Sales Strategies
Selling to Variety Stores
Most variety stores have tight budgets and no time for games. The challenging part is devising a sales approach that captures the attention of the industry's major players.
Despite robust demand for products sold to variety stores, penetrating the market can be challenging.
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 deliver results.
Customer Profiles
Emerging sellers in the variety store market are advised to create customer profiles before they invest in a specific sales strategy. A little industry knowledge can go a long way toward equipping your team with the tools required to convert high value variety store leads.
In this industry, it is especially important for sellers to adopt a customer-centered sales philosophy. In general, variety stores are very skilled at spotting B2B companies that lack an awareness of the issues that are important to them and they tend to hold out for more knowledgeable suppliers, even if it means paying a slightly higher price.
Marketing to Variety Stores
There are several ways to market your products to variety stores. In addition to personal contacts, advertisements in relevant media combined with online marketing techniques significantly increase your ability to promote your products to prospects and existing customers.
Many businesses find that direct marketing is also helpful in marketing to variety stores because it is a non-threatening easy method for breaking the ice with new customers.
The first step of a successful direct marketing strategy is to obtain a lead list from a reputable third-party provider like Experian Business Services, a company with a reputation for quality and service. From there, you can tailor your direct marketing efforts toward your company's strengths and perceived needs in the marketplace.
Internet Strategies
With variety stores increasingly using the Internet to locate vendors, it's becoming more important for B2B sellers to develop online sales strategies.
A user-friendly website is the centerpiece of all of your other online sales and marketing activities. However, it may also be worthwhile to integrate email advertising, SEO, social networking and other techniques into your sales and marketing mix.
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