Small business owners are always on the hunt for information to help them grow their companies. They frequently turn to their contacts, books, websites, magazines, seminars, and anything else they can get their hands on to give them insights on how to get better.
This provides a great opportunity for anyone selling into the small business community: What expertise can you offer entrepreneurs to help them with their businesses? Small companies typically don't have the same infrastructure, policies, and procedures that most big companies take for granted. What is your hiring procedure? How do you recruit top talent? How do you set your compensation packages? How do you motivate your salespeople? How do you generate new leads? What kind of relationship do you create with your suppliers and channel partners? These are all questions (and there are many many more...) that may be easy for you to answer but provide invaluable insight to small business owners who do not have the same access to resources as you do.
Entrepreneurs like to deal with people they trust and have a relationship with. A great first step is to establish yourself as someone who has valuable information to provide them with. Become more than a supplier to them. If you can become a valuable business advisor you can build a lifetime relationship with the entrepreneur.
Think about what you have to offer and what would be valuable to your clients. A great example is Microsoft Canada's Small Business + program. They give small business free access to Microsoft product training (Outlook, Excel, etc) but they've also partnered with industry experts to provide comprehensive business training. If an entrepreneur wants to improve their sales or marketing skills, for example, they can turn to the Small Business + training program to do so. It's a great way for Microsoft Canada to stand out, provide more value to their clients, and build a trusted business advisor relationship.
Whether it's online training, seminars, or just a simple phone call with a new prospect, add value to the relationship by teaching them something you know that can help them. Build the relationship and credibility before asking for the sale.
This provides a great opportunity for anyone selling into the small business community: What expertise can you offer entrepreneurs to help them with their businesses? Small companies typically don't have the same infrastructure, policies, and procedures that most big companies take for granted. What is your hiring procedure? How do you recruit top talent? How do you set your compensation packages? How do you motivate your salespeople? How do you generate new leads? What kind of relationship do you create with your suppliers and channel partners? These are all questions (and there are many many more...) that may be easy for you to answer but provide invaluable insight to small business owners who do not have the same access to resources as you do.
Entrepreneurs like to deal with people they trust and have a relationship with. A great first step is to establish yourself as someone who has valuable information to provide them with. Become more than a supplier to them. If you can become a valuable business advisor you can build a lifetime relationship with the entrepreneur.
Think about what you have to offer and what would be valuable to your clients. A great example is Microsoft Canada's Small Business + program. They give small business free access to Microsoft product training (Outlook, Excel, etc) but they've also partnered with industry experts to provide comprehensive business training. If an entrepreneur wants to improve their sales or marketing skills, for example, they can turn to the Small Business + training program to do so. It's a great way for Microsoft Canada to stand out, provide more value to their clients, and build a trusted business advisor relationship.
Whether it's online training, seminars, or just a simple phone call with a new prospect, add value to the relationship by teaching them something you know that can help them. Build the relationship and credibility before asking for the sale.
Labels: business advisor, credibility, Microsoft Canada, online training, phone call, relationship, selling to small business, seminars, teach entrepreneurs
