B2B Selling Advice
Selling to Import Businesses
The word is out that many import businesses are experiencing growth trends, and small businesses are striking while the iron's hot. Don't forget that import businesses aren't easy sales marks -- here's what you'll need to get purchase orders signed.
Over the past several years, import businesses have experienced slow, but steady growth.
Leveraging the strength of the market, entrepreneurs are streaming into the marketplace, eager to earn their share of the profits. Competition is fierce, so new businesses have to be careful about the way they approach import businesses.
Sales Incentives
In a perfect world, you want your sales force to be self-motivated to perform at a high level. But to encourage constant improvement, consider offering sales incentives to sales reps that exceed import business sales targets.
Incentives don't have to be cost-prohibitive -- sometimes just recognizing an employee's worth to the organization is more valuable than an expensive incentive that lacks recognition or prestige.
Benefits of Networking
Networking broadens your prospect pool. In addition to raising your company's profile, it increases your credibility with import businesses.
But more importantly, a strategy that emphasizes networking can be a lead generation machine. Sometimes the leads you generate through solid networking will be leads that are completely off your competition's radar.
Avoid Ambiguous or Confusing Sales Messages
Messaging is a critical weapon in your company's battle to capture market share. Muddy messaging dilutes the sales cycle and frustrates prospective customers' efforts to discern the value of your products.
For maximum impact, 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 there are multiple ways to generate leads, 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 import businesses that can be customized to your precise specifications.
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Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs