When sales are down, you know you have to make changes. As a sales person, your main job is to keep those numbers up, to keep generating revenue. You can’t afford to miss your sales targets time and time again. It isn’t good for you and it isn’t good for your company.

So if your sales are down and you’re at a loss for what to do, use these tips to try to get them back up again.

1. Set Goals

Maybe you’re in a slump. Maybe you’re not maximizing your time. If sales are down, start by setting goals. Maybe you want to increase your calls per day, your referrals per call, or your proposals per month. The goals you set to achieve should be based on something that you can control. Then, set results goals, such as profits per sale or sales per month, to measure and track your progress. When you create goals, you can focus your attention and take more effective action.

2. Sell to Your Customer’s Needs

If you’re getting a lot of leads but you can’t seem to make any progress to close them, then maybe your sales are down because of your selling method. Instead of focusing on making the sale, focus on your customers’ needs. Take some time to realize what your customers want to achieve, and help them reach their own goals. Perhaps they want to reduce costs, increase efficiency, or save time. Work on giving them solutions to their problems and meeting their needs—instead of meeting your sales targets—and you’ll probably close more deals.

3. Ditch the Script

If you’re selling over the phone with the use of a script, your sales might be down for good reason. Reading a script makes you sound unnatural and fake. Jot down only the key points instead of reading it verbatim. When you use your own words, you’ll be able to have real conversations with your prospects, which will give you a better shot of closing the deal.

4. Use Tech and Tools to Your Advantage

If you’re spending all of your time inputting data and performing administrative tasks, it’s no wonder your sales are down. You need time to actually sell. There’s a wealth of sales technologies and tools on the market that can make your job easier and more efficient. Use them so you can get back to making sales.

5. Slow Down

If you’re in a hurry to sell, you’re going to harm your chances of actually closing the deal. Slow down and be patient. You might be coming off as too pushy and aggressive. Realize that building relationships with prospects and building trust takes time. So take this time required for these essential steps and you’ll be able to improve your sales.

6. Evoke Emotions

If you want to close more deals, don’t just convince a buyer’s logical side to buy. Evoke emotion, too. Buyers purchase largely because of their emotional responses to your offerings. Write more persuasive emails and create more emotional presentations by evoking key emotions in your buyers, like guilt, fear, and competition. Sell the feeling, not the product and you’ll boost your sales for sure.

7. Build Your Credibility

Your credibility is often all you have. When sales are down, it might be because buyers have stopped trusting you. Perhaps you lied, cheated, or didn’t keep your word. Perhaps you can’t get new business because you haven’t built up your credibility and given prospects a reason to trust you and want to buy from you. You have to overcome the bad reputation that sales people have. You have to be honest, build your thought leadership, be genuine, and follow through to build your credibility and in turn close more sales.