Tags |
|
|
Links |
|
|
Casual Articles - Closing the Loop: Integration Strategies for Marketing and Sales
We've just read an article where the author argued against the old view that ‘closing the sale’ is the most important part of selling. He suggests instead that ‘trust’ is the linchpin, and that one only gains this trust by listening, putting oneself in the other person’s shoes, and then conversing in a similar language.Well, we’d agree with all of that. But we’d not be too hasty in rejecting the closing the sale part.We’ve all got that friend who’s great to have a drink with, but he or she always turns up 40 minutes late…clothing issues, the bus was delayed, the cat was sick on the carpet. There’s no doubt you get on with this person, but he or she can let you down sometimes.Now think about the role of the supplier in the sales process. To be fully trusted, you have to deliver. The customer must get the right product or service, on time, and with as little hassle as possible.In terms of sales writing, delivering is about giving
In other words, an Integrated Initiative is a coordinated push to garner more leads, continue ongoing relationships, close sales faster, and increase sales volume in the right markets. ROI is measured not just in how well the ad worked for you, but how well you worked the ad message through every possible channel of communication with your customers and prospects.
One of my clients recently told me that, through conversations with salespeople, he learned customers often refer favorably to a customer story that appeared in a trade publication. That’s a rare compliment in this business
I used to work for a psychic hotline and techies did call me, believe it or not.Most techies don't call psychic hotlines, but it's obvious they still believe in ESP. They believe that the non-techies learn technical knowledge just by contacting a techie, even though the techie does not actually explain anything.The techie thinks all they have to do is just have to mumble something, and the non-techie of course understands it.Because the techie themself understands what they meant to say.What is that but a practicing belief (an unconscious assumption) in thought transference?That must explain why so many techies do not feel they have to explain technical problems and solutions to non-techies using mere spoken or written words.It's as though you went to a doctor and after they checked you over, they mumbled some Latin and then expected you to understand that meant you had a viral infection, and what you should do abo
The problem is that this traditional approach creates a rift between two forces that should be working together. Sales often thrives on relationships that may or may not be beneficial to the companies overall growth goals. Marketing, on the other hand, may be producing leads but doing very little to close sales faster or help enhance already existing relationships. Integrating the tactics of these two traditionally separate elements into an Integrated Initiative can grow your share in the markets you need to grow in and close sales faster.
The good news is that creating an Integrated Initiative can be done from almost any level of an organization and in tandem with strategic partners such as design partners, advertising channels, and lead tracking mechanisms. In closing the loop between sales and marketing, there are some key strategies that help make the transition successfully.
Recipe for Better ROI An Integrated Initiative redefines ROI by applying marketing and sales tactics together in a coordinated effort to reach goals in specific markets. Here’s an example:
Let’s say your company has a new product release next quarter and an ad has been created for the launch. A traditional definition of ROI compares the cost of creating and placing the ad to the sales generated. If you sold more than it cost – you had a good ROI. This is an important benchmark, but let’s look how an Integrated Initiative redefines it.
In our hypothetical Integrated Initiative, the ad doesn’t just sit passively in a magazine. It becomes part of the sales cycle. Reprints of the ad are used in direct mail pieces personalized from each member of the sales force to prospects in their territories. A press release previews the product in a wider range of trade media. That press release is sent to current customers in a preview email offering them special pricing or incentives. A unique URL is created incorporating the advertisement and the press release. Customer testimonials for related products can also be posted on the site. Downloads from the site can be tracked and again fed to sales. All of these materials are also provided to the sales force for leave-behinds and tradeshow handouts. Powerpoint slides also would be created to drop into presentations.
In other words, an Integrated Initiative is a coordinated push to garner more leads, continue ongoing relationships, close sales faster, and increase sales volume in the right markets. ROI is measured not just in how well the ad worked for you, but how well you worked the ad message through every possible channel of communication with your customers and prospects.
