How to Sell to Niche Markets
Selling to Employee Assistance Programs Businesses
In today's business environment, uncertainty is the only constant for employee assistance programs businesses. The hard part is designing a sales plan that captures the attention of high value prospects.
No one said selling would be easy. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that landing new customers in this industry is a daunting � but ultimately achievable business goal.
Companies that market to employee assistance programs businesses have to be prepared to demonstrate their value proposition to customers who are savvy about marketplace realities. Here are some of the other things you'll need to gain visibility with employee assistance programs businesses.
Message First, Targets Second
Messaging is a fundamental component of sales. Confused messaging dilutes the sales cycle and makes it challenging for your customers to discern the value of your products.
Whenever possible, the identification of key messaging should be incorporated into a comprehensive planning process that combines sales and marketing into a single, unified strategy.
The next step is to narrow the field to the contacts who are most likely to respond to your messaging. Although lead generation techniques are diverse, lead lists can be a useful resource for generating a list of prospects that are receptive to your messaging. Vendors like Experian are skilled at providing targeted lists of employee assistance programs businesses that can be tailored to meet geographic and demographic criteria.
Know Your Products
In the real world, most employee assistance programs businesses aren't interested in middle of the road products. Before they make a purchasing decision, they want to know everything there is to know about your product.
In this industry, differentiation can be the deciding factor in a sale. It's crucial for your sales team to be knowledgeable and informed. If you're selling a service to employee assistance programs businesses, your sales force has to be educated in service features and be prepared to resolve customer concerns during the sales cycle.
How to Evaluate Sales Staff
Periodic staff assessment is essential 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 enough 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 employee assistance programs businesses.
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