Smart Sales Strategies for Niche Markets
Selling to Gift Basket Retailers
The trouble with selling to gift basket retailers is that the wrong sales strategies can threaten your entire plan for success. The implementation of these techniques for selling to the gift basket retailer market will move you significantly closer to your sales goals.
Most gift basket retailers depend on distributors and vendors. So, many B2B companies build their business plans around sales to gift basket retailers.
In any B2B industry, one of the key indicators of long-term success is the ability to expand your customer base. Fortunately gift basket retailers are plentiful, but the challenge is to acquire and retain new accounts.
Marketing, Promotions & PR
Emerging B2B businesses are often tempted to buy their way into the market. Rather than taking the time to develop relationships with gift basket retailer owners, these companies blanket the market with high-priced marketing content in hopes of scoring fast conversions from buyers.
Marketing is useful and necessary. But new businesses should channel their energy toward initiatives that support their value proposition. Although lead lists obtained from third-party vendors like Experian can improve the flow of prospects to your team, the effectiveness of your marketing efforts is limited to your team's ability to connect marketing, promotional and PR messaging with your company's unique product traits.
Sales Management Tips
Sales managers can play an important role in boosting sales volumes and improving the effectiveness of your sales team.
In this industry, sales reps tend to be highly motivated performers who are accustomed to working under tight deadlines. However, sales managers need to be careful to strike a balance between encouraging individual performance and maintaining a team atmosphere.
Don't neglect the fact that gift basket retailer owners are often sensitive to team dynamics and may not respond to sales reps who seem overly disconnected from their sales unit.
Industry Experience
In gift basket retailer sales, industry experience is a huge plus. Although it isn't necessary to have decades of front line experience, it helps to speak the industry language and to understand the pressure points of a typical gift basket retailer.
B2B sellers who lack industry experience can augment their background by subscribing to trade journals, partnering with industry insiders and immersing themselves in the industry culture. Remember, gift basket retailers may also be more friendly to sellers within their network, so it's important to make new contacts as quickly as possible.
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs