What is an effective sales system?

- When I started my consulting business, the biggest challenge I had was landing clients. I took the sales classes and listened to all the sales gurus telling me to be persistent, pumping me up, and keeping me motivated. And most importantly, reminding me not to fear rejection. While all of that was helpful, it took me years to discover I was missing the most important step in ensuring successful sales, I needed a system, a literal sales strategy of how you plan to do everything from finding prospects, to opening doors, to getting the deal and turning a profit. Sales is not something you can do now and then or just when you need a deal sales is a lifestyle, not a task. It requires consistency and focus. A sales system gives you that momentum. Think of selling like riding a bike. You need a lot of energy to get started on your bike, to get the tires pumped, the gears in shape, and a lot of initial pushing to get the wheels moving. But once you get moving, you just keep doing the same movements. It's almost like the bike takes a life of its own. That's how sales works. An effective sales strategy lays out your plan, tells you what to focus on, what to do, when to do it, and how often. All of that gives motion to your sales cycle and keeps the deals flowing. Here are three reasons you need an effective sales system and what it can do for your consulting practice. Number one, establishes direction and priorities. The first step in creating an effective sales system is to determine your goals and objectives. So having a sales system actually helps you make sure you're clear on your goals and objectives. When you know where you are headed, and what you need to focus on to get there, it keeps you from getting distracted and off track. Number two, improves the return on investment of your sales efforts. The act of formulating a strategy requires you to take a step back and look at the big picture. You have to ask yourself tough questions like should I focus more on obtaining new customers or existing ones? Is the up-selling strategy fetching enough results for the effort? In what areas is the result better than the cost? When you answer these, you'll see which sales tactics are working for you and which aren't allowing you to cut the waste and prioritize the winners. And finally, a sales system drives alignment. The more strategically you can focus your time, your energy, and your money towards achieving your goals, the more successful you're gonna be as a consultant. Your sales system services is the best vehicle for answering the question how can we better align our efforts to maximize our success. Bottom line is an effective sales system makes you a more successful and effective sales consultant. And who doesn't want that?