Launching a New, Non-traditional Offering

By Kendra Lee, President, KLA Group

KLA is often introduced to companies that want to launch a new offering outside their traditional suite of products and services. These companies have developed a valuable service, but aren't sure how to generate awareness and drive leads with their customers and prospects. This challenge is especially difficult when approaching customers and prospects with something new that they would never expect the company to provide.

Use these techniques to engage your whole company to create awareness for a new, non-traditional offering.

Marketing
While it might sound obvious, executing a traditional marketing campaign for a new offering is sometimes overlooked. Even the most basic marketing functions can be immeasurably valuable to the success of a new offering. For example:

• Announce the new service via direct mail or email communication
  
• Issue a news release and send it to key industry publications and reporters, and publications in your local markets
  
• Provide the news release to reps to use in their selling activities
  
• Highlight the new offering in your company's regular publications to customers, such as newsletters or monthly communications
  
• Advertise in the most likely target markets
  
• Update your website to include the new offering
  
• Educate the sales force positioning the new offering, new value proposition, and the first 1-3 questions to ask to id opportunities
  
• Create concise sales materials reps can use to describe the new offerings and position them with your current solutions. These can be as simple as PowerPoint presentations that are printed or emailed for use in sales meetings. Use the materials to train the sales force, too.
  
• Telemarket to set appointments for reps to discuss the new offering and qualify if there is an opportunity to pursue the account. Begin with your top target markets.

Sales
With an awareness marketing campaign in place, your sales force will have the support it needs to generate leads and drive sales. The key to success here is for reps to have a few messages and questions they can use during the sales process to create awareness for your new offering and uncover leads.

Some steps to take in the sales process include:

1. Mention the company's movement into the new area in customer discussions and sales meetings. Work this into Building Rapport discussions at the front end of a sales call.
   
2. When uncovering needs with a customer, ask questions that will help id leads for the new offering. If it's uncomfortable to integrate new questions into the current line of needs questioning, wait until it has been completed to change the questioning focus.
   
3. If possible, include the new offering in proposals in a way that complements the solution that's being proposed. If it doesn't complement the solution, use another method to bring it to the customer's attention.
   
4. Take time to update customers and prospects on what's new within your company, including the new offering. This shows the growth and evolution of your company while also getting the message out.

Internal Support Teams
Engage your internal support teams and solution providers, educating them on your new offering.

• Give them a solid, yet simple, message they can use in customer conversations to discuss the new offering
  
• Encourage both to tell customers and prospects about the new offering, and to ask a few questions that will id a possible need
  
• Have reps stay in frequent contact with partners and internal teams while building awareness

Get everyone engaged as you launch your new offering. The only way you'll build awareness and drive leads is by having as many people as possible get the message out. This is especially true if the offering is one customers are not expecting you to provide.

Kendra Lee is author of "Selling Against the Goal" and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group helps companies rapidly penetrate new markets, break into new accounts and shorten time to revenue with new products in the Small & Medium Business (SMB) segment. Ms. Lee is a frequent speaker at national sales meetings and association events. For more information, contact the company at +1 303.741.6636 or info@klagroup.com or visit www.klagroup.com.

KLA publishes an industry-leading online newsletter. To subscribe and get a free Quota Gap Calculator ($18.95 value) visit www.klagroup.com. For information on sales training, call 303-741-6636.