38 ideas to drive your sales and marketing

What happens when you put heads together around how to drive sales?  Well, here is a good example, the result of just 20 people brainstorming for 30 minutes on the topic - a total of 38 good ideas to boost sales and marketing.  We have grouped them under 4 headings.

Why don't you do the same with your team?   Or else read through this list and see which ones you can apply to your business?    If there are any ideas that are not here, please let us know.

A.      Existing / Past Customers (4 ideas)

1.       Make contact with past customers

2.       Account management – make sure our customers are really satisfied – project reviews with all our clients – re-examine their priorities

3.       Up sell our existing customers

4.       Get referrals from clients / past clients

 

 

B.      How to Find Potential New Customers (11 ideas)

5.       Alliances – Co-marketing – Potential Partners

6.       Organise database  / Buy a database list

7.       Memberships , get on the governing board

8.       Contact people we have not dealt with

9.       Make use of all our contacts (people we know)

10.   Direct mail / mail out

11.   Networking – going to events

12.   More golf (networking)

13.   Trade missions – overseas markets

14.   Open day

15.   Telemarketing

16.   Check the newspaper, trade press, etc. for announcements

 

 

C.      Increase Profile & Awareness (12 ideas)

17. Signage at customer suites
18. Newsletter
19. Improve our Web site – get more web enquiries
20. Blogging
21. Brown bag sessions on U tube
22. Get client feedback
23. Advertise
24. Increase the profile of the firm
25. Publicize big / past jobs
26. Get PR – write articles / papers / publish
27. Tell about our awards
28. Competitions / Submissions
29. Talks / presentations

 

D.      Innovation; New Markets, Products, etc. (8 ideas)

30. Look at other markets, or sectors
31. Develop specialized skills in certain areas
32. Develop new areas of business
33. Find new projects earlier (pre planning)
34. Innovate (new products, services, etc.)
35. Other services
36. Gather market information
37. Develop new pricing /payment models
38. New approach to presentations, tenders, etc.
    
    

Don't be Afraid to Ask - What kind of job am I doing?

Yes you can.

There are few salespeople who at one time or another in their career have asked themselves searching questions, such as; 'what kind of job am I doing?', 'am I the best person to be selling this?', 'can I make a success of this role?', or perhaps even 'should I be in sales?.'

In particular, people who are new to sales related roles often ask themselves the question 'am I the right person for this job'. They often say 'well I am not a natural sales person' and express discomfort regarding aspects of the role and their performance.

Well to both, we say 'good question' and well done for asking it.  In our experience, the mere fact that somebody asks these questions suggests a characteristic that is essential to sales success.

Those people who occupy sales, or business development, roles are generally assumed to be highly confident and of course in their dealings with customers and prospects the need to be seen as such. 

However, the reality is that when you scratch beneath the surface they can be quite introspective.  As such they are not afraid to question their approach, success, or even skills.  Yet, rather than being an indication of weakness, such self awareness is actually a pillar of success. 

Great salespeople review the last sales meeting they just had, the last proposal they submitted, the last campaign they ran – constantly identifying opportunities for improvement, or greater success.  Could I have handled that objection differently?  Did I prequalify the opportunity sufficiently?  Did I use the language of the customer and avoid the technical jargon of our own?

The TOP 10 Demo Mistakes

An effective demo can play an important role in clinching the deal, however if it goes wrong you may never recover. 

So here is a checklist of the Top 10 Demo Mistakes and how to avoid them:

 1. Doing the demo remotely when it should be face to face.
Remote demos or leaving the customer to demo by him/herself mean you don't have control of how your solution is being experienced.

2. Failure to agree success criteria
Agree in advance what the prospect considers to be a 'success'.

 3. Not qualifying the audience
It is essential to find out in advance; the audience's level of experience, their particular interests/priorities/needs, available budget and timing.

 4. Leaving it to chance
Too many presenters do not adequately structure and script their demos.

 5. Not enough interaction
A good demo requires good interaction between the presenter and the audience.

6. Not focusing on what is relevant
To avoid your audience asking 'so what?' pick a demonstration scenario that is interesting and relevant to the audience in question.  Too often demos demonstrate the technology, but not the underlying business case/application.

 7. Focusing on features not benefits
If a demo focuses on technology features and not benefits the viewer won't really get to understand the advantages for their business.

8. A poorly prepared presenter
A good demo in the hands of the wrong person can spell disaster.

9. Assuming that the audience knows more than they do
Presenters often jump straight into the detail of a demo without setting the context.

10. Going too fast and trying to show too much
This is another reason why scripting, storyboarding and practicing demos is so important.

Top 10 Sales Priorities for 2008

We asked Managers about their Sales Priorities for 2008 to identify the following:

1. Closing More Deals 2. Quality of Sales Leads (not just the quantity) 3. Sales Methodology/Process 4. Selling Higher into Target Accounts 5. More Accurate Sales Forecasts 6. Boosting Sales Activity 7. Growing Key Accounts 8. Building & Managing the Sales Team 9. More Marketing Support for Sales 10. Growing Partner Sales   Click on any of above for more details from our web pages, or download 'TOP 10 SALES PRIORITIES FOR 2008' article.

