Understanding industrial marketing sales calls
When speaking with potential clients about our prospecting call campaigns, I often review the process of industrial marketing sales calls. The way I explain the process is to break it down into three phases. While some of these may overlap, each has a distinct purpose in the sales process. The following is a summary of each phase.
Prospecting
This step is the first in the industrial marketing sales calls process. It begins with getting a list to make the initial call to potential customers. By qualifying the list before purchasing, you minimize lost time calling companies that would not be a good fit with your products or services. Generally, you can qualify the list using SIC and NAICS codes, facility size, number of employees, or annual sales volume. Keep in mind that no list is perfect. That’s where prospecting comes in. Through prospecting efforts, you can find prospects interested in your company and send them information to begin the sales process.
Appointments
Once you have leads from the prospecting campaign, you can begin following up to gauge interest and set presentation appointments. Obviously, not all the leads from the prospecting efforts will be hot leads ready to buy. They will be cool to warm leads that need to be nurtured through the sales process. Of course, appointments can be made during prospecting, but most often, they need a follow-up call. The purpose of the appointment, whether on-site, a phone call, or online, is to classify the lead and, if appropriate, gather the information to develop a bid. That leads us to the next phase in industrial marketing sales calls.
Closing
You are now at the final step in industrial marketing sales calls, closing the sale. During this stage, you present your bid or solution based on evaluating the potential customer’s needs. While this is the last step, it might not be an immediate win. Often, prospects need time to review your proposal versus competitors.
The process of industrial marketing sales calls
Foremost, you need to understand that industrial marketing sales calls is a process. It will take time and effort. As you work through the call campaign, you will likely find that members of your sales team exhibit strengths in different areas. For example, one may be better at prospecting and others stronger at presenting your proposal to win the bid. Be open to adjusting the campaign to increase effectiveness by regularly analyzing the target markets and your sales team’s results. Most of all, have patience because well-executed industrial marketing sales calls can be a significant part of growth.
Pappy
About the Author
Paul Kowalski (or Pappy as he is called around the office) spent over two decades working at other agencies before opening Conach Marketing Group in 2008. The early part of his career was working with Fortune 500 clients at different agencies. However, working with smaller clients was his preference. This choice was because of the impact on a client’s business growth and forming closer, personal relationships.
About Conach
When he was creating Conach, his goal was to bring those Fortune 500 strategies along with years of B2B marketing experience to small business marketing clients. As a result of focusing on business to business marketing, Conach specializes in financial marketing, financial marketing, and industrial marketing. Even though we are in Mid-Michigan, Conach provides marketing services to clients across the country.
For more information, visit conachmarketing.com or contact us or call 989.401.3202.