How to Sell to Niche Markets
Selling to Ethnic Products and Services Businesses
For many entrepreneurs, selling to ethnic products and services businesses can be a pathway to achieving revenue goals. If your offerings appeal to this market, it's time to learn how to sell to ethnic products and services businesses in the new economy.
Technology and technique are important. But in a B2B sales environment, they may not be your most valuable assets.
With diligence, hard work and a carefully crafted sales strategy on your side, it's possible to penetrate the market and receive an acceptable return for your efforts.
Message First, Targets Second
Messaging is an important part of a successful sales strategy. Muddy messaging dilutes the sales cycle and makes it difficult for prospective 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 coherent strategy.
The next step is to reduce your contact list 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 specialize in providing targeted lists of ethnic products and services businesses that can be customized to your precise specifications.
Industry Experience
In ethnic products and services business sales, industry experience is a huge plus. Although it isn't necessary to be a twenty year industry veteran, it helps to speak the industry language and to understand the pressure points of a typical ethnic products and services business.
B2B sellers who lack industry experience can compensate for inexperience by subscribing to trade journals, partnering with industry insiders and immersing themselves in the industry culture. Remember, ethnic products and services businesses may also be more open to sellers within their network, so it's important to make new contacts as quickly as possible.
Sales Incentives
Whenever possible, you want your sales force to be self-motivated to perform at a high level. But to sweeten the deal, consider offering sales incentives to sales reps that exceed ethnic products and services business sales targets.
Incentives don't have to break your budget -- sometimes just recognizing an employee's worth to the organization is more valuable than an expensive incentive that lacks recognition or prestige.
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