How to Level Up Your Sales Tactics in No Time

Written by Kira Grieve

Kira is a Senior Campaign Manager at The Selling Factory. Over the last year and a half, she has used her education (Double Gator from UF) and experiences from traveling to coach and encourage over 100 college/UF students on sales outreach, sales tactics and personal goals. 

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Have you ever thought about the success rate of sales professionals and realized that 74% of them fail? With only 26% of people succeeding at sales, finding the top sales tactics that actually complement your industry and focus has never been more important. Sales strategies aren’t universal.

If you aren’t working within the right culture for the strategy you’re trying to implement, the chances it will fail are high. If you don’t have the right resources to support the strategy you want to launch, the rate of failure is also high. The key is learning how to identify the best sales tactics for the results you want, the resources you have, and the message you are trying to deliver.

Keep reading to learn how to elevate your approach to the sales game and how to succeed with each pitch.

Why Your Sales Strategy Matters

Your sales strategy isn’t only your avenue to a successful or failed attempt at lead generation; it’s also your opening for continuous revenue. Sales strategies are also great ways to elevate the skills of your team or yourself if you’re a one-man team because you can find watch strategies that match your skills best.

Of course, you have to match your strategy to your resources and your business model, but you want to make sure you can be consistent with it. When it comes to lead nurturing, the right approach will help you spot risks and find the most effective selling styles that match your audience and ways to improve your performance whether in the field or working remotely.

Learning some of the top sales tactics for your specific industry will make any type of selling simpler to close deals and plan around your future goals…you just have to know what the winning strategies are.

Solution Selling Is Flexible and Never Gets Old

This form of selling is a winning strategy because you’re identifying the needs of those you’re pitching to. Not only are you showcasing what they need the most, but you’re also pitching the solution to their actual problem.

With this strategy, you are showing how your products or services will solve your audience’s pain points. Knowing the formula to succeed at solution selling can also help. The formula will look like this:

“Pain x Power x Vision x Value x Control = Sale”

Solution selling is often said to be one of the most complex types of selling, but if you know your audience, your product, and do your market research, it won’t be hard to master. 

Leverage the Concept of Challenger Selling

Challenge selling is very closely related to solution selling. However, with this method, you’re going to be focusing on actually ‘finding’ opportunities for your target audience. Consumers want to hear and see results rather than generic pitches.

Challenger selling is the way to do that and is a simple way to elevate your sales tactics while heightening the chance of securing more business. It might sound daunting at first, but this is a way to get the gears of your audience working because if you can prove you have a better option for them, they’ll often bite the bait.

Use your sales skills to ‘challenge’ what they are already doing and show them how your products or services will make them more efficient. To succeed at this, show them how you can save them money, how much time you can save them in their workflows, or how much closer your products will bring their teams together. Whatever your product does, pitch it and show why it’s better than their current methods.

Who Needs Cold Calling When ‘Warm Calling’ Works Better?

We’ve all heard of cold calling and not many sales professionals like this part of the sales game. However, warm calling is a lot more approachable and successful. You might be asking, “How can I ‘warm call’ a prospect if I haven’t, cold-called them first?”

Well, while warm calling typically means that you are contacting someone you’ve had contact with before, you can generate those leads without calling them beforehand. Use organic or paid targeted marketing to do this. This is where market research comes in and you don’t want to skip it.

You can draw their attention without picking up a phone through email ads, general ad campaigns, and social media efforts. All of your ads should be designed to increase engagement, and when they engage, you can follow up ‘warmly’ because now, they’re expecting it.

Don’t Be Afraid to Mention Your Competitors

Regardless of the selling styles you decide to use, never be afraid to mention your competitors when pitching yourself, products, or services. This doesn’t mean you need to pitch what your competitors can bring to the table. Instead, you want to find ways to make what you’re selling stand out from what both your direct and indirect competitors are doing.

This means customizing your sales pitch in a way that mentions something your competition is trying but that you do better. This could sound something like, “A lot of local businesses have been working with ‘company 2’ and have been seeing 10% ROI with their tactics. However, with my services, some of those same local businesses have seen a 25% ROI at a faster rate.”

The point is to center yourself as an industry leader and not be shy about it. This shows your confidence and that you’re knowledgeable about what you’re selling.

When you do this, ensure you have some form of visual proof. You can do this with a pitch deck or a snapshot of the actual back-end analytics of one of your clients. If you haven’t worked with anyone yet, rely on case studies and projections to sell and validate your claims.

Making Selling Easier With Proven Sales Tactics

Sales is hard, but it doesn’t have to be with the right sales tactics. If you know your audience and know what you’re selling, you’re already a step ahead. Sales isn’t complex, when you overthink it; that’s when the complexity comes in.

When you have the right tools to support your strategy and the right attitude, you’re likely to close deals without breaking a sweat. To take your selling approach to the next level, learn more with The Selling Factory.

