3 Innovative Sales Strategies to Increase Sales
What is the biggest sales strategy frustration you see in this era of disruption and chaos?
“It’s those Millennial and new Next-Gen sales reps. They should be selling more, but they’re not.”
“My salespeople are UNcontrollable, UNmanageable, and UNpredictable!”
How often do you feel this way?
Many of the leaders I talk to are concerned when they look at their financials. They know that they (and their teams) are stuck. And they don’t know how to get UN-stuck. This is what I call the UN-productive path of a Sales UN-culture.
It happens when the sales systems, processes, and staffing don’t support a pathway to sales success.
In the Sales UN-culture, leaders are complaining, “There’s little motivation or energy to tackle real client issues. My salespeople are UN-creative!”
What might happen when you embrace creative innovative strategies that tap the God-given talents of those around you?
Watch this video clip on an Innovation Mindset: How to Increase Sales with One Tiny, Yet Powerful Word
How to Increase Sales: Ask 1 Powerful Question to Spark Innovation
I always ask one powerful question when I see a team that’s stuck in the sales UN-culture. This question propels you to be radically relevant to your customers and compellingly competitive in your industry.
Here’s the question…
“What might you do to make a positive difference?”
Let’s explore this tiny word in this power-packed question –
Might.
It’s a small word.
Yet, it’s packed with creative power.
The word invites you to search for new, innovative ways to tackle the obstacles of the Sales UN-culture that’s causing your teams to stay on a stuck pathway.
What might be blocking your strategy to create innovation in your sales organization?
As a Strategy Formulator, consider using these 3 action steps to ignite the Innovation Mindset in your Millennial salespeople.
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Learn from Top Innovators for Increased Sales Growth
The Harvard Business Review, in The Secret Phrase Top Innovators Use, points out the impact of the word “might.” Using the “might” approach ensures that would-be innovators are asking the right questions and using the best wording.
What’s the secret behind this tiny word?
Top innovators say that when we substitute “should” with the word might, we are invited to put on our “thinking caps.”
Neuroscientists say that it stimulates our neuro-pathways. They light up. They make new connections. They forge new pathways.
Let’s look at the difference of these questions:
OLD: “Your sales pipeline looks weak. Shouldn’t you be working to improve it?”
NEW: “Your pipeline looks weak. What might you do to strengthen it?
Notice…there’s an invitation to consider different options!
Or,
OLD: “You have a lot of prospects in your pipeline. Shouldn’t you try to clean those up?
NEW: You have a lot of prospects in your pipeline. What might you do to move them to either a yes or no in the next 30 days?”
With a small tweak in the wording you use, you can dramatically impact your salespeople’s results.
- Choose to Say “Yes,” to new Sales Growth Insights
Instead of formulating a strategy to improve sales growth results, you can become stuck in should-thinking. Then you’ll be convinced that your Millennial salespeople are to blame for the poor results. When you decide to adopt a new mindset, and consider new options, you will spark the innovation that fuels the results your team needs to not only reach but exceed their sales growth targets.
Allow yourself to shift from “should” thinking to “might” thinking. Rather than staying stuck in the UN-productive Sales UN-culture (“They should be selling more, but they’re not”), choose to ask, “What might I do to make a positive impact on the sales capacity of my sales reps?”
- Ask “Might” Questions at your Sales Strategy Meeting
Asking the right questions unlocks your salespeople’s ability to see new options. They’re starting to see how they might deal with
some of the massive, seemingly insurmountable obstacles that block their success.
When you attend Sales Strategy Meetings with each of your sales leaders, ask these “might” questions to spark their creativity:
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- What might you do to speed up closings?
- What might need to happen to improve conversion ratios and close rates?
- What might you do differently to stop losing business to the competition?
And, for your sales managers:
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- What might you do to address mediocrity, under-achievement, and complacency on the sales team?
- What might you do to improve the accuracy of the pipeline forecast?
I invite you to test out the word “might” as well as these questions during upcoming coaching conversations. You may see that it strengthens the Innovative Mindset you need from your sales teams.
What will you be asking your salespeople to stimulate creative, innovative sales behavior?
Watch this 2nd video clip on an Innovation Mindset: How to Achieve Sales Growth with this One Power-Packed Word
Innovation Unlocks New Sales Growth Opportunities
Will you stay stuck on the unproductive path of the UN-culture and say, “My salespeople are UN-creative!”
Or, will you choose to ask, “How might I coach my salespeople to become innovative in seeking new ways to solve their problems?”
Discover that the words you use in your coaching conversations have power. The questions you ask at sales strategy meetings can either keep you stuck on the barren road of UN-creativity, or you can walk on a path of UN-expected growth!
This is your time to say to all your salespeople, “What might you do to overcome your challenges and exceed your sales growth goals?”
I invite you to embrace creative innovative strategies that tap the God-given talents of those around you so that you and your teams are energized and your abilities expand.
Your leadership matters greatly during a difficult season.
To see the longer version of this article, go HERE.
Sales Growth Lesson: Leverage the power of “might” – that’s where new ideas, products, and markets are born.
Sales Growth Question: Where might you start sprinkling in the word “might” in your coaching conversations?”
We invite you to schedule a free virtual coffee meeting with us. No charge, no obligation. Just a one-on-one 45 minutes to talk through what challenges are happening, receive personal tips, advice, and next steps on how to solve those challenges. To schedule, email me at danita@DanitaBye.com 
Frustrated that your sales team isn’t delivering piping-hot sales results?
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