For any business, it won’t matter much, even if you have great products and/or provide the best services if nobody buys what you are selling. Simply telling your salespeople to close more sales isn’t going to do the trick.
The phrase ‘The product sells itself’ couldn’t be more wrong. What makes a product fly off the shelves or checked out of eCommerce stores is always connected with a great sales strategy.
A sales strategy is unique for every type of business, but the general concept is to focus on qualified leads, establish deals, and close sales to generate revenue. The concept of creating a sales strategy is not exclusive to large companies or enterprises alone. Start-ups and small business owners can also benefit from it.
Without a sales strategy plan in place, salespeople, and their directors, will just make decisions based on what is currently in front of them at that given time. Depending on the capability of your sales personnel, it will most likely end up being a hit-and-miss scenario without a fallback on what to next to recapture or correct missed opportunities. Each salesperson will do their own thing yielding different results, meaning it’s very hard to offer predictable recurring results and then even harder to optimise those processes.
What is a Sales Strategy?
A sales strategy is a plan that serves as a company’s road map for securing a long-term and dependable revenue stream.
Let us just clarify some terms a bit. Marketing is vital to sales; however, a marketing strategy is not your sales strategy.
A marketing strategy’s main goals are to find and identify your target demographic and make prospects aware of who your company is and what your company offers. Conversely, a sales strategy is all about closing the deal by first converting qualified people from being a target demographic to loyal customers.
Both marketing and sales strategies are important parts of a customer’s sales journey. It starts from awareness (marketing) to purchase (sales). Teams must be aligned on these two strategies, which entails having an in-depth understanding of both convergence and divergence points.
Why is a Sales Strategy Important?
Picture this scenario. Your marketing team does a great job of capturing and defining your marketing goals, increasing brand awareness, and promoting your products and/or services to reach the right customers. Marketing did a great job and got people interested, they want to know more. Now what?
Here is where your sales strategy kicks in. The purpose of a sales strategy is to create the most effective path for turning these interested parties into paying customers.
Without a sales plan, your staff will not know how to work efficiently with prospects and customers who are most likely already primed towards making a purchase. A sales strategy can also address tactics to turn one-time buyers into repeat customers or make them referral sources.
Having a clearly defined sales strategy enables you to plan, assess problems and manage different approaches across your organisation. A great sales strategy must have an objective along with a plan that can be reviewed and/or amended (as needed) over time.
Depending on the type of industry you are building or the industry you are in, your sales strategy might also include aspects like selling across multiple platforms or even developing strategic partnerships with other businesses.
With a manageable, direct, and focused sales strategy, you increase your chances of elevating your brand along with increasing your revenue. The importance of a sales strategy lies in the accountability that it instils, as well as in defining the path toward achieving results.
A business, market, or successful sales strategies should deliver the following results:
- Clear priorities that everyone understands.
- Well-defined outcomes that are measurable.
- Clear guidelines everyone can follow.
- Well-defined goals everyone can work toward.
It sure is possible to close deals without a sales strategy. However, your work will be easier, organised, and more successful with one. Why waste opportunities when you can design the necessary structure, and tactics, and employ tools to build success?
How You Can Implement a Sales Strategy today?
Even if you have the best products or services, your chances for long-term growth and success lie in your ability to create, implement, and execute successful marketing and sales strategies.
However, the benefits of great sales strategies don’t just happen overnight. Most successful sales strategies are the results of thoughtful planning and a significant amount of trial and error.
Remember that a sales strategy can be varied as there are different types of businesses. And each one can have different types of strategies that work for them. Choosing the right approach is vital in ensuring that your business will not be pulling more weight than you need to.
Do note that even the best sale strategy won’t yield results unless they are implemented.
It is the business leaders, the management, and the sales team who are responsible for the proper implementation and execution of sales strategies. An effective approach to getting compliance within your company is to help all stakeholders see how proposed sales strategies will better meet your needs.
Help everyone see a better bottom line. Everyone will get on board if they are convinced that the proposed sales strategies can generate more revenue. Sales reps need to be able to close more sales with your well-designed sales strategy in place, if not, review and adjust.
With this, you will be able to help your salespeople potentially convert lead after lead, meet sales targets, and achieve sales goals.
Keep in mind that the execution of sales strategies will require constant monitoring, analysis, and adjustments (if need be). It is imperative to take note of what works and what does not. Analysing the sales strategies of other companies in your industry can help you in adapting and/or adjusting the ones you already have.
And lastly, closely monitor and track the entire customer sales journey through your sales funnel and identify where they disengage. Identify which parts of your strategies do not meet your customer’s needs and analyse why. Then implement adjustments and/or fixes to ensure your sales strategy becomes a success.
Land Your Ideal Clients.
Every business relies on sales revenue to survive. It also plays a major role in building loyalty and trust between your customer and your business. It’s no secret that a business won’t grow, thrive, and develop unless sales are taking place, improving the business’s bottom line, and enhancing your relationship with your customers.
Not sure how to create an excellent sales strategy? We at The Growth Manager can help you out with our Consumer Sales Journey Growth Guide. This powerful guide will help you create a streamlined and optimised consumer sales journey that will help you meet your business goals and efficiently target the right customers as well.
