8 To-Do’s to Drive “Quick Sales” in SAAS
Ninety days may seem long, but in the sales world that equates to roughly 60 business days and 2000 work hours. Executing any quick turnaround sales ideas in that amount of time is possible, but not always easy.
The other day I was speaking with a venture capitalist and he was asking for some ideas to drive “quick sales” within 90 days. (For context, the company he invested in wasn’t hitting their goals so now they were looking for ways to quickly improve things).
I shared with him some ideas that can be done at any point during the year but we also dug a little deeper. When it comes to action items to drive sales, you need to make sure they are tailored to any specific issues that may exist:
the current market climate
any specific customer feedback worth noting
product issues
Here are 8 tried and true sales management exercises that should give you some quick wins. Not only do they lead to a better understanding of what is going on but also quick sales.
REVIEW RECENTLY CLOSED-WON DEALS
Learn why clients bought and what the sales process was like including the speed of the sales cycle. By categorizing each deal “fast”, “average”, or “long” you can then focus on the “fast” deals to uncover why someone bought so quickly. Once you have that figured out, then it’s looking at the rest of the pipeline to see which prospects are similar to the “fast” deals that previously closed.
INSPECT YOUR ACTIVE PIPELINE IN DETAIL
You need to determine the likelihood of deals closing and it starts by having a clean pipeline. Sounds simple, but I’ve seen front-line managers take an rep’s word on deals and not dive into the details. If there’s friction in the sales process, you need to spend time removing friction from the ones that are likely to close. Make sure every deal is in its appropriate sales stage. You have to challenge the rep to explain if they’re at power and if there is specific ROI established so you have something to lean on to get a deal done. As the sales manager, you’re looking for ways to advance a deal which only works on ones where power and ROI are clearly understood.
REVIEW LOST OPPORTUNITIES IN DETAIL
The goal here is to see if any that were lost in the previous 30-60 days can be revived. Was the opportunity owned by a weaker rep? Was pricing the main issue? Was it your contract terms? The key is to see what you can learn and validate the reason, then see if something could be done. In many cases, a different voice is all it takes to revive a lost deal. Remove a weaker rep if it makes sense and put a top rep on their existing pipeline as well as their recent lost opportunities, you’ll most likely see a few deals close right away.
SIT IN ON GOOD DEMOS AND MEETINGS
Look for opportunities to help move things along. You’ll also gain direct intel on if the sales cycle is taking too long and why. When results aren’t great, it’s important that sales managers are on the front lines as much as possible. I’ve witnessed sales managers jump in and out of sales demos with too much urgency in their voice which ultimately proves ineffective (or agitates the prospect). Sales managers should also be selective and look for deals where power is involved and ROI is part of the conversation.
REVISE REP TALK TRACKS FOR OPENING NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Markets change and competitors grow, so it’s important to keep your talk tracks on point. By doing some of the exercises listed above you may realize you need to tweak how your value proposition is being positioned. You may also need to tweak objection handling.
ROLL OUT A LIMITED-TIME OFFER
Create a sense of urgency in the marketplace—this can be a price-based offer, giving enhanced or additional services, or providing additional product modules. The key is to figure out what will drive fast results. If a particular product isn’t doing great, trying a new limited-offer may move those units faster. Another idea is to package products to entice prospects to buy at a discounted rate rather than separately at a higher rate.
TARGET HIGH-UTILIZATION CUSTOMERS FOR DEEP-SELLS
These deals are considered easier and faster to close. Prepare your reps with good talk tracks and offer additional incentives for your customer to make a faster decision (ie. “X” discount if they sign within “Y” days). Run utilization reports so your team targets the highest utilizers first.
HYPE UP YOUR SALES TEAM WITH EXTRA CASH OR COOL REWARDS
To ramp up opening new opportunities or to emphasize closing deals faster, you must pay up. I once doubled compensation on a specific product and the number of newly opened opportunities skyrocketed! I’d suggest trying compensation multipliers first, and as a secondary option, try other rewards such as tickets to an event, a cool trip or experience, or even give away a new watch! (Tag Heuer watches are my go-to prizes). The key is to roll something out that is enticing and drives the right behaviors.
As you can see there are several exercises you can do to help drive fast sales. In many cases, sales leaders who are struggling to figure out what to change or what to do tend to overthink a new strategy. Sometimes the answers are pretty simple.
One other thing to remember: as a sales leader, make sure to stay positive and upbeat. Be focused with a sense of urgency.