Sales Advice By Market
Selling to Architectural Programming Firms
Leading architectural programming firms understand the value of every dollar. Here's how to sell to architectural programming firms in the current business climate.
Selling is one of the hardest tasks you'll ever undertake. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that new customer acquisitions in this industry is a lofty ambition that demands diligence and respect.
Quality products, a good strategy and a lot of hard work are requirements for companies who sell to architectural programming firms. Despite the presence of market barriers, new entries to the marketplace can gain traction by applying a handful of proven sales principles.
Niche Selling
New businesses that attempt to tackle the entire marketplace face a long, uphill battle. A better approach is to tailor your business model to an underserved niche.
In the architectural programming firm industry, niches can be based on geographic, demographic or industry-specific factors. For niche sellers, advance research is essential. Don't assume that there will be demand for a niche product line unless your assumptions are rooted in solid facts.
Sales & Marketing Tips
Some B2B architectural programming firm suppliers outsource marketing while others prefer to handle it in-house. Either way, your marketing strategy should leverage a multichannel approach that considers the many ways architectural programming firm owners access information. Traditional channels like direct mail and telemarketing have value, but they should be combined with online strategies like e-mail campaigns, website SEO and social networking initiatives.
Top B2B sales teams routinely use reliable lead generation mechanisms. Leads drive sales cycles. Until your company develops a system for acquiring and qualifying architectural programming firm leads, it will be difficult to capture a meaningful share of the market.
If your sales force is floundering in the area of lead generation, consider buying updated lead lists from a recognized lead list provider. Experian and other vendors have a reputation for delivering accurate and affordable architectural programming firm lead lists to B2B sellers.
How to Evaluate Sales Staff
Regular sales force reviews are necessary for companies that sell in this industry. Businesses that achieve significant market share recruit the cream of the crop and routinely evaluate them against performance goals and benchmarks.
Although annual reviews may be acceptable for other business units, sales units should be evaluated quarterly with monthly or weekly reviews of sales totals. Training, coaching and sales incentives can be useful for improving performance and revenues. In some instances, it may be appropriate to team underperforming sales reps with reps that have more experience selling to architectural programming firms.
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