Rules to Better Sales

• Do you know the 6 stages in the Sales Pipeline?
• Do you follow up online customer leads with a phone call?
• Do you manage your inbound leads effectively?
• Do you perform a background check?
• Do you have clear Engagement Models?
• Do you know how to justify your rates?
• Meetings - Are you prepared for the initial meeting?
• Do you hold initial meetings face-to-face whenever possible?
• Meetings - Do you know the agenda for the initial meeting?
• Meetings - Do you record your sales meetings?
• Meetings - Do you have a debrief after an initial meeting?
• Do you send some "Client Love" a few days after the Initial Meeting?
• Do you incentivize a quick Spec Review sale?
• Do you follow-up to confirm a Spec Review?
• Do you know why it’s important to talk to clients on Teams?
• Do you schedule a follow-up meeting after a Spec Review?
• Do you explain the 'Cone of Uncertainty' to people on the fence about Agile?
• Do you enter into a binding written contract with a client before doing any billable work?
• Do you get a signed copy of the whole Terms and Conditions document (not just the last page)?
• Do you present project proposals as lots of little releases rather than one big price?
• Do you aim for an advancement rather than a continuance?
• Do you ensure an excellent 1st date? (aka winning customers via a smaller "Specification Review")
• Do you know when to use a round figure or an exact figure?
• Do you know how to manage objections?
• Do you know when, and when not, to give away products?
• Do you know the alternative to giving discounts?
• Do you set a specific time to follow up a prospect?
• Do you follow up course attendees for consulting work?
• Do you know what to do when asked to sign an NDA?
• Do you know how to follow up a customised training client?
• Do you follow up after losing a sales opportunity?
• Do you know how to invoice a customised training client?
• Do you always propose all available options?
• Do you know salespeople should work together and keep each other accountable?
• Do you upsell your products or services?
• Do you know when to go for a Tender?
• Operations - Do you treat freebies as real customers?
• Meetings - Do you know the outcomes of an Initial Meeting (either Spec Review or Ad Hoc)?
• Scheduling - Do you know how to book developers for a project?
• Do you use eSignature solutions?
• Do you know what currency to quote?
• Do you avoid using too many decimal places?
• Do you include the annual cost for recurring expenses?