The sales strategy encompasses many concepts. To help you apply successful strategies, let’s look at examples of how to implement different sales strategy components.
1. A relatable value proposition
Everyone loves a good story. View your value proposition as the story of how your offerings solve client problems to make it relatable.
The story begins with your company’s insights about the market. Provide data and connect the dots for the buyer regarding why these data points are relevant.
A few years ago, when consumers researching businesses on a mobile device was still nascent, I remember explaining to a client why their small business needed to have a mobile-optimized website. After I shared numbers of how quickly mobile research was growing, the client was shocked. He assumed online research still happened on desktop computers and didn’t realize how big the mobile market had gotten.
Just be careful not to throw out too many numbers. The goal is to illustrate your company’s knowledge and expertise in your industry, and have it lead into your value proposition in a natural way.
Remember, your objective is to get the prospect talking. This approach makes you memorable to the client, setting you apart from the competition.
2. Customer journey over sales process
Sales processes such as lead nurturing are an essential part of the sales cycle. The danger is that your sales team executes these procedures on autopilot, like checking items off a list, rather than adjusting their approach organically to each customer’s buying process.
When you categorize a lead as further down the sales funnel, are you looking at it from the buyer’s perspective? Are they further down the funnel because they see how your solutions create value? Or are you making that decision based on their signing up to your email list?
A sales team must focus on solving customer problems rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach. I had a client triple their spend when I provided data correlating their sales numbers with my software product’s results.
It took extra effort to develop the reporting capabilities to validate these results, but the work paid off because I looked at how the buyer made their purchasing decisions. I spoke to that.
3. Beyond the buyer persona
A buyer persona is a useful tool to obtain a baseline understanding of a customer segment. It’s a starting point, though, and sales reps must understand that buyers are people -- different factors affect each client.
Some buyers struggle with difficult internal processes. Others operate in competitive marketplaces. Addressing the buyer’s unique situation is more impactful than applying a boilerplate buyer persona.
Asking the buyer to define their challenges doesn’t work. They’re not always aware or willing to share details, instead they may give you the same answer they share with your competitors. This results in your reps talking to the same issues as your competition, leaving little room for differentiation.
Instead, introduce potential clients to missed opportunities or solutions to problems they may not realize they’re experiencing. Do this by looking at industry trends so you can introduce buyers to these opportunities -- and look at the buyer’s website for clues.
Don’t overlook the one customer segment where you possess data and deep insights: your existing clients. Talk to them to see how you can help them further. It’s easier and less expensive to grow spend with existing clients than to acquire new ones.
Final advice about sales strategies
Your sales strategy plan is a living document. It should evolve as your organization grows and your customers or markets change.
Use your measurable goals to evaluate improvement opportunities and incorporate customer feedback to help you strengthen your sales process. If you put solving customer challenges at the heart of your plan, your sales strategy will deliver results for your organization.
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