Business Development Strategies for Niche Markets
Selling to Labs
No doubt about it, labs are high value sales targets for business sellers that are equipped to tackle a competitive marketplace. Product quality, cost and service are all important considerations – so businesses that sell to labs need to demand excellence from their team.
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.
Don't be intimidated by the speed of the marketplace. Although speed is important, solid business principles and common sense will make the biggest difference in the success or failure of your selling efforts.
Cost Analysis of Your Selling Tactics
Every part of your sales strategy should be targeted for cost analysis. Business owners sometimes overlook cost considerations and instead, choose to invest in sales strategies that underperform in the area of ROI.
For example, even though it might be desirable to recruit an additional ten sales reps to expand your base of lab customers, the additional labor overhead may be an inefficient decision from a cost analysis perspective.
Putting It All Together
Ultimately, there is no single strategy that can guarantee conversions in your efforts to sell to labs. It's often a combination of techniques that seals the deal.
Although it's easy to get caught up in the micro-level details of the selling cycle, sellers in this industry need to maintain a macro perspective that incorporates proven sales techniques into a carefully designed sales strategy.
Marketing Mix
Since it's impossible to separate sales and marketing, your company's marketing mix plays a central role in bottom line sales revenue. The industry's leading sellers employ multichannel marketing strategies and prioritize channels that target decision makers.
Despite the fact that there are multiple way to market to labs, B2B sellers often achieve higher returns by outsourcing lead generation to a third-party provider. Experian and other vendors maintain accurate and up-to-date lists of labs. For many businesses, these lists set the stage for the rest of the sales cycle.
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