Sales

Issue 8:

I’ve got some bad news for sales directors (and their managing directors). Most of your target market aren’t interested in what you have to sell. Well, not at the moment anyway.

Most marketing activity is focused on driving sales TODAY, this WEEK, or this MONTH. And the success of most marketing activity is measured in the same time frame.

But that’s not how (most) marketing works. And certainly not if you’re selling B2B.

At any given time, only about 5% of potential B2B clients are actively seeking to buy, while the remaining 95% are not in the market. This could be because:
- They have just bought an alternative.
- They are bound by an existing contract.
- What you sell is not part of their current plan.

There is no opportunity to persuade / encourage / drive / motivate / educate / force / cajole these people in to buying from you. They are not interested. What you are selling is not relevant to them. You are wasting your time.

Yet most marketing activity is trying to achieve this (a sales activation strategy). Most campaigns are designed to win new customers TODAY, this WEEK, or this MONTH.

But that’s unrealistic.

If those are the targets you have, you’re setting yourself up to fail.

If those are the targets you’re giving your team, you’re setting them up to fail.

Only 5% your target market are realistic prospects. So you probably need a different strategy.

To sell more effectively to your target market, you need to build a relationship with them. A long-term relationship, built on trust. Not a short-term, transactional relationship, focused on making a sale.

To build this trust with your target market tell them about
- The problems you solve
- The benefits you deliver
- The values that drive your business

This will take months, not minutes.

It’s all about consistency.

But then, when your target market need to buy - when the 95% become part of the 5% - they will think of you.

Then you will have your opportunity to sell.

Consistency brings familiarity, familiarity brings trust, and trust drives sales.

_____

If you’d like to understand how to build long-term relationships with your customers, take a look at page 86 of Brand in the Boardroom. You can find a copy here.

_____

To read more articles like this, every month, subscribe today!

_____

If you would like to have a chat about what we have discussed in this post, please do get in touch.