No matter your industry, everybody likes the idea of working less and getting more sales. They’re all looking for the magic wand to get to better results, especially in times when reaching prospects and closing sales is so challenging.
The Foundation for More Sales with Less Effort
But how do you get great sales results without stressing yourself in the process? The secret is to have a steady base and build your sales strategy up from there. That means you need:
- A team of good salespeople working for you
- Solutions your clients value
- Well-defined target markets and personas
- A clear image of your differentiation
These four elements are the foundation of your sales and B2B lead generation plan and the path to easier sales.
What You Need to Know about Your Target Market
Once you have the foundation of your sales strategy in place, you want to know three things about your target market:
- Who are the decision-makers you want to reach in your target market?
- What do those decision-makers care about? What problems are they grappling with?
- How do those decision-makers find information about the services and solutions they need?
With this information in hand, you can select the marketing strategies decision-makers in your target market will notice.
Here are three strategies that put you in front of decision makers to get more sales with less effort. Keep in mind that although these strategies do take less effort, you still need to put in the work to get the results you want. It’s about channeling your resources to the activities that get results so that your efforts will be worthwhile.
1. Make the Most of Email Marketing
Email marketing has gotten a bad rap lately. Yes, lots of people are using it. Yes, there are spam traps, firewalls, and email systems poised to snare them. But consider this
Why Email Marketing?
- Email marketing is still one of the best ways to:
- Educate contacts
- Build relationships
- Gain trust
- Quickly identify prospects
Hot prospects will reply with inquiries and meeting requests. Contacts who are reading and downloading everything you send and recommend are flagged as marketing qualified leads for your salesperson to contact. These are some of the best prospects to contact to get more sales with less effort.
Even with the challenges of reaching prospects’ inboxes, email should be one of your primary strategies to facilitate direct communication between you and a potential client. Use it to supplement search engine optimization, webinars, Google ads and your other lead generation strategies.
Steps to Get Started with Email Marketing
There are a few tricks that make your email campaigns more effective. Here are the steps to get started with email marketing. And, if you’re already using email marketing, are you following all the steps?
- Select an email marketing platform that allows you to track who engages, not just opens and clicks.
- Build a great landing page.
- Pick a high-value offer lead magnet such as a checklist, template, eBook, resource list, or toolkit.
- Develop a prospect list.
- Add a subscribe button to your website.
As you write your emails, be careful not to over-promote yourself. Use your knowledge of your niche to personalize them and grab your target market’s attention. Incorporate high-value offer lead magnets that contacts will find valuable.
2. Know What You’re Selling
When you create a product or a service, you develop a solution for a specific problem that somebody has.
For example, let’s say you own a business that’s not IT related, and you don’t have any IT staff. But your business still uses PCs, software applications and a plethora of devices. There are certain specialized services that you need, such as remote firewall administration, cybersecurity, and network monitoring. In this case, you would need an IT managed service provider to manage it all for you.
You don’t have the time or expertise to do it. You don’t want to hire the staff to do it. For you, the business owner, the problem is not having specialists who can manage your computer network. The solution is a partnership with a managed service provider.
Focus on the Problem Your Target Market Has
You are selling a solution and you need to present it that way in your lead generation and your sales activities. When you do, prospects can envision exactly how you help them. They don’t need lengthy explanations or collateral. They see the value because they understand how you solve the problem.
To get more sales with less effort, your solution must:
- Address the problem
- Resolve the problem
- Offer benefits your decision-makers realize when the problem is resolved
Too often you get so excited about your solution’s features that you forget to focus on the problem you solve. Don’t do that. In your lead generation and sales activities, focus on the problem your target market has, and save the features for later in the sales process. You’ll thank me as your sales funnel fills up.
3. Partner with Influencers, Entrepreneurs, and Other Businesses to Get More Sales
You probably know people in your network who have built significant communities of followers or run successful marketing campaigns. These contacts present a unique opportunity to expand your reach by leveraging their network
Influencer Marketing Lead Generation Strategies
Consider adding these two strategies to collaborate with your network and get more sales with less effort:
- If you’re active on social media, partnering with influencers can be an effective way to create visibility and get new leads. Share and comment on each other’s posts. Consider creating content for each other.
- If you’re not using social media, consider aligning with other entrepreneurs or businesses. Conduct joint webinars. Post on each other’s blogs. Send emails on each other’s behalf.
You form lasting business relationships and use each other’s platforms to reach new audiences. But be careful what businesses you choose to partner with in your lead generation. Do thorough research beforehand if this is a new contact. If something problematic happens in the future, your name will possibly be dragged through the mud because of your affiliation.
The Next Step
We know from our experience that these three strategies are effective. But to be successful, you need to pay close attention to your implementation and invest the time to do it right. Why? Because your sales and marketing plan effectiveness depends on the niche you select, your existing customer base, prospect lists, systems, services, differentiation, sales team, and more.
When you’re sloppy with your implementation, you won’t get the leads and sales you need to achieve your goals this year. When you follow a plan, once mastered, you’ll create a steady flow of leads and get more sales with less effort.
If you want to implement these strategies without the time investment and risk, contact us. We’ll evaluate what you’re doing today, develop an approach that fits your target market, and do it for you. We’ll help you get more customers and increase your revenue, so you can make a steady profit out of your business.