Image by Author
Of all the systems your company has, the sales and marketing system is often the most important - it's the process by which you attract new business. However oftentimes this system is one of the least understood company systems, or seen as the preserve of large companies who have a fat marketing budget. However the reality is that the Sales and Marketing system can be implemented and streamlined, like any other system. Let's break this system down using a common paradigm, the sales and marketing funnel
A simple visualisation of the sales and marketing funnel. Image Credit: Chris Lennon
The sales funnel is depicted a few different ways; I am a fan of simplicity so I’ve drawn a very simple diagram with three phases. The real world of course has a way of not fitting neatly into our boxes - but nevertheless having a paradigm like this to help you visualize your activities will help you be more effective. The model has three phases:
In the Awareness phase your goal is to increase the number of folks who have heard of your brand. You won’t know most of these people - as this phase is all about marketing; think radio ads, sign-writing and the like. It can be tempting to give up on driving awareness because you aren’t getting direct results, however this phase is key as people are far more likely to buy from a company they have at least heard of than someone completely unknown.
In the Consideration phase you will generally know who you are targeting. Here your goal is to persuade. You want to let your customers and prospective customers know that you are alive and well, and ready to add value to their business. Ask yourself this question: when was the last time you touched base with your contacts list? And when was the last time your competitors got in touch with them? On the software front a simple CRM that helps you track and communicate with prospects and leads can be a valuable investment.
Sales is all about the ask. This is where you directly ask for a customer’s business. Here the first two phases, awareness and consideration play a big role. You are far more likely to make a sale to a prospect who is aware of your brand and regards your product as good value, than you are to make a sale to someone who has never heard of your product.
As Kiwis this direct ask often does not feel comfortable to us. Infact is can feel downright uncomfortable! This is where having a sales and marketing system can help. Rather than framing the interaction as a one-off, uncomfortable moment, you frame it as simply part of running your company’s sales system.
A CRM is key to running a successful sales and marketing process. Salesforce is a well regarded CRM but can be overly complex for the limited time that NZ SMEs have to spend in the sales and marketing area. Often email marketing software makes a perfectly good CRM. Our current recommendation in the SME space for email marketing software is Zoho Campaigns. It is quite user-friendly, reasonably priced, with a very viable free plan.
When we do one of our free consultations we use this model to help you identify and streamline your sales and marketing process, and the software that powers these systems. Give us a call on 09 956 4774 to find out more
* At Voyzu Software Consulting we are vendor neutral, meaning we only recommend software that works for your needs, not the needs of software vendors.
.png){kind=small}