One of my clients recently told me that, through conversations with salespeople, he learned customers often refer favorably to a customer story that appeared in a trade publication. That’s a rare compliment in this business a
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, national origin, and sex.Federal sexual harassment law is broken into two categories: Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Sexual Environment. This article looks at Hostile Environment.A Hostile Environment occurs when unwelcome sexual conduct ruins an employee's work environment.When this occurs the behavior or its effect unreasonably interferes with work performance and/or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment either at work or at company-sponsored events.The behavior must be unwelcome and in most cases repeated.Types of harassment includes: sexually explicit jokes, pinups, or graffiti vulgar statements and sounds abusive language indirect sexual comments overt sexual conduct It is important to note that with this type of harassment, it doesn't matter whether
The good news is that creating an Integrated Initiative can be done from almost any level of an organization and in tandem with strategic partners such as design partners, advertising channels, and lead tracking mechanisms. In closing the loop between sales and marketing, there are some key strategies that help make the transition successfully.
Recipe for Better ROI An Integrated Initiative redefines ROI by applying marketing and sales tactics together in a coordinated effort to reach goals in specific markets. Here’s an example:
Let’s say your company has a new product release next quarter and an ad has been created for the launch. A traditional definition of ROI compares the cost of creating and placing the ad to the sales generated. If you sold more than it cost – you had a good ROI. This is an important benchmark, but let’s look how an Integrated Initiative redefines it.
In our hypothetical Integrated Initiative, the ad doesn’t just sit passively in a magazine. It becomes part of the sales cycle. Reprints of the ad are used in direct mail pieces personalized from each member of the sales force to prospects in their territories. A press release previews the product in a wider range of trade media. That press release is sent to current customers in a preview email offering them special pricing or incentives. A unique URL is created incorporating the advertisement and the press release. Customer testimonials for related products can also be posted on the site. Downloads from the site can be tracked and again fed to sales. All of these materials are also provided to the sales force for leave-behinds and tradeshow handouts. Powerpoint slides also would be created to drop into presentations.
In other words, an Integrated Initiative is a coordinated push to garner more leads, continue ongoing relationships, close sales faster, and increase sales volume in the right markets. ROI is measured not just in how well the ad worked for you, but how well you worked the ad message through every possible channel of communication with your customers and prospects.
One of my clients recently told me that, through conversations with salespeople, he learned customers often refer favorably to a customer story that appeared in a trade publication. That’s a rare compliment in this business
Hiring employees is not an easy process. There are lots of aspects to consider when looking for that potential candidate who is suited for the job. And one of these is the medical condition of the applicant. That is why if you are applying for a job, the company may assess your medical condition through their medical employment screening.Importance of Medical Employment ScreeningMedical employment screening is done by many companies to assess the candidates' capacity to carry out the inherent requirements of the position. When you apply for a job, you should not be surprised if the company conducts a medical assessment of your health condition. They do this to determine if you have pre-existing medical conditions or ongoing medications that may prevent you from performing the task at hand.For companies, this type of screening is very important because it will save them a whole lot of trouble if the people they hire are in good health a
Let’s say your company has a new product release next quarter and an ad has been created for the launch. A traditional definition of ROI compares the cost of creating and placing the ad to the sales generated. If you sold more than it cost – you had a good ROI. This is an important benchmark, but let’s look how an Integrated Initiative redefines it.
In our hypothetical Integrated Initiative, the ad doesn’t just sit passively in a magazine. It becomes part of the sales cycle. Reprints of the ad are used in direct mail pieces personalized from each member of the sales force to prospects in their territories. A press release previews the product in a wider range of trade media. That press release is sent to current customers in a preview email offering them special pricing or incentives. A unique URL is created incorporating the advertisement and the press release. Customer testimonials for related products can also be posted on the site. Downloads from the site can be tracked and again fed to sales. All of these materials are also provided to the sales force for leave-behinds and tradeshow handouts. Powerpoint slides also would be created to drop into presentations.
In other words, an Integrated Initiative is a coordinated push to garner more leads, continue ongoing relationships, close sales faster, and increase sales volume in the right markets. ROI is measured not just in how well the ad worked for you, but how well you worked the ad message through every possible channel of communication with your customers and prospects.
