Get back to work!

Andy Preston

In the concluding part of this article, telecoms sales expert Andy Preston explains what actions you need to take, now that the summer holidays are over, in order to get your sales figures back on track.

If we’re not careful, our summer holiday feeling can drag over into late September, and even October in some cases. By the time you come to your senses, it’s nearly Christmas and your sales figures are nowhere near where they should be.

To avoid that summer holiday hangover, follow the simple tips below and just watch the positive impact on your sales figures.

Sales tip number 3

Looking at requalifying your prospects is a really important point, and one that is overlooked by the majority of people. If it’s weeks since you spoke to the prospect last (and probably a lot longer than that you started speaking to them) then there is a good chance that their situation has changed.

This means that their buying motivation may have changed, the drivers behind their initial interest and potentially the business or divisional goals may well have altered in that time. Therefore it’s imperative that you requalify the sales opportunity to ensure there is still good potential for bringing in this piece of business, quickly.

Sales tip number 4

Once you’ve taken the above steps, for any potential deals or prospects that are still in your pipeline, it’s important to get them moving. Far too many salespeople sit on a big pipeline, with deals or customers that have been stuck at one stage or another for ages, without any idea of when or how they’re going to move to the next stage.
Depending on the length of your sales cycle, if you’ve got deals or prospects that have been ‘tuck at one stage or another for a while, you need to take a close look at them and determine some actions to get them moving through the pipeline, or get them out.

Sales managers and directors much prefer realistic pipelines to ones that are pie in the sky (as opposed to “I hope it comes it, I hope it comes in, I hope…”). 

It also can be quite demoralising for a salesperson to have an unrealistic pipeline, as the more deals or prospects that don’t convert, the worse the sales person feels, and their confidence, attitude and motivation are affected, therefore they’re less likely to bring in the other deals.

So, be more realistic about your pipeline, get the deals or prospects out that are unlikely to convert, requalify them if necessary and get what’s left moved through your pipeline, and you’ll see an immediate impact on your sales performance.

Follow the tips above and watch your sales soar! I look forward to hearing how you get on.

Andy Preston is a recognised sales expert who specialises in working with mobile phone companies in particular, helping them generate more appointments, stand out from the competition, and close more deals. You can see and hear more about Andy at

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