportunity or close the deal itself.

Many sales people actually struggle to properly prepare.  According to IDC, nearly 57% of B2B prospects and customers feel that their sales teams are not prepared for the first meeting. Sales people are either new and thus experimenting on the job, with all the obvious risks, or they are highly experienced and often relying on their routine when engaging with clients and new opportunities.

Don’t wing it. Don’t let lack of experience or routine decide how sales prepares for these decisive moments.

Maximize sales

Begin with the end in mind

First, you need to decide the most ideal outcome of each interaction. This will help you make it very clear the best way to prepare. Here are three ideas on how to help you and your sales team maximize their level of preparation, so you don’t leave opportunity development or deal-closing to chance.

1)  Relevant Sales Templates

Provide easy-to-understand sales templates for each sales interaction such as high-end sales calls, demos or any of the sales interactions that we mentioned earlier. Inside these templates, there are short instructions or guidance on the following:

* how to prepare
* what to do
* what to look for
* which questions to ask
* ways to craft and position your message
* knowledge of how to handle specific objections
* which stories to tell or cases to share

2) Present Great Examples that Work

Show examples of what great preparation looks like. It’s fine to have templates, but it’s better to show real examples that sales people have used. The relevance is immense and will accelerate learning and adoption. You can inspire by, for example, showing how to map a large organization, or how to handle a partner’s objection to price increase. This way, preparation will be more efficient and higher quality.

3) Cover Several Sales Scenarios

To increase the relevance of your templates and examples, it helps to cover several sales scenarios. Most sales organizations deal with different kinds of opportunities. Look at small vs. large deals, difference in sectors, products, buying personas, etc. Cover the most common situations, so that you can make it more attractive for your sales team to use your approach, tools and templates. This way, each approach stays relevant, practical and much more effective.

"Success is where preparation and opportunity meet". Bobby Unser

Prepare your sales team for success

Boost sales, morale and productivity with just three sales team preparations: templates, examples and scenario outlines. You’ll see instant results when utilizing these techniques, and your sales team will be grateful for it.

If you give them this level of guidance, they can prepare for the actual conversations. Your team can focus more on the client, remain less likely to undergo analysis paralysis (spending too much time preparing and memorizing) and avoid too much improvisation.

With salesplaybook.pro on your side, the quality of your sales will go up and you’ll be closing more deals than ever before.

Yuri van der Sluis

Yuri van der Sluis

Founder at Salesplaybook.pro