One of my clients recently told me that, through conversations with salespeople, he learned customers often refer favorably to a customer story that appeared in a trade publication. That’s a rare compliment in this business
There are some very simple guides for delegation.Most people delegate based on not wanting to do something. They simply walk out to their secretary or the closest sub-ordinate and ask them to do/finish the project. These people use delegation as a means to schlep off unwanted work.Almost all work within any organization is important. That does not mean that all work with in an organization is A) fun to do or B) exciting to do or C) challenging or D) any particular person's favorite thing to do.So when can you / should you consider using delegation? Well the obvious is when the pile of work has grown to large to be accomplished accurately and in a timely manner. However, you may also want to use delegation at other times.When stress has gotten to a level beyond manageability.When you repeatedly stall or avoid specific duties.When you know other people could do a specific
In other words, an Integrated Initiative is a coordinated push to garner more leads, continue ongoing relationships, close sales faster, and increase sales volume in the right markets. ROI is measured not just in how well the ad worked for you, but how well you worked the ad message through every possible channel of communication with your customers and prospects.
One of my clients recently told me that, through conversations with salespeople, he learned customers often refer favorably to a customer story that appeared in a trade publication. That’s a rare compliment in this business
One of the most dangerous and damaging practices of business owners is MICROMANAGING their business. And this practice is entirely too prevalent in today’s business world and it wastes valuable resources of time, talent and financial assets. It is particularly prevalent in entrepreneurial businesses. And the reason behind that may be rooted in the fact that entrepreneurs are motivated to start their businesses so they could be their own boss, make more money and gain more freedom.So, with that being said, I need to ask those of you out there who are entrepreneurial business owners a couple of questions. My first question is: If you had to leave your business for an extended period of time, let us say a couple of months, would you come back to a business that is still running smoothly and profitably? My second question is: What would your answer be if we changed the time frame of your absence to two weeks? Let me say that if your answer was anyt
In other words, an Integrated Initiative is a coordinated push to garner more leads, continue ongoing relationships, close sales faster, and increase sales volume in the right markets. ROI is measured not just in how well the ad worked for you, but how well you worked the ad message through every possible channel of communication with your customers and prospects.
One of my clients recently told me that, through conversations with salespeople, he learned customers often refer favorably to a customer story that appeared in a trade publication. That’s a rare compliment in this business and I’ll take it — but not without asking: “How many of your salespeople are talking favorably to your customers about that article? Are they using reprints to build relationships? Can they mail out reprints to hot prospects to help close sales?” My client simply was looking at the quantified results – customers liked the article. He wasn’t considering that his sales force might be able to add to the momentum of this positive feedback. (By the way, we did use the article and an ad in a very successful direct mail campaign that garnered significant sales within days.)
Reaching thousands in an ad is very important, but ultimately it’s a single handshake that closes a sale. Integrating advertising, marketing, and PR into the sales culture of your company backs them up both in decade-long relationships as well as initial cold calls. If a marketing message can be part of the process throughout that entire sales/marketing spectrum, increased sales will follow.
Diversify Your Toolbox Diversity is key to an Integrated Initiative. After all, if you’re going to integrate the tools you’re using, diversifying those tools will simply give you more to work with and more opportunities to succeed.
Take advantage of new technologies to expand the tools at your disposal. For instance, you might be able to negotiate a print ad program that provides you with pdf’s of all ads and news that appears in a publication. The material cost is little or nothing for the magazine, and it provides the sales force with an easily emailed piece to customers and prospects.
Another example is packaging editorial consultation with an advertising program. Advertising in a special issue focusing on a key market could warrant a conference between sales, marketing, and magazine editorial staff to preview the issue and offer perspectives on that market. A direct mail piece to a select list of readers/customers for that issue with a letter from regional sales personnel further concentrates efforts to target markets and helps boost the advertising impact.
In this case, advertising, public relations, direct mail and sales are all part of a loop that will ultimately reach prospects from several different angles. This in turn draws in leads and tightens sales cycles.
While these tools are not necessarily free, they are comparatively inexpensive. More importantly, they add significant value to elements that are already in place such as advertising and PR. Diversifying tactics is simply realizing t
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.casualarticles.com/article/28960/casualarticles-Closing-the-Loop---Integration-Strategies-for-Marketing-and-Sales.html">Closing the Loop: Integration Strategies for Marketing and Sales</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.casualarticles.com/article/28960/casualarticles-Closing-the-Loop---Integration-Strategies-for-Marketing-and-Sales.html]Closing the Loop: Integration Strategies for Marketing and Sales[/url]
Related Articles:
Guide to Choosing and Working with an Executive Search Firm
Corporate Gifts – Are You Making These Mistakes When You Give Corporate Gifts?
The 7 Habits of Highly-Effective Trade Shows
Bookmark it:
|