Sales
Issue 3:
Your brand makes it easier for you to sell. Whether you sell a product or a service; sell online or off the shelf; sell to businesses or consumers; sell high value or high volume, your brand can make your sales process more efficient and more effective.
Ultimately, your brand should simplify your sales process. But your sales process doesn’t exist in isolation. Your sales activity is built on a foundation that combines all the elements of your business: your products and services, your people and your marketing activity. The more effective each of the elements are, the easier it will be for you to sell.
Your sales process is a bit like an iceberg. Your sales activity - and your sales team - are the tip of the iceberg. What people see. But below that, hidden beneath the surface, is the rest of your business. Everything else you do. The other functions. The other elements of your business, providing support.
What will make these elements more effective is your brand strategy. Your brand strategy brings focus to each aspect of your business, a focus on what’s important to your business and, as a result, your relationship with your customers. It’s the focus within your business that will bring consistency which, in turn, is translated into the brand experience of your customers. The quality of the brand experience will determine how easy it is for you to sell.
Sales is the culmination of the business process - the point where your business generates income. For most companies, success is dependent on sales. So in many ways, the ultimate test of your brand is its ability to generate sales.
Companies that understand the relationship between sales activity, and the other functions of their business, will be able to do this most effectively. A company that has developed a robust brand strategy, that establishes the relationship between sales, operations, HR, marketing and finance activity, will have an advantage. Their activity will be more focused.
A company that lacks focus will be inconsistent. This will be reflected in a disappointing experience for customers. As a result, they will struggle to build trust with potential customers. And without trust, it will be much harder to make sales.
A company with products or services that have been developed to meet the needs of their customers; by a team that recognises the commitment that is expected from them; supported by marketing activity that communicates their benefits; will be in a far stronger position when it comes to sales.
Because your brand strategy is focused, it also brings clarity. A brand proposition, that clearly states the benefit of your products and services, is one aspect of that clarity. Your brand strategy will also provide insight into your customers, and an understanding of your competitors. It is this information that allows you to establish and plot your market position. With this information, and the clarity it provides, you will be able to identify the most effective sales strategy to pursue.
Your sales strategy will also be influenced by the business strategy you are pursuing. Each will bring its own challenges. With a market penetration strategy, the challenge is creating new opportunities, in a market populated by established competitors. A market development strategy offers the potential of new customers, so understanding their needs and expectations will be important. The ability to leverage the trust of existing customers is the benefit of a product development strategy, but you need to convince them to try something new. With a diversification strategy everything is new, which could be what gives you an advantage.
There are many ways to sell, and your brand has the potential to make all of them more efficient and more effective. But sales is the culmination of the business process, it doesn’t exist in isolation. Your sales activity is built on a foundation that combines each function of your business. The more effectively each of these elements works together - the more consistent they are - the easier it will be for you to sell.
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If you’d like to understand more about how your brand can influence your sales process, take a look at page 107 of Brand in the Boardroom. You can find a copy here.
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