Selling to Businesses
Selling to Research and Development Services Businesses
There's no question that research and development services businesses are major players in a growth industry -- and that presents an opportunity to sellers who want to improve bottomline profits. Products, cost and customer service are all important considerations – so businesses that sell to research and development services businesses 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 landing new customers in this industry is a lofty ambition that demands diligence and respect.
If your sales strategies lack horsepower, your entire revenue stream could be in jeopardy. Here are a few simple strategies you can count on to keep your earnings statement in the black.
Direct Marketing Strategies
Direct marketing is an effective way to sell to research and development services businesses. The benefit of direct marketing is that it provides a cost-effective resource for reaching qualified prospects with targeted messaging. From a selling perspective, direct marketing establishes a foundation for relationships with research and development services businesses that can benefit from your products or services.
The tricky part about direct marketing is lead generation. Since reliable leads can be hard to find, we recommend using lead lists supplied by established third-party vendors. Over the years we've found that Experian is one of the best in the business with a reputation for supplying consistently reliable lists of research and development services businesses that are primed for sales pitches.
Networking Tips
The research and development services business industry is relationship-based. Businesses that sell in the industry leverage networking and contacts throughout the sales cycle.
Lead lists are helpful in expanding your network, but only to the extent that your team invests time and effort to develop lead list contacts into long-term business relationships. As an owner or manager, you need to encourage networking strategies and proactively model relational sales techniques.
Market Research
Start with good market research, which is a prerequisite for profitability in this industry. High volume sales teams conduct thorough research on market demand, pricing and niche opportunities.
More importantly, they research and evaluate the specific research and development services businesses that they want to add to their customer roster.
Since relationships are an important part of the selling process, meetings with research and development services businesses leaders and their staff facilitate the flow of the sales cycle. These meetings can also provide information that can give your business a competitive edge.
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