Last post we talked about how knowing your ideal customer (and giving some thought to their purchase habits) can help you determine the average sales cycle.
Once you know who you’re trying to motivate, it’s easier to do so. If you missed it, check it out here.
Why Tie it all Together?
Outlining the sales process for your salespeople is like drawing a map to success. If they don’t know how to get there, they’ll waste a lot of time driving around.
Let’s get back to the first post’s example of the software company. (I’ve pasted it below for those of us with bad memories.)
You sell software for human resources. Your software is costly compared to the competition, with a long sales cycle. You target companies with an annual revenue of 5 million+.
The average customer spends $700 per month and never comes to your office. You’re in the cloud and all transactions are handled online with a salesperson who demonstrates the software virtually.
Your sales process looks like this:
Now that you’ve outlined your sales process, let’s give some numbers to it.
This means for every 100 potential customers who learn about your software, only 2 will buy.
What happens to the others?
Some will self-disqualify over things like price or readiness to purchase, while others will just sit.
Successful Promotional Pieces Help Clear the Log Jam in the Sales Process
The ones who sit, who make no decision at all, may be overwhelmed or unmotivated. Tying promotional incentives into the sales process can help you motivate and move these folks along. But it has to be the right promotional piece. A stress ball will not close the deal on software that costs a few thousand dollars a year.
Your promotional piece must be tied into the sales process and fitting for the sales stage where the potential customer currently resides. Each business’ sales process is different and understanding your process is essential to moving people along it.
When your sales process and your promotional pieces are closely intertwined, you’ll see a decrease in the length of your sales process with less people lingering in non-decision mode.
If you need help identifying how to integrate your promotional items with your sales process to move people along your sales cycle, contact one of our seasoned promotional marketing professionals today.
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