Got the Sales Collateral You Need?

Do you have the sales and marketing collateral do you need? If yes, how can you be sure that it does not immediately end up in the prospects bin? We recommend you use the acronomyn IMPACT to measure the effectiveness of your sales and marketing collateral: 1. Impressive: Does it look as good, if not better than, competitor collateral and create the right impression (i.e. a successful international organisation)? 2. Memorable: Can the message be summarised into a memorable & succinct 'We have done A, B & C, for X, Y & Z Clients'? 3. Proposition: Does it clearly communicate compelling benefits to the prospect? 4. Action: Does it grab attention, encourage the reader to find out more? Does it educate, or change attitudes? 5. Content: Is the information presented useful? Is it Consistent across your web site, sales presentation, etc.? 6. Tailored: By decision maker level (functional area), vertical, stage of the buying process, event, campaign, etc? If you don't have something good to send to a customer who enquires, or to leave with a customer you have met, then it will impact on your sales effectiveness.

Cuting sales calls that 'go nowhere' by 10+%

Our research shows that most companies can increase the effectiveness of their sales meetings, presentations and demos by between 10% and 15% by addressing 8 key areas:

1. Preparation: Greater planning & pre-qualification of meetings. 2. Proposition: Communicating benefits in a more compelling manner. 3. Process: Adopting a more structured / thorough approach to meetings. 4. People: Developing more effective ways to build rapport and trust. 5. Presentation: Shorter but more effective slide shows. 6. Presenter: Focus on the sales person's appearance, enthusiasm & skill. 8. Post meeting: Systematic follow-up, managed by a SFA/CRM system.

Traditionally the sales person was considered to be the most important factor in the success of any sales meeting. However today's managers place equal if not greater importance on meeting prequalification, the value proposition, the sales process, etc.

How Architects, Engineers & Others Can Tackle The Slowdown

For more than a decade most architects, engineers and surveyors have had to undertake limited if any business development activity.    For many that means that they have lost this skill.   

Regardless of the market and when it changes the future for most practices will involve a more proactive approach to finding new projects and customers.

However in the meantime there are things that managers in architectural and related practices can do aimed at winning a higher proportion of a smaller number of projects during the down turn and being prepared to take advantage of a market turnaround when it comes.

Most architects, engineers, etc. are rightly cynical about sales and marketing. When we work with professional practices it is not to transform their people into sales people, far from it. That is not what is required. 

What is required is for each person to play a role in telling more of the right people about the projects, skills and awards of their practices. 

Everyday we help professionals to overcome their anxieties and discomfort regarding sales and marketing and to focus on small tasks that they could undertake in order to keep and grow existing clients and attract new ones.  

Inevitably this will generate better results, moreover it puts people back in control of their destiny and feeling better as a result.

Top 5 Priorities for Repeat Sales

Top 5 Priorities for Repeat Sales
We have been asking managers about their challenges and priorities in
terms of maximising repeat orders.

Here are the top 5 challenges:
1. Ensure Initial / trial orders repeat
2. Building loyalty & depending relationships
3. Exceeding customer expectations
4. Up selling & cross selling
5. Over-dependence on key customers

Here are the top 5 Priorities:
1. Targets for growing revenue from existing customers
2. Feedback – client side reviews
3. Key account plans & proactive CRM (supported by a system)
4. Reinforcing perceptions of value
5. Customer referrals and recommendations

--
Ray Collis
Director - The ASG Group, Ireland.

p.s. Have you seen my sales blog recently?

+353 (0)86 82 95 338 +353 (0)1 44 044 00 +44 (0)870 977 0167

http://www.theASGgroup.com
The ASG Group registered business name of Accelerate Sales Growth Ltd.
3rd Floor Harmony Court, Harmony Row, Dublin 2

Top 5 Priorities for Winning Sales Orders

We have been asking managers about their challenges and priorities in
terms of sales prders and boosting win rates.

Here are the top 5 challenges:
1. Revenues falling short of target
2. A 'sure thing' deal(s) is lost
3. Win rates are 'below par', or falling
4. Too many opportunities are stalled or 'in the valley'
5. Order size, or profitability needs to be increased

Here are the top 5 Priorities:
1. Involve the customer in creating the proposal
2. Avoid surprises - trial balloon price and other aspects
3. Go back to the start with stalled decisions
4. Get feedback before submission & post submission meeting
5. Track conversion rates & analyze lost deals

Top 5 Priorities for Sales Cycles

Top 5 Priorities for Sales Cycles
We have been asking managers about their challenges and priorities in
terms of managing sales cycles (as measured by win rates).

Here are the top 5 challenges:
1. Not enough genuine opportunities in the pipeline
2. Difficult to predict what deals will close & when
3. Getting real involvement / commitment from buyer
4. Surprises regarding buyer needs, budget, timing, etc.
5. Balancing sales cycles with prospecting, etc.

Here are the top 5 Priorities:
1. Sell higher and cover the buying unit
2. More interaction to jointly uncover needs and explore solutions
3. Build and gauge commitment throughout
4. Expert & trusted advisor, not sales person
5. Compelling business case and 'trial ballooning' price