How to Start Sales Right
Have you ever been a part of a new venture that’s failed? Or are you worried that your current venture might fail? It’s fashionable to talk about ‘failing fast’ and learning from our mistakes, but in real life failure has a heavy monetary and emotional blow to all involved. Research from MIT (May 2019) backs up the idea that ‘failing fast’ is, at best, ‘misguided’ and what we should be looking to do is ‘learn fast’ by creating an environment that encourages ‘hypotheses instead of failures.’
What does it mean to Start Sales Right?
Starting Sales Right means saving a huge amount of time, money and worry by learning at the beginning of your venture what works.
You need a 6-month time investment to cover these 5 steps:
Identify your target market & buyer personas
Find out the best method to approach your prospects
Estimate your conversion rates & create a forecast
Decide on your level of investment and where it will be spent
Prepare Go To Market calendar including outreach plan & supporting content
For high energy, driven leaders it can be hard to hear that ‘time is needed.’
It sounds like an excuse. But if sales teams are started without the proper research, this is what’s at risk:
Low Morale
It’s demoralising to not hit target.
Culture of Blame
Marketing, Product and Sales all blame each other for a lack of sales. Colleagues don’t support each other, and instead look for ways to undermine each other.
High Staff Turnover
Nobody wants to work in an environment where the above is happening.
Loss of Credibility
Employees question the Leadership’s judgement and skill when they try to sell an idea that doesn’t work.
How to Start Sales Right
Identify your target market & buyer personas
Conduct primary and secondary research to identify your best prospects.
Find out the best method to approach your prospects
A/B message and outreach testing. Try a variety of messages on social media, direct phone calls & emails to find where your get your best engagement and the fastest close rate to a sale.
Estimate your conversion rates & create a forecast
Based on the results of your A/B test, and the volume of work you can do in a given time frame, project the volume and value of sales you can make.
Decide on your level of investment and where it will be spent
Use your forecast to decide your priorities in the given time frame.
Prepare Go To Market calendar including outreach plan & supporting content
To achieve your priorities, decide the commercial activities you will undertake. Produce the content you need to support the commercial activities. Plan when and how you will use your content.
In conclusion
Doing something new is hard, you have to give yourself the best of chance of success by factoring in time to learn and plan. If you had to hike Everest right now, without preparation, the chances are you’d fail. And what would be the learning? ….That there should have been a plan in the first place. So just because Everest is there, the exciting new concept, your budding business, it doesn’t mean you have to race up it. Do some practise walks and plan your route, and then when you get to the top you’ll celebrate because YOU made it happen, and that’s something to truly be proud of.
