Many new business owners find it challenging to develop a solid sales model. Most new business owners have some experience in their field, but not necessarily in sales. Here are some essential tips to help you start a business.
Identify your selling points.
You must know the product or service you are selling before you can start to develop your sales model. You should review your business plan if you don’t have this information. Now, let’s say you already have these components in place. You need to now identify your selling points. This means that you must be able to clearly communicate the benefits and features of your products or services.
A feature is a positive quality about your product. When selling a car, I would highlight features like On-Star or power windows. It takes some effort to list all features of your product or service. While you will need to reduce them at some point, it is vital that you brainstorm everything and then write it down. This will make sure you don’t forget an important feature. Then, narrow down your list to just a few unique or extraordinary features.
Your customer will get benefits from your product or service. This is as important in your sales model as the features. Customers will relate the features to their situation. Although the car may have power windows and On Star, the benefits to the customer are that he won’t need to reach out to open the passenger side windows when he is alone. He can also call his favorite restaurant by pressing the On-Star button.
Sales Process
This is an essential aspect of the sales process. Different sales processes are best for different companies. It depends on the industry you are in and what your company does. You must decide how you will find prospects, how you will guide them through the sales process, and how you will close the sale. These are the steps you need to consider when developing your sales model.
How do you find prospects? This means you need to figure out how to generate leads. You will need to decide whether you will use Info USA, the Yellow Pages, or the Internet. Or a combination of both. You will need to weigh the pros and cons of generating leads.
How can you convince your prospects to allow you to sell your product/service? This is where many people get stuck. It will likely involve cold calling. This can be very difficult for business owners, even if they have qualified leads. Many business owners employ sales reps to take over this task. If you want to learn more about cold calling, here are some examples. It is essential to know how to get people to attend a presentation.
Your product or service should not be presented on the first cold call. Cold calling is about you selling them your presentation, not your product. You have heard the distinction. You aren’t selling the product. Instead, you are setting up an appointment to view a product presentation. Do not try to sell your product over the phone during your first cold call. This is a big mistake. You can get them to present in a controlled, well-crafted presentation.
Next comes the presentation stage. How do you present the presentation once you have them booked? Many companies are now able to present via the internet because of the Internet. It’s still available, but you can access it via the telephone and Internet. Webex and Go To Meeting offer online platforms that allow you to do this. Web presentations can be part of your sales model. It will reduce travel costs and allow you to make more presentations. Although there is a slight disadvantage to having face-to-face meetings, many companies find that it is more cost-effective and efficient.
After the sales presentation is complete, it’s time to follow up. What will you do to follow up with prospects? How long do you plan to follow up with your prospects? What point is it worth wasting your time? These are the things you need to determine and analyze as you go.
Flexibility in the Sales Model
Flexibility is key to your sales model. While you need a basic model to get started, you should constantly be changing your sales model based on what works and what doesn’t. I have worked in companies where the sales model was constantly changing. You don’t need to do it every day, but it is essential to regularly review your sales model and make changes.
