7-Sigma Selling
 |
Free Download - The 9 Most-Deadly Sins in Sales & Marketing By Neil Mahoney |
1. Identify & target the heavy-user/high-growth groups
Case History: A long-time highly respected manufacturer of precision measuring devices was trying to enter the hardware market. Looking at the US market as a whole - 75 million purchasers of hand tools annually - it was clear that it would take years of Sales & Marketing effort to establish adequate dealer coverage. Further study showed that fewer than 5% of that total - the contractor pros - accounted for over 50% of the sales. Thus, this became a very practical objective, and one that played to all the company's strengths: superior product, knowledge of the distribution channels, superior brand recognition.
The moral: Bigger is better. Find & focus on the heavy users. Case History: A magazine written for owners & managers of Commercial Buildings had a competitor that had more circulation, but as a group they operated fewer buildings. By emphasizing that to advertisers, the magazine was able to re-capture lost advertising.
The moral: Bigger is better. Find & focus on the heavy users.
2. Ensure you've included all key buying influences
Case History: A leading supplier of Scientific Instruments sold through two national Scientific Supply distributors, and targeted three major markets: Education, Health Care, and Analytical Chemists in industry. Sales had stagnated for several years, but it was finally recognized that distributors were easily just as important prospects as the "major" buying influences they had been targeting. Once distributors began to be treated both as prospects and as partners in selling and motivational programs were put in place for them, sales rose considerably and continued to do so.
The moral: Ensure you've targeted all key buying influences.
3. Consider related markets & buying influences where you can readily compete
Case History: Magazines written for managers who were involved in Industrial Finishing accounted for about 75% of the total market, but only about 40% of the total ad revenues. The magazines that served the producers of the coatings only served 25% of the market, but had access to the great bulk of the ad pages. By including the producers of coatings in the circulation, the magazines that served the finishers could increase their access to ad pages by 50%, just by increasing their circulations by only 1/3.
The moral: Consider related markets & buying influences where you can readily compete.
Case History: A magazine in Charlotte was written for owners & mangers of Commercial Buildings. It had gained strong ad support from that segment, but revenue growth had peaked. By shifting direction and focusing on business owners who were considering relocation, the magazine greatly increased its appeal to companies that provided products and services to businesses that were relocating - office furniture & equipment, interior decorators, movers, computer network specialists, etc.
The moral: Consider related markets & buying influences where you can readily compete.
4. Make it easy for prospects to find it, try it, buy it.
Case History: A major manufacturer of Quality Control measuring devices sold through a large number of Industrial Distributors nationwide. Because they had so many, they thought their prospect base was well covered. An analysis of their market coverage on a sectional basis showed many areas were under-represented. By focusing their efforts on specific geographical areas, they greatly improved their availability to prospects.
The Moral: Make it easy for prospects to find it, try it, buy it.
5. Objectively prioritize your prospects' want & needs
Case History: A digest-sized metalworking magazine had developed significantly greater reader coverage of US industry in order to compensate for its smaller size. Ad sales had not only peaked, but had begun to decline. Realizing that advertisers and ad agencies greatly preferred full sized ads, the magazine was easily able to increase its size, while its competitors could not increase their circulations anywhere as quickly or easily. The result: Revenues for the new up-sized magazine doubled in 18 months and profitability increased 80%.
The moral: Prioritize your prospects' wants & needs. Give them what they want most.
6. An area in which you have a minor edge, but is very important to prospects, will create more sales than areas where you dominate, but is less-important
Case History: See Case History #5.
7. Prospects rank "Prompt response to needs & requests" 2nd only to pricing
Case History: As Publisher of the metalworking magazine mentioned in Case History #5 above, I was asked by an Industrial Distributor's association to survey the market to learn what prospects most wanted. The questionnaire included over a dozen benefits. "Prompt response to needs & requests ranked far above all other benefits except price. It's an advantage that's so easy for companies to provide, yet very few do. Go figure.
7Sigma Selling - To learn more about this author, visit Neil Mahoney's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
|
Article Tags:
Recent Search: sigma selling |
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is a best-selling author, top-rated speaker and thought leader on sales development. He is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
|||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
|||
Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained 4000+ students worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular home staging guides made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide, Portfolio Guide and Twitter Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
|||
Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Neil's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
|
||
|
||
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 One Size Success Disciplines of Success Emotional Intelligence Branding The Product Benefit From Analytics |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Diversion Blogs
Top Diversion Blogs of 2009 | |
 |
More PR Resources
Press Release Builder | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
 | ||||
| ||||
|
|
 | ||||
| ||||
|
 | ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
