5 steps you need to take NOW to maintain your edge
February 1, 2010 by Bob HillPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter - Sales & Marketing, Latest News & Views - Sales & Marketing, closing, communication, economy, online marketing, sales management
Here are five ways to stay ahead of the curve in a saturated marketplace and boost your closing rates while competitors are struggling:
- Develop your own competitive analysis: Today’s prospects have unprecedented access to lowball offers and online discounts. If they haven’t done their own research prior to meeting with one of your salespeople, they definitely will before making a final buying decision. Control the process by developing your own competitive breakdown of price, features, benefits and potential ROI. It’s a proactive approach that earns buyers’ trust, while highlighting all of the areas where you offer superior value. It also allows salespeople to see — at a glance — what they can offer that an incumbent supplier can’t.
- Embrace new modes of communication: Cell phones, text messaging, Twitter, LinkedIn, e-mail, instant messaging, Web conferencing … these are just a few of the ways today’s prospects communicate. Salespeople who ask prospects how they prefer to communicate early on are in a better position to maintain contact. Train salespeople to use as many modes of communication as possible, and encourage them to master any new modes as soon as they become available.
- Determine who your high-probability prospects are: The marketplace has changed dramatically over the past three years and so has the type of prospect who can benefit from your products the most. Perform an audit of your sales from the past year to determine what types of prospects are most likely to buy now (e.g., title, industry, size of company, region, etc.). Once you’ve developed a “prospect profile,” frontload your lead pipeline with those types of leads to give salespeople the best opportunity for success.
- Update your marketing message: As a result of the economic downturn, most buyers’ needs and challenges have changed. Partner with Marketing to recast your e-mail copy and marketing collateral (as well as advertising slogans) to ensure they address what buyers are up against now.
- Use your company’s Web site as a resource: Having visitors register on your site before they can access company blogs, online articles, or customer reviews is a great way to generate leads. And it also allows companies to track how often prospects visit the site and which product pages they’re clicking on the most. Work with IT to create a system where that info is immediately forwarded to a sales rep. That way the salesperson can follow up ASAP, answering any questions the prospect has before he/she buys from a competitor. Allowing buyers to post reviews of your products and services is also a great way to gain feedback and learn how prospects are benefiting from your products the most.
Source: “Smart Selling on the Phone and Online” by Josiane Feigon
The Sales and Marketing Update delivers the latest Sales and Marketing news once a week to the inboxes of over 200,000 Sales and Marketing professionals.
Click here to sign up and start your FREE subscription to The Sale and Marketing Update!
Tags: closing, competition, landing pages, marketing, prospects, ROI, sales
February 5th, 2010 at 9:37 am
I think #5 is crazy. Think as a consumer and you’ll agree.
When I’m doing research, I prefer to do so without a sales pitch. Asking visitors to register to view content on a website is a sure way to drive people away from your site. There’s too much free info on the web–with no registration required.
One thing that might be good is to have a live chat option through which salespeople could ask site visitors if they’d like assistance or have questions. Just like in a brick and mortar store, the question can be answered and salesperson fade into the background if needed. I found this helpful when I was shopping Verizon for a new phone. I don’t recall having to click anywhere specific to get that live chat.
Found another site BlueHost (web hosting) had a live chat option for questions. Very nice.
Lynn
February 10th, 2010 at 11:34 am
This article has good ideas however; it is void of what we consider the most important of all opportunities, your existing data base as referrals. If we have learned anything in this down turn, it is the value of a loyal client. Contact these high value resources and ask for referrals. Offer a stipend or service option to them for their confidence in your company.
February 10th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
I think the article is a good start, there is some general advice that pertains to all businesses but depending on the industry that you work in, some of this doesn’t really hold true.
I would suggest implementing a Marketing Automation Software solution (MAS) to help manage and control lead nurturing and drip marketing so that prospects, users, partners and associates are in tune with the right message at the right time on a regular basis to create “top of mind” awareness. An MAS can help you create nurture tracks that identify unique “personas” within each industry that should be receiving targeted and meaningful messaging.
Lynn, I think you’re way off base on #5. Don’t think as a consumer, think as a buyer. Most buyers who are involved in a “complex sale” will research relentlessly about the available solutions, often times giving their name and other critical information to a vendor for insights and suggestions on how to address their problem. For example, when I implemented a “lead capture” form on my company’s website, I went from virtually 0 prospects gathered from the web to 500+ in 9 months by offering a 3 min. flash demo of our company and product. I was able to obtain name, company, email, state, decision making capability, budget, time to purchase and other critical data that helped me understand who I was working with. My sales cycle is 6 to 12 months, these prospects aren’t ready to buy, they’re ready to research, and over time you can understand buyer behavior and interests to strategically and tactically alter your marketing plan.
- Dennis