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To begin your process of sales documentation, you'll need to define your sales target as precisely as possible. A lot of very smart people waste a lot of their valuable time trying to sell to the wrong prospect; and forget about their existing customers as a source for incremental revenue. When new sales reps are hired, they normally don't have a clear focus of who they want as a customer. They are willing to work with anyone who walks through the door. It's a shotgun approach and not very effective. However, there are new marketing techniques that can substantially cut down the time required to build a customer base and increase productivity. A precise profile is key.
The smaller your target market the better. This seems contrary to logic, but it's not. Put yourself in places where there are high concentrations of people in your targeted market. If you look like them, talk like them, and do the same things they do, they will get to know you very fast.
Target markets are worthless unless you have found an influential member of the market who is willing to give you an entree into that market. Therefore, it is important to find the person who will be your entree first- then pick that market as the one that has the best potential. This influential person can be found through either the process of cloning or through one of your own established contacts who have either direct access to a target market or have control or influence over someone who does. Either way, you need to ask the right questions to be aware of who has access to these kinds of exciting and profitable markets.
Identify what organizations your target market belongs to. Are there key organizations that represent this market segment (e.g., a trade association, a club, a civic group, etc.)? Do the associations or organizations have an information package that you could get from their director? Does this market have its own newsletter or publication? Call the director of the publication and get the criteria or rules for contributing authors; then, establish yourself as the expert or the company that sets the standards.
Identify centers of influence and strategic alliances. Who are the centers of influence for your target market? Is there someone who could help introduce you to qualified prospects? The best way to get centers of influences to work with you is to solve problems for them. Sell the person with the greatest influence first, and the rest are likely to follow. This is a good way to position yourself and communicate your expertise all in one effort. Centers of influence can have a significant impact on mass decisions. Communicate your benefits to your market. Demonstrate the desired results. Answer their question, "What's in it for me?"
One of the benefits of targeting is that you can communicate directly to qualified prospects without having to "go to the masses"; to find your perfect, qualified prospect through sheer luck and great expense. The problem with mass mailings and other mass advertising efforts is that unqualified people respond to you in mass, thus causing you to waste time sorting them out. The desired direction is toward mass customization- customer intimacy.
Your sales force needs to be there when the customer is ready to buy or change. Oversimplified, yes- but what if you could build a process that ensures that happens, and then automate that process? Just think of the significant impact it would have on your revenue.
During the sales cycle, different activities need to occur. You need to know where you are in the cycle and the order of events- from the time you place the first letter in the mail to the delivery of the product. Contacting your prospective customer is an ongoing process; not a one-time event. Through a series of contacts, the prospect moves into the window of opportunity.
Your salespeople have to be there when the probability of success is the highest. But you will only be able to predict this through a consistent process of maintaining contact; thus, creating a pipeline of opportunities for the sales force.
This is not just the physical description of your product or service, but what your product or service can do for your customers: the benefits- the critical issues you solve - they get when they establish a relationship with you and your company.
Identify what problems relate to this market and identify your solutions to those problems. Make a complete list of the problems and specific solutions you can offer. Your desired position is dependent upon your problem-solving skills and whether they match the problems of your targeted market. You can't fake it. Therefore, either match your product to the market or match the market to your product- there's no "in between." |
