Nine Ingredients to a Successful Sales Strategy

Submitted by Mitch Seigel on Tue, 3/29/2011

Strategy differs from company to company. When comparing the strategy from one to the next it comes to nine important key areas of focus;

1. Have a well defined target customer. If you know who will buy, then you can devote your energy toward this person or persons. Product or service development will be based on this target; the messages you send to expose the product, how you expose the message, and where you expose the message can all be determined by the nuances of the target customer.

2. Know the geography of your target customer. If your target is primarily in one city, that’s where you position your company. If they are worldwide, then you have opportunity of a global business. Are they in one market more than another? Do they have the propensity to buy more of your type of product in one market than they do in another? Possibly only key markets would be appropriate in which to market, once the answers to these questions are determined.

3. Know what the selected market(s) is delivering in your product category. This will help you define your company’s revenue goals, by team and by individual. Does your infrastructure support the opportunity or would it be too costly to compete? Is there enough revenue in the market to go around? How do you differ from the competition? 4. Develop product that meets the needs of the defined target customer. Listen to them; they will give you direction on a regular basis.

5. Research the competition regularly. Just like you are measuring up against them, they are keeping tabs on you. What do you need to offer to be able to get the target market to notice you?

6. Differentiate from the competition. Once you know who the competition is and what they are doing, determine the key areas where you stand alone and present this to your target market. Consistently change and keep ahead of the curve, always trying to be fresh and new to your customer, and a step ahead of the competition.

7. Develop a seasoned staff to approach the market. Do they have the same passion management has to make this the best possibly company in its business sector? Do you need internal salespeople, outside salespeople, or both? Always be looking to raise the bar of your staff, in their work ethics and their results.

8. Keep the staff trained and prepared to sell. Incorporate training into the process on a consistent and regular basis. This may consist of team training or individual training, or both.

9. Always keep the company motivated to succeed. Having the employees engaged at all times is half the battle to successfully moving forward. Accomplish this through team exercises, get-aways, incentives and more. Most of all have fun!

What are your challenges when it comes to your company’s sales strategy? I look forward to hearing your comments.

Until next time …