Niche Customer Sales Tactics
Selling to Wholesale Upholstery Fabric Businesses
As the market recovers, wholesale upholstery fabric businesses are gradually bouncing back from the Great Recession and are starting to reinvest. The challenging part is crafting a selling strategy that captures the attention of high value prospects.
Over the past several years, wholesale upholstery fabric businesses have experienced moderate growth rates compared to other businesses.
The process of converting wholesale upholstery fabric businesses from prospects to satisfied customers isn't random. It takes intentionality from owners and managers to create a strategy that is tailored to your product line and customer base.
How to Evaluate Sales Staff
Frequent employee evaluations are a must for companies that sell in this industry. Businesses that achieve significant market share hire quality candidates and routinely evaluate them against performance goals and benchmarks.
Although annual reviews may be acceptable for other business units, sales units should be evaluated quarterly with monthly or weekly reviews of sales totals. Training, coaching and sales incentives can be useful for increasing sales volumes and individual achievement. In some instances, it may be appropriate to team underperforming sales reps with reps that have more experience selling to wholesale upholstery fabric businesses.
Sales & Marketing Tips
Some B2B wholesale upholstery fabric business suppliers rely on marketing firms; others perform marketing internally. Either way, your marketing strategy should leverage a multichannel approach that appreciates the multiple ways wholesale upholstery fabric business owners access information. Traditional channels like direct mail and telemarketing are important, but they should be combined with online strategies like e-mail campaigns, website SEO and social networking initiatives.
Top B2B sales teams recognize the importance of reliable lead generation mechanisms. Leads drive sales cycles. Until your company develops a system for acquiring and qualifying wholesale upholstery fabric business leads, it will be difficult to capture a meaningful share of the market.
If your sales force is falling flat when it comes to leads, consider buying updated lead lists from a recognized lead list provider. Experian and other vendors have a reputation for delivering accurate and affordable wholesale upholstery fabric business lead lists to B2B sellers.
Industry Experience
In wholesale upholstery fabric 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 wholesale upholstery fabric 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, wholesale upholstery fabric 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.
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