An Easy Way To Grow

One of the easiest ways to increase sales and profits is to obtain more customers/clients like your best customers/clients.

If 100% of your customers/clients where like your best customers/clients what would your sales and bottom line profits look like?

(Multiply your total customer/client numbers by the average annual sales value and profits of your best customers/clients).

If you do that exercise and build a multi sequenced marketing campaign it can make a significant difference to your profits. In my coaching and training programme I can show you what is the best approach to take advantage of this marketing principle.

Regards

Mark Wheatley

Integrated Marketing  Copyright Mark Wheatley 2009 All Rights Reserved

What is business development

Let’s start with the purpose of a business, according to the author business writer Peter Drucker ‘‘there is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer.’’

Beyond that to retain customer/clients and make sufficient profit to sustain and grow the business, as well as satisfy the stakeholders.

Business development is a series of management disciplines that should work congruently to achieve those three aims create customers, retain them and make a profit.

Successful business development from a consulting point of view, which is my standpoint, is working on the business, maximising the results in certain key areas including:

Strategy, Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, Operations including IT and Finance, taking account of people management and leadership.

Techniques to measure the success of a business development project are again based around the three aims, number of new customers, improved retention and increased profitability.

You could argue that this is business improvement, but the difference between business improvement and business development is the additional aspect, which is managing the future of the business, looking forward to make sure as best you can in an ever-changing world, that the strategy is robust enough to sustain the business in the future.

Management need to undertake research, ask questions about the economic, political, technological and social influences, review the competition, ask questions about the changing market place and the anticipated needs of the customers/clients in years to come.

So part of business development includes the process of looking outside the business and thinking strategically, to ensure that the business changes to meet the needs of the future. Strategic Management.

Happy to take any questions if you want me to expand upon this subject.

Regards

Mark Wheatley

Integrated Marketing  Copyright Mark Wheatley 2009 All Rights Reserved

Multi Sequenced Marketing

I said the other week on Twitter that I would tell you about a client of mine that was generating a significant number of new appointments.

Essentially the technique involves creating several pre-prepared communications, that follow in a sequence, in this case all aimed at getting an appointment.

All of the communications are linked, its a bit like telling a story.

So there are sales letters, e-mails, postcards, telephone scripts all put in place prior to starting a campaign.

Its not about being a pest or being pushy, its about creating different reasons why its in your prospects best interest to see you.

You may have heard the one about good salespeople keep following up and the less successful ones giving up at three attempts. This method allows you to keep following up without running out of things to say.

It can be used not only to gain appointments, it can also be used also to sell products and services.

The system is great if you are going after specific prospects that if you converted into customers/clients, it would make a significant improvement to your bottom line profits.

If you are interested in developing something along these lines, this is one of the services that we provide.

Regards


Mark Wheatley



Integrated Marketing  Copyright Mark Wheatley 2009 All Rights Reserved

Structure of a Sales Message

There are a few structures which you can use to construct a winning sales communication; this is one of them. This outline is based on the AIDA formula, Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

The adaptation is the concept of Removing Doubt, in terms of how the prospect cannot lose out by being your customer/client.

Outline of an ad e-mail or sales letter.

Target the right prospect (Fundamental).

1. A compelling headline or in the case of e-mail a compelling message (Attention)
2. Graphics (Attention)
3. A proposition leading to an offer (Interest)
4. How will they benefit from your proposition and offer (Desire)
5. How they cannot lose by taking you up on your offer (Remove Doubt)
6. How others have benefited – Optional (Remove Doubt)
7. A call to action (Action)

Regards


Mark Wheatley

Integrated Marketing  Copyright Mark Wheatley 2009 All Rights Reserved

The Power of Sales Scripts

When I talk about scripts I don’t mean like a badly trained telesales person who sound like they are reading. I mean well rehearsed natural sounding scripts very much like the way a good actor can deliver lines.

So when someone says to you I want to think about it You could say……….

You: Well that's quite understandable it can be a little daunting dealing with a new supplier or buying this particular product ...............What particular aspect of what I've covered with you; do you need to think about, is it the service we offer, the discount structure that we have put together or is it the actual products?

Good Scripts can increase your closing ratio Enable you to sell more and obtain more referrals

The script book

The purpose of the scripts is to assist you in making more effective and professional face-to-face sales presentations and to help you handle telephone sales situations as well.

Your scripts can be written up and recorded in a script book.

The objective of a script book is to make both you and the company a lot more money.

We all have good days and bad days, even the best salespeople. Sometimes you say something that's really good and convincing and on other occasions, you'll struggle to find the right words and lose a sale.

A script book will help you perform at a more consistent level.

We are all unique individuals and we don't all feel comfortable using exactly the same styles phrases etc. Yet we know that some salespeople that the right phrases that have more ammunition which they are able to draw upon it.

When you develop a script book you will create your own arsenal of useful phrases that suit your personal style.

Clearly you won't have the script book with you when you meet a customer or client you can of course have it by your side, if you're making telephone calls. You need to keep referring back to the book to learn your lines.

How the scripts are controlled is individual to each company.

My recommendation is that a central script book is maintained and you and your salespeople contribute to it being updated, with your managers working together to continually improve the different phrases that you develop.

There will be certain scripts that you will have to learn verbatim such as how you integrate the Unique Selling Proposition, key selling points and cross selling phrases, or up selling phrases.

The Voice

When delivering scripts is also important to work on your voice, your tone your speed of speech. For example if you talk too fast you sound too much like a salesperson.

The way you use the voice of course, has a massive impact on the words that use, is important to match people for pace and volume, when they're talking, fast talking people should slow the pace down to match the pace of slow speaking people.

A loud booming voice shouldn't be used on a soft-spoken person.

How the words sound more important as the words you use.

Below are a few advantages of a good script book:

• You will close a lot more sales and make more money
• You will be able to handle all objections and put off’s such as; ‘Send me something in the post” You will sell more to each new client/customer
• You will get peoples attention
• You will build better rapport and relationships
• You won't forget what to say or say it in the wrong order
• You will be able to make more sales calls
• You will reduce the number of bad days If you're new to the company your training will be a lot faster You will up sell, cross sell more and gain referrals and testimonials
• You will be able to get the message across consistently and including the distinct advantages you offer and why they should choose your company
• A sales script ensures all aspects of what you are trying to sell is covered
• You will have all the right questions to gather the right information to close the sale
• You will sound sincere and professional
• If your best salesperson left all of his/her superior sales conversations would not be lost

Changing what you say impacts the bottom line without any extra effort, once you’ve developed them and learned your lines. So change what you say and change your results.

Good Luck and Good Selling

Regards


Mark Wheatley 

Integrated Marketing  Copyright Mark Wheatley 2009 All Rights Reserved