|
|
| Sales Management Information |
|
Want to Increase the Amount of Business that Your Firm is Getting?
Business development is important for every business and refers to the action of bringing in customers or clients that are likely to make positive contributions to a company's bottom line. Business Development is all about establishing relevant and subsisting relationships in the market place. In this article Alex Margarit offers you an introduction into the world of business development and new business acquisition. Utilizing your existing client base to maximise your inbound sales revenue. Your existing client or customer base is the number one most important tool to increasing your firm's business. The most important relationships for any business are those that it holds with its customers. For this reason it is paramount that companies consider their existing customers when identifying ways to increase their market share. Customer service theory tells as that by creating positive experiences with their clients, businesses can often reap big rewards in terms of new business referral with every "raving fan client" avidly promoting the business to others based on their experience. Prospecting & Sales Prospecting for clients is an important means to increase market share. Prospecting is a valuable part of the sales process and normally involves identifying a targeted list of potential customers that meet with the firm's marketing objectives. Direct sales campaigns can then be initiated to entice them into becoming a client or customer of the firm. Referral bases In any given market there will often be a large number of potential referrers of business that may not necessarily be potential clients. Typical referrers can be industry bodies such as associations or clubs or otherwise other opinion leaders in the market. Opinion leaders are generally people in the market that are regarded as having an insight into the market and who have some measure of influence over target markets. Establishing valid relationships with referrers can be a wonderful source of new business. Strategic Alliances and Joint ventures Establishing strategic alliances and joint ventures can be a great way to maintain a focus on your primary product offering whilst simultaneously expanding your market participation. The basic premise is that there are always a number of firms in any given market who are selling to the same target markets as you are. By creating a strategic alliance with a firm who is not directly competing with you, both parties will be able to collaborate towards the one goal of better servicing their client base. Given that each firm in the alliance has an area of specialization, why re-invent the wheel. An alliance will allow the customer to benefit from a wider product range while both parties can negotiate a referral system for incoming sales. Alex Margarit is an Internet Marketing professional based in Brisbane, Australia. He has written a number of published works on Marketing.
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Are Your Sales Meetings Boring? Many sales meetings are boring and a waste of salespeople's time, say the majority of salespeople I interview. A review of what's going on in the market is good to know, but to be effective, sales meetings need to be a lot more than that venues for quick market updates. How Many Salespeople Should I Hire? One of the most asked questions I get is how many sales people does it take to get the revenue numbers needed. Personally, I believe in large sales forces because in highly competitive situations the largest army wins. That doesn't mean, however, that you can go out and hire 100 sales people if all you can possibly sell this year is a million dollars if everything goes right. So how do you decide how large a staff you need? Drop Discounts and Earn Top Dollar Every dollar you discount is a dollar of pure profit you're giving away. Therefore, your efforts to remove discounts will be richly rewarded. 10 Things to Help Your Business When Sales Are Slow During the Holidays Twiddling your thumbs and waiting for some business to come in? Why not use this downtime to set yourself up for greater success in the new year? Here are my 10 picks, but you don't have to do them all. Even doing just one will get you another rung higher on your business ladder. How to Sell Strategically If you want to maximize your sales performance, take a strategic approach to selling. After all, wouldn't you agree that "the 80/20 rule" applies to customers, where approximately 20 percent of customers produce approximately 80 percent of sales? Effective Sales Territory Management How you prioritize your sales territory management activities depends upon whether you are managing a territory that has existing customers, or whether you are building your customer base from scratch. All Small Businesses Need to Gather Community Intel How well do you know your community? As business owners it is essential that we know our communities intimately. Have you ever made the effort to learn more about your town; Do you even know where to look. Lets discuss some ways to gather intel for your community based marketing efforts. How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Sales Performance -- Part 1 Business executives and sales managers frequently bemoan "80/20" performance on their sales teams, where approximately 80 percent of sales are produced by approximately 20 percent of salespeople. Why do salespeople perform so differently? What is it about top sales performers that enables them to achieve such vastly superior results? 4 Marketing Myths Threaten Your Sales These 4 marketing myths can cause you to lose sales if you base your marketing decisions on them. But the related marketing tips I included with each myth will boost your sales if you act on them instead. How to Win Over the Man in the Chair Salesmanship, Repetition, and Direct Mail In a classic business-to-business print ad from the late 50's for McGraw-Hill Magazines an imposing looking executive sits in his chair. He has both feet planted firmly on the ground, a scowl on his face. His hands are folded together in front of him and his elbows rest on the chair; he leans ever so slightly forward. To his right run these eight lines of copy: Are Your Business Proposals Losing You Sales? 10 Steps to Get the ?Yes? You Deserve Your ability to write an effective and persuasive business proposal directly relates to your level of success. Write a great proposal and you'll get the contract or make the sale. Write a ho-hum proposal and your prospect will go elsewhere. Keeping Your Sales Team Motivated Sales managers frequently approach me for advice on how to keep salespeople motivated, especially when sales reps get into a rut - and seem to keep slipping deeper into it. Telling managers what not to do usually solves the problem. Most managers do things to de-motivate salespeople without even knowing it. 8 Procedures to Take Control of Sales and Marketing The Cash to Cash Cycle Part Three of Series Project/Program Management Best Practices for Success in ANY Industry! Where is our success? Although there have been improvements, over 60% of projects/programs failed and many were canceled in 2003 (ref:The Standish Report CHAOS)! Our goal for 2004 and beyond is to contribute to a 60% and better, project/program success rate! STOP THE MADNESS-MANAGE AND CONTROL PROJECTS Commodity Sales Prospecting - How to Stand Out From Your Competitors I have received a number of requests for advice from salespeople and sales managers that sell "commodity" products and services. When I refer to commodities, I don't just mean pork bellies or frozen concentrated orange juice. A commodity is any product or service where the target prospect is likely to be thinking: Outsourcing the Sales Function Small to medium companies that want to increase sales or profits and find it is possible to outsource sales should - do it! At this point most business owners and executives either become overwhelmed with doubt or fear. SEZ WHO? Tips About Recommendations, Sales Cycles, and Trade Shows Here's the scene. You're at the trade show, having a discrete "Sales Call" conversation with a visitor. Things are going well until he says something like... The Surest Way to Boost Sales If you have a small business and you are looking to boost your sales and make the public aware of your business, how do you going about doing this? There is one sure way that I know to boost sales and create awareness. It may not be sexy, but it WORKS! How to Organize a Seminar or an Event Seminars and events have always been implemented as a holistic experience to participants. Thus, organizing an event requires extensive planning and preparation with most work implemented at least a few months before the actual event. Most of the time, seminars seem to run like clockwork with all events flowing smoothly according to schedule. In reality however, much groundwork has been worked on with the purpose of developing the right atmosphere in addition to a beneficial experience to partipants. Back-to-School List - 10 Tips for Trade Shows There's a new year beginning now - the school year. Whether you have children attending for the first time or finishing university, it's always hectic to get into the back-to-school routine. And, if you don't have school in your family, there might be your own remembrance of the excitement of starting afresh and learning something new.
|
|
|
| Home | Site Map | Salesmanship Ebook | Motivational Ebook | Job and Resume Posting| Affiliate program | |
|
| 2006 All Rights Reserved. by Mp.sg Term of use and service for the articles and information |