Most locksmith businesses are defined as small businesses. And the goal of any small business is to grow and attract new clients. While the never-ending pandemic threat looms as a continued threat to a business downturn, now is the time to hunt for new business. Waiting for clients to find you is never a good look.
Although you might be a locksmith in practice, you’re a salesperson first and foremost. Selling your expertise, your abilities and your team to perspective clients, as well as the community at large, should be key sustainable goals.
According to a recent study by Brevet, 80% of sales require an average of five follow-ups to close the deal. However, 44% of sales reps follow up with a prospect only once before giving up. After four follow-ups, 94% of salespeople have given up. This means plenty of potential business is left on the table.
Chris Peterson, who is the co-founder and president of the Vector Firm, a sales consulting group that works within the security industry, says those in the security industry can improve their sales and marketing performance dramatically. He says security companies, such as locksmiths, can shift from simply managing customers to driving new business. He also acknowledges that the approach to selling one’s services has changed dramatically as well.
So, what can you do to improve your sales process in this age? Peterson provides eight best practices:
1. Become a subject matter expert … or at least highly competent.
2. Become a content machine on social media. Because you know the specific demands of your customers and prospects, you can tailor your content and comments to capture immediate attention from your targeted market.
3. The primary objective of outbound calls is to prove your competence. Getting the appointment isn’t enough. Use outbound calls to slowly prove your competence, and people will call you for your expertise when they want it.
4. “You never know” activities should take less than five minutes. Bottom line: You should know why you’re doing what you’re doing.
5. Embrace the new objective of networking. Meeting as many people as possible no longer is the main objective of networking. Today, your networking objective should be to maximize the number of people who consider you to be a subject matter expert.
6. Deliver interactive presentations. PowerPoint, Prezi and Keynote have become snooze instruments. When presenting or demonstrating a product, you must have continual interaction throughout the presentation.
7. Make it easy. Make it easy for your prospects and customers to see that you’re a proven expert in your space.
8. Don’t buy into the hype: Hard work, persistence and relationships still matter. Buying has changed. The way you approach customers must change, but the core values remain.
