One of the biggest sales and marketing problems that small businesses can face is getting people whom seem interested in buying something to actually take the plunge and hand over their money.
Because let’s be honest, it’s actually pretty easy to attract attention to your business and meet prospective customers these days. The internet has made it simple to give your business a marketing presence (your website) and drive people to it (online advertising and search engine optimisation).
The key then to a successful business is not just one which attracts prospects, but one which has fail-safe systems to convert them into revenue.
Track and measure First you need to know how your business currently performs. Set up simple systems to monitor the number of leads your business gets and where they have come from, then compare these figures to your sales figures.
Identify target audience and focus on it You need to know who your most likely buyers are. Don’t just say ‘everyone’- even if anyone can buy what you sell, your business will perform better if you focus on a specific target audience.
Don’t over promise Review your marketing materials to see if they promise things your business cannot really deliver. Low conversion rates can be an indication that prospects are being attracted by marketing materials, but when they chat to your sales team just don’t believe the business can live up to its promises.
Make sure sales staff know how to present Another possibility is that your sales team aren’t presenting the business properly. Do they really understand the benefits of the business and how to communicate them to buyers? Are they making it easy for potential customers to say ‘yes’?
Ask for the business Finally, ensure that you are actually asking the potential customer to buy from you. So many businesses forget to do this! Ask questions about their needs, work out how you can fulfil these needs, and then ask if they want to buy.
Image by by 7-how-7 | cc
