Monthly Archives: January 2017

Sales and marketing strategy: what’s in trend for 2017?

Generally, I am a firm believer that when it comes to promoting and selling your services you should stick to your carefully designed process, developed over years of trial and error. ‘People buy people’ says the old cliché.  Whilst true, don’t make it into a reason to stick to what you have always done at all costs.

Take me for example, my business is not particularly technological, if anything I use many old fashioned lead generation tactics such as telemarketing. Still, I think it’s important to develop your toolkit and process whatever you do and so spend time reading up.  I thought that you would appreciate it if I shared some of this so here are a few of the 2017 trends concerning sales and marketing strategy which resonated with me:

  1. Understand your target market even better. Everywhere you look, we are told to create interactive content and specific messages. In order to do this, you have to know who you are targeting and as many details about their specific pain and goals.
  1. Invest in technology. By this, I don’t just mean you should spend money but also time to investigate what tools are out there and which ones will help you improve your market understanding and marketing results. Consider marketing tools such as CRM but also free measurement tools such as Google Analytics. None of which are particularly new but both take time to get your head around and use well.
  1. Set goals and KPIs: Another trend which is covered by many top advisors is regarding data driven marketing or in other words, do more of what works. We talked about technology which allows you to measure your activity but without setting goals this will be in vain.
  1. Re-visit your sales process. Increasingly prospects are interested in speaking with subject matter experts who can provide them with a tailored solution. A buyer can now spend time researching your product on your website negating the need for sales presentations.  This often means that clients want to take control of the process and reject being talked into a sale. This does not mean you don’t use sales people but rather consider their product knowledge and approach.

I hope you find my interpretation useful, I would be interested to hear your ideas too if you have done some reading too. As always I would be grateful if you share this if you found it useful.

If you would like to consider any of these ideas further and want some help doing you could consider our sales and marketing plan or get in touch to discuss.

 

Sales and marketing strategy: who has time for a strategy anyway?

Whether your 2017 started a bit quietly or completely crazily, you are bound to have come across numerous opportunities to make a plan. What can I say, it is the season to be planning…

I therefore thought it was fitting to look at your sales and marketing strategy plan and why it is useful. I am a fan of planning and strategy but I am aware that many business owners are not. I guess when you have had everyone from business coaches to various advisors and marketers constantly on your case to create a plan, you must get a bit sick of it.

Still, I like to think that I offer useful strategy and moreover having created one, we tend to get better results for clients when following it. So, this week I would like to make the case for creating a strategy to improve your lead generation and increase your sales in 2017. To help you consider it better, here are my answers to the top arguments I come across:

  1. We need to get going ASAP and a plan will hold us up

What a great attitude to have, nothing like a client who is keen to start. When it comes to lead generation strategies, I agree that they should be short and sharp and certainly not take too long to produce. However, if your consultant is able to provide you with a plan within two weeks it is time well spent.

  1. With respect to strategy, the proof is in the pudding so why don’t we just get started

I completely agree that until you send out your first campaign, you cannot predict the outcome. I have seen some great strategies fail and some stupid ideas work really well.  Having said that, if you have a strategy in place which includes your goals broken down to sensible KPI’s you can at least measure your outcome. This means you can then make small adjustments until you get it right rather than starting again.

  1. We know our market best and so we already have all the answers

That again, is very true. If you have been in your industry for a number of years you would have tried and tested many methods of lead generation and approached all sorts of target markets. If your business is successful you should absolutely have a handle on what works for you. However, new methods and approaches are developed all the time, some of which can be useful for your business. In addition, many businesses do well on word of mouth for years only to find that they need to do more if they want to achieve significant growth. In any case, I would recommend that you take a big part in creating the strategy so you can impart your valuable knowledge and experience.

  1. It is very well putting together a plan but what about implementation?

I come across many business owners who had a strategy provided before, in the form of a detailed plan that was never executed. This is very often due to the fact that the implementation requires as much knowledge and inclination as writing the strategy in the first place. To make sure you get most out of your plan be clear on how it will be implemented, by whom and at what cost, first.

  1. Can you guarantee it will work?

Most definitely not, especially when it comes to marketing and sales strategies. However, a good plan will guarantee two main things:

  • You have a much better chance of making things happen
  • You will be able to measure your results against your goals which will give you an opportunity to improve

I hope this gives you some food for thought. Let me know if there are any questions I have left out and share if you found this useful.

If you are looking at getting a strategy created for 2017, why not check out our website for more details.