Rocketship Management, How to win more orders and increase sales

Guest post by author John Fordham, who is a management consultant and business advisor with decades of experience in helping turn businesses around to become profitable. Founder of Rocketship Management.

How to win more orders and increase sales (in turbulent times)

Increasing sales and winning more business can be demanding in the best of times and it goes without saying in difficult times it is even harder. It is not just about having good sales skills, it is imperative to also have all the back up and supporting functions working professionally to support the sales function. The sales people need to be confident that products will be produced with quality and on time. Prices need to be competitive and a prospective customer has to be convinced about customer service. New orders with new customers require extra effort. 

Rocketship Management

For many years now companies have been reducing their number of suppliers to improve their own efficiency. They also look for sole supply by top providers. It can be hard to get in. One route is to offer small supply for a small order to give them confidence and to offer back-up supply if, for example, their main supplier has problems. Longer payment terms of for example 60 days for say a period over six months could help. A more difficult choice is to provide consignment stocks to a customer, which they pay for after 30 days.  

A robust sales team and process

Sales people need to have proper sales training and understand customer requirements. One tried and tested method is using ‘open questions’ to enquire as to the customers needed and follow the SPIN technique – Situation Questions, Problems Questions, Implication Questions, Needs and Benefits. Just this technique alone, plus the sales meeting preparation, samples/ examples, literature and ‘leave behind’ all need to be good. And benefits, not just features, need to be explained about the product or service and the company itself.

When submitting quotations they should have a clear product description without jargon or just incomprehensible part numbers. Monitor the orders numbers against the number of quotations. Get that conversion percentage rate up. One telecoms company I consulted at, we changed the quote form to provide clarity, and then orders increased by 30% almost immediately.

The company did not recognise that they were selling to FD’s and MD’s assistants who did not understand the quote so the order went to a competitor.  Such a small change for such a big improvement. Much of this requires training to achieve improved ability to win more orders, and perhaps at better prices.

A good sales person needs good support  by the sales administration department, the planning and product supply, with quality, on time deliveries, short lead times, with good, efficient, friendly sales administration support.

First class marketing materials and promotions

Develop awareness and credibility for your company to support the sales function is key. Create more awareness of your and achievements internally and externally. Send out press releases, get articles in the trade press, get busy on LinkedIn, have hospitality days for customers and staff and publicise activities. Introduce and develop new products, product improvements or changes. Look for new market segments and customers and create target lists of potential customers to be contacted.

Make sure your marketing collateral and promotional materials are great quality – dust off your website and invest in updating it to keep potential customers engaged and make sure you highlight the benefits of your products and services. Make it better than your competitors.

If you are taking the time to create printed brochures and catalogues give it all you have. Invest in a designer with experience to give it a professional look and feel and spend as much as you can afford on the quality of paper and print. It’s your calling card long after you have left the building so you don’t want it to head straight to the recycling.

Great quality product, supply and service

If you want to win more orders, the product must be of the right quality, with on time deliveries. Then you are on the way to winning more orders with existing customers. If that is not currently possible you need to work on the necessary investments in equipment, processes and people. The sales team need to be confident on what they say to convince buyers, to win more orders. Are the machines and processes up to date or competitive? Lack of investment can mean weakness against competitors on quality, lead times, on time deliveries and price.

John Fordham is a management consultant and business advisor with decades of experience in helping turn businesses around to become profitable. He is the author of Rocketship Management: How to Propel your Business to New Heights. www.rocketshipmgmt.com.

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