{"id":18334,"date":"2021-05-25T09:00:12","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T08:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/?p=18334"},"modified":"2021-05-25T13:00:23","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T12:00:23","slug":"sales-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/sales-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Build Business Sales Strategies Successfully"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every sales initiative should be founded on a strong sales strategy. Your sales strategy is what keeps teams on track, productive and goal-oriented. Your sales strategy is the driving force behind bigger and better results.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to write down a clear and targeted sales strategy early on in the development process. As the old saying goes, prior planning prevents poor performance. It\u2019s true. While there\u2019s no one-size-fits-all sales strategy for every business, building your own remains key to success.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a sales manager or lead, you\u2019ll need to tailor your method according to your organisation\u2019s unique customer base, working model, communication channels and performance indicators. If that all sounds a bit daunting at the moment, don\u2019t worry. We\u2019re going to be covering everything you need to know to start building and implementing successful sales strategies in your business.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What is a sales strategy?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A sales strategy is essentially a product positioning plan. You might think of it as a defined method that helps show off your business\u2019 products or services to your target personas and persuade them that they need it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most often, sales strategies contain detailed guidelines and best practices for implementation. The methods you choose depend wholly on your particular target customer, product or service. Some of the most typical and popular sales strategies include <\/span>inbound and outbound calling<\/span><\/a>, social selling and email marketing campaigns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It all boils down to one clear objective: sell more products. Your sales strategy should act as a guide for sales teams to help them achieve that most effectively and efficiently possible. The best sales strategies cover all bases from market research to lead qualification, brand language and more.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Types of sales strategies<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are many different types of sales strategies out there. You\u2019ll need to pick a combination of strategies that work best for your customer base, staff makeup and sales goals. Let\u2019s take a look at some of the most common strategies.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Inbound sales<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Inbound strategies draw customers in. In other words, an inbound strategy will attract leads who are already engaging with your brand. The customer is the active agent. They start the conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n

To attract new leads, your sales team will need to generate lots of visibility for your campaign. This is usually achieved via social marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO), and content-based marketing campaigns. Encouraging potential customers to engage with your website by providing interesting content is a great way to capture their attention without making them feel like they\u2019re directly being sold. For instance, if you\u2019re a SaaS brand, you\u2019d want to host interesting, technical content aimed at the market your software is in.<\/span><\/p>\n

By engaging with customers meaningfully, brands will encourage potential customers to engage actively and become customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Outbound sales<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As the name suggests, outbound sales are the opposite of inbound methods. Outbound sales strategies reach out to customers. In other words, an outbound sales strategy will prospect leads who have not previously engaged with your brand<\/span> \u2013<\/span> or at least, who aren\u2019t currently engaged.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this case, the salespeople are active agents. They start the conversation with qualified leads. The most successful outbound sales strategies are based on relationship building and trust. You\u2019ll need to hire sales staff with excellent communication skills, empathy, patience, and charisma to close leads. Outbound sales are most commonly conducted via <\/span>cold calling<\/span><\/a> or emailing and, in general, are more general and forthright than the alternative strategies. <\/span>
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RingCentral Contact Centre<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3. Social selling<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Social selling refers to sales communications made via social media platforms. The idea is a bit like cold calling<\/a> 2.0. Instead of using the telephone to generate leads, sales reps use online social strategies and social listening to build relationships with prospects online. To nurture leads, salespeople will engage with their target audience with relevant, engaging, brand-centric content. Social media can help generate more leads over a shorter sales cycle. This makes it an increasingly popular strategy for sales teams.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4. Personal selling\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Personal selling is a sales strategy based on person-to-person interactions. That could be a face-to-face meeting, but it\u2019s not strictly necessary. Personal selling strategies can equally take place via the telephone, videoconference, or email. The key to personal selling is<\/span> \u2013 <\/span>you guessed it<\/span> \u2013 <\/span>personalisation. Communication should be centred around an individual customer\u2019s needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sales representatives resolve each prospect\u2019s issues by showing them how their company\u2019s product or service can help them. Personal selling is highly effective when combined with long-term business relationships. It is, therefore, a more time-consuming strategy than cold-calling or social selling. However, for some businesses<\/span> \u2013 <\/span>particularly those selling high-ticket items<\/span> \u2013 <\/span>personal selling is preferred. <\/span>
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\n<\/span>As well as high-ticket items, it\u2019s a great tactic for businesses looking to have ongoing relationships, for instance, wholesalers selling to retail stores.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. B2B selling<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Business to business selling refers to sales strategies directed at other businesses. This often requires a specific B2B sales strategy depending on the company size. These sales tend to be high in value and often require longer sales cycles (particularly when selling to enterprises). B2C sales, by contrast, are sales made to individual consumers. These contracts tend to have shorter selling cycles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\t

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How to build a sales strategy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Every sales strategy will be different. As we said, there\u2019s really no one-size-fits-all solution. When developing a sales strategy for your organisation, you\u2019ll need to consider your available resources, your target market, and your sales goals. There are, however, certain elements that are integral to every sales plan. So it\u2019s important to keep these in mind when developing a sales plan of your own.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n