As a start up driving faster sales is tough and once you have established a few wins in a particular sector, it is important to leverage those wins to drive more business in that particular vertical. Selling to new targets in a sector where you are building some track record is definitely easier that trying to break into a completely new one that is for sure. Remember, stories sell and clients in many cases do not want to be the “first” one to utilize your solution so that is why leveraging your initial win is so important.
A few tips to driving faster sales in an established sector include:
Sharing pictures
This has been particularly useful for us when assisting our clients sell deeper into a sector. For one client, we had helped them close a national grocery chain and provide their architectural film solution on the refrigerated cases and bunkers changing the look quickly and cost effectively. We then shared the before and after pictures of the work completed with a number of other grocery retailers in North America and have been able to generate further interest and leads. Proof is in the pudding as they say and pictures provide evidence of success.
Sharing customer success stories
Tried and true. Customer success stories are great ways to encapsulate a situation your client was in and how the solution you provided solved their problem. As I mentioned earlier, prospects do not want to be your first customer and this gives them confidence that you are selling to their peers and providing value. These don’t need to be long, rather keep them short and sweet. Include customer testimonials, pictures, video as part of the deliverable.
Suggesting the prospect visit the location of an installation
We have utilized this before. We had a client provide a renovation solution to a retailer and given the success of the work, we had another retailer stop by the store the work was done at and take a look. This led to interest from the prospective retailer. Concrete evidence matters to people and there is no better evidence than something someone can touch and feel.
Looking for new opportunities to offer your product or service in current client(s).
Tied to this and just as important is looking for new opportunities to service your existing clients. As an example, we have one client that provides a journal publications forecasting solution to universities. This client recently launched a new product targeting the same sector and so we were able to leverage these relationships into an opportunity to present the product.
Good luck with your sales efforts. Happy Hunting!
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