This week we kicked off the 1st Sales Peer to Peer in Hamilton at the Innovation Factory.
The topic of the session was B2B sales planning, which is fitting as we head into the final months of the year. If you have a calendar year-end this is a excellent time for a startup to begin working on your sales plan for next year.
There is also typically an eye on the current year or quarter. For 10 years I worked for a large Fortune 500 company and there was a considerable amount of pressure to meet our lofty sales targets, quarter after quarter. Closing timely revenue is also important for growing firms as you try to balance cash flow.
Here are some of the things to think about when trying to pull business forward.
1. Customer Relationship Management System
A CRM should be used by both large and small companies. It helps to organize accounts, contacts, notes, past activities, future activities, and opportunities. Looking at the details within an opportunity around timing, their evaluation criteria, and the business challenges that are having them look at your solution.
2. Offer a Price Discount
This is probably the lever that is used most frequently when trying to pull business forward. However, this is a slippery slope as a discount could affect the price in the longer term, casuing a significant reduction in revenue with the client.
3. Offer Additional Features or Services
Giving the client more than what they had planned to receive. This only works if they see value in the additional services you choose to provide. Conversely, this option does run the risk of devaluing these extra features and services with this organization. Free services and features or a lower price can impact your business with this client moving forward. Is the short term gain worth the longer term pain?
Moving B2B sales forward may be necessary, but it is not without challenges and risks. If you would like to better understand how VA Partners can help you with your sales planning or sales strategy please contact me.
