Are you looking for key sales activities to improve your sales? If you are a salesman in the construction industry, you have landed on the right page. Our article is about how to increase sales in construction. The key sales activities and tips we provide here will help you improve customer relations, build accurate construction bids, and ultimately win more work. Perform all the key key sales activities below and you will have a foolproof sales activity plan.
Key Sales Activities and Tips for Construction Sales Teams
If you are a salesman in the construction industry, you landed on the right page. These key sales activities and tips will help you improve your sales game, build accurate construction bids, and “compete” at the highest level. It isn’t exactly easy, but if you are able to perform all the key sales activities listed below, you are on the right track.
Sales Activities to Increase Sales
- Polish your sales plan
- Master the follow-up process
- Track sales data
- Track opportunities and leads with a CRM
- Customer-nurturing activities
- Communicate with your sales team
- Collaborate with your marketing team
Polish Your Construction Sales Plan
Time is a valuable asset, so planning is important. Here are some CRM activities examples of administrative tasks that you should include in your key sales activities:
Develop sales action calendar
Your plate can get full fast. That’s why you can use free tools, such as this free Weekly Plan for your sales team to keep up with your duties. This resource can help you plan your construction sales activities for the day, week, or month.
Plan for cold calling
Even in the digital age, cold calling is still a key sales tool in the construction industry. Schedule time for cold calling. Make an average of 5 to 10 calls per day and experiment with your timing.
Organize your inbox
It reflects your sales activity. If you have an organized inbox, your sales activity is on point. If not, take a closer look at it. You can start by creating categories for your emails to sort them. For example, emails from: clients, potential clients, or teammates. Based on how detailed you want your categories you can go even further. For example, emails from clients with attachments, without attachments, with opportunities, without opportunities. You can do the same for your emails from potential clients.
Create and optimize email templates
Yes, email templates are key sales tools. You’ll save time you can use for other initiatives. Your sales email template should include three sections. Start with an intro, then main point, and end with a call to action. Use an attention-grabbing phrase in your intro. Make it quick and to the point. The intro will either make or break the email. For the main point, focus on how you can solve your customer’s problem. Be clear, concise, and strategic. In the last section, tell your customer what you want them to do.
Create a proposal template library
A proposal template is a re-usable file that a construction salesman, estimator, or construction business development professional can use to speed up the proposal creation process and eliminate the human errors that sometimes happen. Jump-start your library with this free construction proposal template collection created by the iDeal team. All templates are free and fully customizable.
Master the Follow-up Process
Followup is one of the key sales activities to increase sales. There is a methodology to it. Here are some pointers on how to increase sales in the construction with followup:
Identify the right clients
Time is valuable and you want to make the best use of it. For example, there are five general contractors listed for a job and you take a closer look at their names. If you know that one of those GCs is hard to win a bid with, you will want to focus on the other four. Focus your resources on the clients that are more likely to win the job. You can also use a ranking method where you rank the opportunity and the general contractor based on your preferences.
Schedule your follow-up activities
Don’t fall down the rabbit hole, if you don’t have to. You most valuable asset is your time. Similar to your bid calendar, make a note of your follow-up activities. In other words, identify the right people you want to follow up with. Then develop a list of priorities for your followup activities and stick to it.
Then follow up, follow up, follow up
Followup activities (along with pricing and services) is what will win you the bid. Mix and match your follow-up sales activity. You can use the iDeal email follow-up tool for example to quickly send out client emails about open opportunities or proposals. Or pick up the phone and make a call if they don’t respond via email. You can also interact with them via social media channels, such as LinkedIn and Facebook. If you want to put a personal note on it, you can drop by their office and check-in with them.
Learn more in the article Sales Followup Process Tips for Subcontractors or check out the Follow-up Process article library
Track Sales Data
Being in the sales industry most likely makes you a goal driven and oriented individual. You have a sales activity plan. Because of this, it is crucial to track your sales activity. Based on the metrics that you analyze, you can plan your schedule weekly, monthly, or yearly. And determine what the sales activities to increase sales are. You have to keep a keen eye on your data. Here are a few examples to consider when tracking your sales data:
- Compare your sales performance against your SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Trackable)
- Winning percentage / conversion rate
- Number of touch points it takes to get closer to closing the deal
- Whether the type of work sells better or the geographic area of the work has more impact
Track Opportunities and Leads with a CRM
How many times did you lose track of where you were at in the sales process? Or you would start an activity and then something urgent would come up and you would not get back to what you were doing? Even the most experienced salesmen can face challenges to track all their opportunities. A sales activities list or pipeline can help. A construction CRM or sales management tool built specifically for contractors is a huge time saver. With a contractor CRM that fits your sales process to the T, you can:
STAY
on top of your sales pipeline
on track with your key sales activities
organized and follow-up on all your opportunities
in touch with your clients until a decision is made
Here are some examples of CRM activities that a great sales management tool can provide. It will help you keep track of sales activities to increase sales:
Get real-time access to data
Track leads and opportunities at all stages. A CRM for contractors will give you the chance to keep an eye on all opportunities at all stages of the sales cycle. This will also give you the chance to better plan and map out your sales activities.
