To improve your sales, focus on these 3 areas

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“Nothing happens till somebody sells something!” —Author unknown

That’s a great quote, one of my favorites. I use it all the time with my team at Grunder Landscaping Co. (GLC) and with our clients at The Grow Group. Nothing does happen until somebody sells something. In 2021, we had lots of sales closing and, as a result, a lot of activity happening at GLC. We were firing on all cylinders this summer and fall to perform the work we sold, and we have been finding efficiencies left and right to allow us to get more done in less time. We’re closing out a great year in a couple of months, but we’re also looking ahead to 2022 and thinking through how we’ll replicate this success.

Right now, we’re using three specific strategies to ensure we’re setting our sales team up well for the coming year.

Set attainable sales goals

First off, you need to have a well-thought-out sales goal. Too many owners and leaders just throw a number out there or wait to see what happens. For goals to be attainable, they need to be rooted in logic. Look at what the data tells you:

• How much in sales did each salesperson close last year?
• Were you able to complete the jobs you sold within their promised timelines?
• What were your most profitable types of jobs? Can you do more of them?

At The Grow Group, we like to see annual growth goals around 10-20 percent, especially in companies under $5 million in revenue. At that level, the growth is manageable — and 20 percent growth annually will more than double the size of your business in five years. Just remember, if you want to sell 20 percent more work, you also need to increase labor hours and equipment to do the work.

Set sales goals that are attainable for your sales and production teams, and be specific about the type of work, location and timing of the work you want to sell more of.

Target the right prospects

You absolutely must target the right types of clients to grow. Spell out as a team who your ideal clients are, where they are located, what type of account they are and what size jobs you’re looking for. At GLC, we have our target prospect well defined: We’re looking for more residential properties in specific neighborhoods we already work in.

We have gone so far as to put the names, addresses and other information into the prospect record we maintain within Aspire. We know exactly who our targets are, and we know that we’ll be spending our time on clients and prospects who are a fit.

Slot everyone into the right role

In my role at GLC, I oversee business development. It’s my job to network, volunteer, be active in the community and get to know people who can refer us to clients or become clients. This is what I do best, and it’s the best way I can support the company.

We’ve put the rest of our team into roles that allow them to use their strengths, too. We’ve promoted someone from our production team who was fantastic at noticing enhancement projects into a sales position, and he’s excelling. Our design-build consultants are both crushing their goals for 2021 and within reach of their stretch goals. Find your team’s strengths and put them in roles that maximize them.

While operations are no doubt key for success in 2022, smart companies will seize the opportunity ahead with the strong demand we’re seeing from clients.

If you need a little more help defining your ideal client, setting attainable sales goals, addressing objections and building relationships that turn into sales for your company, join us Dec. 15-16
for our Virtual Sales Bootcamp.