Business Development Strategies for Niche Markets

Selling to Lumber Wholesale and Manufacturers Businesses

It's common knowledge that many lumber wholesale and manufacturers businesses are expanding, and smart vendors are hoping to target sales prospects in this market. To dominate in the lumber wholesale and manufacturers business industry, you'll need to flawlessly execute fundamental selling techniques.

There are no one-size-fits-all strategies for selling to lumber wholesale and manufacturers businesses. The recipe for success is the same as it is in many other industries.

In any B2B industry, one of the key indicators of long-term success is the ability to expand your customer base. Fortunately lumber wholesale and manufacturers businesses can be found throughout the nation, but the challenge is to acquire and retain new accounts.

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 lumber wholesale and manufacturers business sales targets.

Incentives don't have to break your budget -- sometimes a simple, affordable incentive that recognizes a team member's performance is more valuable than an expensive incentive that lacks recognition or prestige.

Industry Experience

In lumber wholesale and manufacturers business 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 lumber wholesale and manufacturers 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, lumber wholesale and manufacturers businesses may also be more friendly to sellers within their network, so it's important to expand your industry contact base as quickly as possible.

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.

Ideally, 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 is more than one way to capture lead contacts, 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 lumber wholesale and manufacturers businesses that can be customized to your precise specifications.

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