7 Ways to Win More Sales By Working Smarter, Not Harder

Would you like to increase your sales productivity without increasing your effort? Of course you would. But most salespeople think that more sales necessarily means more work. Not so. 

There are two well-known ways of increasing sales. First, you can increase your closing ratio, which is the number of sales you actually close given the number of opportunities you have to sell. And second, you can increase the average size of each sale you close.

By strategically combining these two methods, you can dramatically increase your sales without exerting much more effort than you do right now. Follow these seven steps and you’ll crush your sales goals -- without breaking a sweat.

1) Only focus on selling. 

As a salesperson, you should focus 100% of your time on selling. Delegate any tasks that don’t directly increase your sales to someone else.

If you devote all of your focus to actually selling your product or service, you’ll find you have way more time than you even need to sell. When you use that extra time as free time to enjoy life outside of work, you’ll find you can actually be lazy while increasing sales at the same time. Use these productivity tips to focus on sales activities only.

For more tips on how to be lazy and sell more, check out this video:

2) Stop selling to “buyers.” 

Whenever possible, only sell to decision makers. Whether they’re presidents or CEOs, team leads or directors, decision makers are the ones who have the final say and they control the biggest budgets. People with titles such as “buyer” or “purchasing” are never the best person to target.

Even if you can’t sell to presidents and CEOs, you can always sell at a higher level than you are right now. Stop selling in the trenches and start selling to those who are in charge of the decision -- and the budget. By selling to those who have the power to say “yes” to spending money on your solution, you’ll close more sales and increase the average size of your sale. 

3) Only focus on large sales.

There are two different ways you could close a million dollars worth of sales this year. You could close 100 sales at $10,000 each -- or you could close five sales at $200,000 each. Both lead to the same final revenue, but the second option will take half or even a quarter of the time, work, and effort to get there.

Next time you’re presented with a small sales opportunity, refer it to someone else who will likely be grateful for the lead. Spend less energy while selling more by focusing only on large sales opportunities to increase your average sale size.

4) Ask everyone for introductions.

Without referrals, you’ll be stuck making cold calls every day. Cold calls might give you leads, but they’re very hard work. Asking for introductions is quite easy, and will actually lead to more business than proactive outreach. 

Set measurable goals for yourself and hold yourself accountable to asking for introductions on a regular basis. Maybe you’ll ask for one introduction per week, or for multiple introductions every single day -- whatever your goal may be, write it down and stick with it. By working smarter rather than harder, you’ll increase your sales while working less.

5) Focus on selling specific results.

Many salespeople make the mistake of focusing on the features and benefits of their product or service. In reality, your prospects don’t want to buy a product or service -- they simply want results.

By focusing on the results you can create for your clients, you’ll increase your value in the eyes of your prospects. As a result, you’ll close more sales -- and close sales of higher value -- increasing your closing ratio and average sale at the same time. 

6) Discuss budget upfront. 

This is a very controversial suggestion for most salespeople -- but that’s because those salespeople are afraid of discussing budgets with their prospects. However, if you don’t take the time to know the prospect’s budget before crafting a solution, you could end up losing the sale.

You always want to be on the same page as your prospect when it comes to a budget. When salespeople guess at the budget, they often assume it’s smaller than it really is. When you know the true budget, you can craft a solution to fit that budget, which will lead to more sales and bigger sales on average. 

7) Propose three options.

Never give your prospect just one option in your proposal. This limits the customer and result in fewer and smaller sales. Instead, provide three options -- a good, better, and best option. This creates context for the decision and allows the prospect to compare their options without shopping around to other vendors. As a result, you’re more likely to close the sale and less likely to lose the prospect to a competitor.

In addition, presenting a high-end option to your prospect will create value, and some prospects will stretch their budgets to choose the best option. When they do, it can dramatically increase your average sale size.

By following these seven steps to increase your sales ratio and average sale size, you can be lazier and still dominate your competition in sales. Which tip did you find most useful for increasing your sales without breaking a sweat? Share your thoughts in the comments below.