Victoria Zamitalo

Campaign Manager

Victoria received a BA in History and Economics from the University of Florida in May 2023. She is a driven sales professional with over 5 years combined experience in customer service, consumer relations and outbound sales, and is deeply passionate about fostering close relationships between consumers and sellers. She aims to train the next generation of sales professionals in not only the tricks of the trade, but also interpersonal skills that make sales the exciting and ever-changing industry that it is.

victoria@thesellingfactory.com

Mia Semel

Campaign Manager

Before graduating with a B.A. in Sustainability Studies, Mia took on multiple roles while interning at The Selling Factory, including sales development, recruiting, and leading campaigns. She is an active listener and effective communicator, specializing in fostering genuine connections and finding common ground among differing perspectives. She aims to find practical, creative solutions regarding sustainable development, biodiversity and the climate crisis.

mia.semel@thesellingfactory.com

Kira Grieve

Senior Campaign Manager

Kira graduated from the University of Florida and received her Master of Science in Entrepreneurship. She is passionate about helping businesses grow and connecting with new people. Some of her hobbies include traveling and hiking. She hopes to visit all of the National Parks one day!

kira@thesellingfactory.com

Jared Glosser

Vice President

After graduating from UF in 2014 with a B.A. in history, Jared started his professional career Fundraising for a non-partisan political lobby in South Florida. In 2016, Jared moved back to Gainesville to work for a non-profit, recruit students for international travel opportunities, and pursue his MBA at UF. Jared has been with The Selling Factory since 2019 focusing on operations, client onboarding, and client success.

jared@thesellingfactory.com

Ian Massenburg

Chief Operating Officer

A graduate of University of Florida (B.A. 2001), Ian Massenburg brings over 18 years of sales executive and sales management experience to The Selling Factory. Before coming on-board, Ian worked alongside Brad at Infinite Energy, and then spent his next 3 years as VP of Partnerships selling SaaS products B2B. Ian brings his vast knowledge and experience to the team and to our partner companies served.

ian@thesellingfactory.com

Damien Paulk

Campaign Manager

Damien is a University of Florida graduate that recently joined the team full time after working as a Sales Development Intern for one year. As a Campaign Manager, Damien looks forward to contributing to the growth and success of The Selling Factory. When Damien is not at work he enjoys exploring Gainesville with his girlfriend and dog or watching the Gators dominate college football.

damien@thesellingfactory.com

Brendan Viehman

Campaign Manager

Brendan graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Project Management. For the past 5 years, he has enjoyed working with blockchain technology and cryptocurrency development. In his free time, he surfs and makes personal finance videos for his YouTube channel.

brendan@thesellingfactory.com

Savannah Howard

Campaign Manager

A graduate from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications, Savannah obtained her Bachelor of Science in public relations with a concentration in French. After almost two years as a sales development intern for The Selling Factory, she joined the leadership team in 2021 taking on the role of Campaign Manager. In her free time, Savannah enjoys going to concerts and festivals and cooking for her friends and family.

savannah@thesellingfactory.com

Zack Kampf

Campaign Manager

Zack is a creative technologist with experience in advertising, event planning, and game design. He started as an SDR in 2018 and has been with TSF ever since. Upon graduating UF in 2019 he became a campaign manager and is currently seeking a master's degree from NYU. In his spare time, you can find him at the intersection of Art & Technology!

zack@thesellingfactory.com

Josiah Blakemore

Growth Manager

Josiah has over 10 years of sales experience, worked with Brad and Ian at Infinite Energy, and also spent time selling SaaS as Director of Partnerships at SharpSpring. He’s always been very competitive and has a love for sports and games. He enjoys solving problems and coaching team members to do the same!

josiah@thesellingfactory.com

Sue-Ming Frauenhofer

Marketing Manager

Sue-Ming received both her B.S. in Psychology and M.S. in Management from The University of Florida. As a student, she took on multiple roles while interning at The Selling Factory, including sales development, marketing, and recruiting, eventually leading to her current role as Marketing Manager. She enjoys refining her taste in music and visual art, engaging in mindfulness and meditative practices, and frolicking outside with her sidekick pup.

sueming@thesellingfactory.com

Adam Grossman

Chief Development Officer

Adam is an ordained rabbi, who has founded multiple ventures focused on workforce development. Hired as CEO by a failing non-profit, in over 5 years, his ingenuity saved the organization, which led Slingshotfund.org to recognize it as one of North America’s most innovative Jewish non-profits. His expertise to identify, cultivate, and on-board talent ensures our student teams meet our partners’ needs.

adam@thesellingfactory.com

Brad Gamble

Chief Executive Officer

After graduating from UF in 1999 with a B.S.B.A, Brad Gamble has dedicated himself to sales management, branding, coaching, and building companies. He served as the VP of Sales & Marketing for Infinite Energy until 2014, when he founded The Selling Factory. He has dedicated himself to teaching critical skills to tomorrow’s leaders, and helping companies achieve sales success and revenue growth.

brad@thesellingfactory.com