Four Mistakes Hindering Sales

1. Not closing the month out hard:

I have learned that the salesperson that finishes the hardest will always carry momentum into the next month. The sales reps who don’t finish strong will always be trying to create momentum. Many clubs have sales incentives — typically the last five days of a month sales reps are scurrying to maximize their income opportunities. On the other side you may have one or two reps that are not within striking range of bonus numbers, so many reps in this situation compound their first mistake (having a poor month) and make a second mistake by sandbagging. Sandbagging is an old school term that means to hold sales to the beginning of the month. Through many years of experience I have seen this not only backfire, but create a negative culture within the sales offices. Good leadership would never allow this to happen.

2. Not building ambassadors:

Have you ever gone to a good restaurant and had a totally great experience. Not only was the food good, but the service was great and the ambiance was magnificent. I would be willing to bet that when you went home, you shared the experience with everyone. You were “WOWED!”

That is exactly what you must do for your customers. When your customers are raving about you, they will share their experience with your club and your customer service with everyone. Could you imagine what it would be like to have 50 members constantly working for you in the community? You need to focus on how many ambassadors that you personally have. Build a network of ambassadors.

3. Not creating a plan:

I have written and spoken about planning a million times. I still believe that 80 percent of sales reps still don’t have a business plan or a real goal. You absolutely need a daily plan, you need to know your daily goals, you need to know how many appointments per day you are seeking, how many referrals, how many follow-up calls, how many ambassador conversations. When you work your daily plan than it’s easy to formulate a monthly plan. You are more than saying, “I need to hit 40 sales this month.” You should constantly be formulating ten new ways to attract people to you. Start today by creating a worksheet that summarizes your day, then before you leave work, plan out tomorrow with expectations and required duties.

4. Not asking for referrals at point of sale:

I believe that every new member is on an emotional high with their new buying decision. When a person joins a health club they would prefer to share the experience rather than do it alone. So as soon as the sale is done ask, “Who do you know that may be interested in the same things you are?” You would be amazed that just by asking that question you will get two new names and sometimes more. You can always work referrals later in the relationship, but many sales reps believe that they shouldn’t ask at the point of sale. I believe if 40 percent of the new members provide a new lead you are well on your way to creating a great month of easy sales. The easiest sale you will ever make is the one you don’t have to sell. That is an old saying that I have used for years. I actually don’t believe we sell memberships, but that is another story for another day, I do believe if we find the needs of our customer, and they get excited because we care, that they will want to share their experience with everyone.