Back in the day, sales teams everywhere broadcast the same message: “it’s a number’s game”. However, in recent times sales and marketing have evolved and have interwoven to become a different beast which requires a different approach.
The terminology we use for marketing, is the nice fluffy stuff designed to build relationships and trust. We ‘give advice’, ‘build content’, help our audiences’. Meanwhile, we see sales as ‘getting down to business’ – the close of the deal, where trust has been established and two businesses can really start working together.
To be successful, I don’t believe marketing can exist without sales; the former has to come before the latter, because – in my view – there’s no point even having the sales conversation if you haven’t done the marketing to build a relationship (and trust) in the first place.
Things was different in the past. The mindset was that if you ask enough people for a sale… one would eventually say yes. The numbers game.This approach worked, but has since been damaged by overuse, misuse and increased competition. No-one likes having the cold sale given to them. So why bother?
In the modern business environment, teams should focus on the depth of their activity, rather than the width. Choose a target audience that your service works best for and focus on what you can do to really help them. How can you regularly keep in touch with relevant advice that’s going to help them and make their lives easier? How can you communicate with them in a different context, without being the annoying company just trying to get their money. Finally, Then how can you identify who is engaging with your content and ask them for the sale?
Master this and manage your resources wisely, and you should have a steady stream of happy prospects walking over your business doormat to become a loyal client and fan.
Please leave a comment below if you like the above, have anything to add or think we’ve got it wrong – we want to hear from you!
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