Document effort
This will show your employees what their labor is worth. Documenting hours worked will help with your team’s morale and engagement.
Keep an eye on your contacts
It can get messy if you don’t keep track of who you contact. Using a CRM, you can keep track of your contacts and follow up with them by setting reminders.
Update teammates
In sales, it takes a whole village. That’s why it’s important to keep everyone updated. A good CRM will allow you and your team to view all key sales deals, opportunities, and activities.
Customer-nurturing Activities
Your customers drive your success. The main element in having a great customer relationship is focusing on their needs. Time tends to get limited in certain situations, but it’s a matter of how you make the time for that one customer. It is one of the most important sales activities to increase sales. Here are a few sales activities ideas that can help you improve your sales relationship with customers and increase sales in construction.
Create a target market customer list
Know your go-to customers. By creating a target market customer list, you don’t exclude potential customers. You simply focus your resources on customers that will translate into profit. For example, start by creating a list of your top 100 existing and potential customers. Start reaching out to them with a strategic plan. In addition, you can do the same for new target markets you wish to consider. For example, find the right customers and leads by creating your winning strategy.
Identify qualified leads
Save time and use your resources where they work best. A qualified lead is someone who shows interest in your product. For example, identify qualified leads and build a solid sales pipeline. Look at their interactions on their websites and reach out to them. Become familiar with their social media habits and interact with them at the right time.
Establish loyal customer relationships
It takes more than an email or a phone call to generate sales activity. Take it a step further and show your customers appreciation on social media. Celebrate their successes, share their valuable content. Use your email to communicate with them and get involved in their activities. Make it easy for construction customers to reach out to you. Be active on social media, share updates and create automatic campaigns via your CRM.
Plan your meetings
You have your target market list, now what?! Take the time to schedule meetings with prospective clients. For example, it can be a virtual meeting via online platforms such as zoom. Or, if you have the time, you can meet them in-person for a lunch or even a coffee break. It is crucial to connect with at least one client per day, online, via voice, or in-person and get to know their goals.
Warm up prospects that have cooled off
You’ve been focusing on your main leads and identified some that are on the fence. You can turn them into customers by keeping them updated on your current activity and strategy. Social media channels are great to build trust with your potential customers. Show them that your current customers refer you on social media. This will increase their interest in your services.
Communicate with Your Sales Team
Your team can get as busy and overwhelmed as you. It is important to always check-in with them and make sure they have the necessary resources. And that they have a thorough understanding of the sales activities are they need to perform to be successful. You don’t need to spend endless hours talking to them about sales team activities, or schedule meetings going nowhere. Here are a couple of tips for better communication with your team:
Give your team your full attention
They are part of the work behind the scenes. When you have a meeting or a call, make sure you interrupt all other distractions. Give them your full attention for the duration of the meeting. By avoiding distractions, you become an effective asset to the team.
Ask questions and listen more
Your team wants your feedback and input. Make sure that you plan your questions in advance. For example, you can set a meeting schedule at the beginning of the week together with a set of topics to cover. Since you already know the meeting topic, you can draft a couple questions to follow up on with your team.
Keep in touch and recognize your team
Your team is goal oriented and driven to succeed. It’s important to celebrate small victories, as well as big ones. There are several communication channels that you can also use to create group messages. For example, Slack is a very useful tool that can create separate channels to stay updated on sales team activities. You can use Slack for updates, but also to inspire and celebrate victories. You can also take your team to lunch, or bring in breakfast, write thank-you notes, or say thank-you in person.
Collaborate with Your Marketing Team
It is very important to make time out of your busy sales schedule to meet with the marketing team regarding your sales activity. There are certain goals and strategies that must be in sync between sales team activities and marketing team activities. For example:
- Check your sales strategy and plan against the marketing strategy and make sure they are in sync
- Similarly, collaborate with your marketing team to synchronize your social media activity
- Also, develop marketing materials you need based on your findings
- Review buyer personas with your marketing manager
- Get supporting collateral for the sales activities such as:
- Product sell sheets
- Statistics sheets
- Case studies by client type or category
Conclusion
There are many sales activities ideas for growing your construction business. These key sales activities require that you nurture customers, analyze customer data and adjust your sales strategy accordingly. Also, excel in organization and collaborate both within the sales team and with the marketing team. Another sales activity that counts for a lot is follow-up, yes! And, last but not least, a sales management or CRM tool developed specifically for construction can help you automate all these key sales activities.
As the saying goes, “consistency is more important than perfection”. Stick to your sales activity plan. Wishing you many leads, opportunities, and jobs going forward!