Recent Project and Job Topics > Strategy
Strategy for Sales
<!-- Generated by XStandard version 3.0.0.0 on 2012-01-05T12:17:45 -->A strategy for sales outlines how to deliver the objectives set out in a company's marketing plan, and is also included in a business plan. It sets out in detail how your products or services will be offered to the customers. Compared to a marketing strategy, a sales strategy defines how you actually close the deal. Businesses employ one of two types of sales strategies: direct or indirect. With the direct sales strategy, the competition is tackled head-on when talking to the customer. Indirect sales approaches use more subtle techniques by demonstrating features and benefits not available with the competition's products or services without ever mentioning them by name. A strategy for sales can be divided into three parts: pre-sales activities, sales execution, and post-sale analysis.
Pre-sales activities include understanding your product, the market and the customers. Firstly, identify the features and benefits of your product in terms of customer value. The target market then needs to be defined and the ideal customer identified. What is he or she looking to buy? How will they select vendors? What is the purchasing process? What could go wrong in the buy/sell process and how will we respond? The more research effort into profiling your potential customers, the more effective the sales strategy will be. It is important to also examine the competition and what methods they use to sell. Lastly determine the success criteria for your strategy for sales, as it will be important to measure if the strategy is effective.
The next step in a strategy for sales is to define the actual sales process. Sales methods can include personal contact (direct selling, retail), telesales, direct mail (special offers, catalogues) or on-line sales. The sales strategy could also include a sales presentation. For example, you could create a PowerPoint presentation including key data on your company's approach and capabilities, which can be tailored to each customer's unique needs. Define terms used during the sales process, such as in negotiations, know the bottom line and define when to walk away. Devise tactics to close the deal and get a firm commitment to the sale. Remain focused on your customers when devising the process.
If a sales force is used, ensure the right people are hired with the skills and experience for your nature of sale. Salespeople are the human face to a company, and so need good presentation and communication skills as well as a strong belief in the company's policies, products and services. Successful strategies help the sales force focus on target customers and communicate with them in relevant, meaningful ways. Sales representatives need relevant training to know how their products or services can solve customer problems. A successful sales strategy also conveys this so that the sales force spends time targeting the correct customers at the right time.
The sale is just one element of the strategy of sales, and it is important to define the follow-up, which will strengthen the relationship with your new customer, and could provide opportunities for additional sales. Post-sale analysis is important to measure success, using predefined metrics. For this it is suggested to implement a management system, such as a sales probability and process management tool, enabling the company to stay abreast of every deal as it progresses through the pipeline.
When working with a sales consultant to implement a strategy for sales, be sure that he or she has a plan to address all these issues, as well as experience in a sales organisation working with a similar product or service. A sales consultant may not excel at sales him or herself, but must excel at understanding the sales process, including what drives sales people to succeed.
