Category Archives: Sales Strategy

Why the buying journey is not linear

The customer’s buying journey was historically seen as a straight line, with perhaps a few twists in it. The client arrived at the start and left at the end of the process. Contrary to this belief, several factors mean that you can’t assume that your clients’ progress through your sales process will be linear:

Customers are complex and unpredictable.
They are influenced by a variety of factors, including their needs, wants, emotions, and experiences.
Many of the customer experiences in the B2C world are now influencing behavior in B2B settings.

Customers have more information and choice than ever before. Thanks in part to the easy availability of information and comparisons online, customers can easily research products and services from multiple sources before making a purchase. This gives them more control over the buying process and allows them to move back and forth between different stages of the buying process at their own pace, often with multiple potential suppliers. A customer who is new to a particular product category may need to spend more time researching and learning about their options, before committing to later parts of a sales process.

External factors can also affect your clients’ willingness to make the buying decision. Unexpected events, such as a change in market circumstances or other reasons why budgets would reduce will alter their ability to buy. Many purchases can be quite complex. Personally, a car or a house, or in business, a capital spend may mean that customers go through a longer and more involved buying process. They may want to gather more information, compare different options, and negotiate with sellers. This can lead to a more non-linear buying journey, as they may find themselves involved in different stages of the sales processes of several vendors.

All this means that your sales process has to be sophisticated enough to provide content and support at every stage of the journey. Make sure that customers have access to the information they need at each stage, whether they are researching a product, comparing different options, or making a purchase decision. Collect data on customer behaviour and use this data to refine your marketing and sales strategies. Above all, be responsive to customer feedback. Listen to what your customers are saying and use their feedback to improve your products, services, and customer experience, and those of your competitors.

We all need to be aware of the non-linear nature of the customer buying journey and adapt our marketing and sales strategies accordingly. This means being present on the channels that your customers use and providing them with the information they need at every stage of the journey. It also means being flexible and responsive to customer needs, even if it means changes to your own internal sales processes.

Work with YBDT to create a clear structured sales process. We will give you the overarching plan that touches each part of the customer journey. Using our team of experienced professionals to support your implementation of that plan will ensure that you have the best opportunity to convert prospects to loyal long-term clients. YBDT’s business development process has supported sustainable development for countless companies over the last decade and a half. Get in touch to book a discovery call today and book the call that starts your journey to growth.

The buying journey can be a twisty road

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When planning our marketing strategy, we should always stop and look at the process from the potential customer’s point of view. The way customers experience the buying journey has evolved significantly away from being simply a linear progress to decision making. It has become a dynamic process covering different touchpoints and channels. Understanding and catering to this journey is crucial for businesses looking to thrive in a competitive marketplace and needs to be a key consideration when planning your sales and marketing strategy.

The traditional stages of the buying journey are still very relevant, but each has a couple of new bends in the road.

Awareness

The buying journey starts when the customer becomes aware of a problem or need within their business. This often occurs through various triggers which can include personal experience, but increasingly awareness is prompted by marketing messages. So, at this point it is essential for businesses to create brand visibility and provide valuable content to capture the prospect’s attention. Content marketing, such as blog posts, social media content, and informative emails play a vital role in helping potential customers discover your brand and establish the business as a trusted source of information.

Consideration

Once the prospect is aware of their problem or need, they enter the consideration stage. They are gathering information, comparing products or services, and collecting insights from various sources. Businesses can influence customers during this stage by providing detailed product information, offering educational content, and showcasing the unique value their solutions provide. Testimonials, case studies, and comparison guides can be powerful tools in guiding customers toward your offerings.

Intent

As customers gather information and evaluate their options, they develop a clear intent to make a purchase. At this stage, they might be seeking specific details, such as pricing, warranty, or delivery options. They are ready to decide but usually need something that provides them with comfort that they have made the right choice. Providing transparent pricing, clear calls-to-action, and responsive customer support are good ways to encourage the buying decision.

Purchase

This is where the customer commits to the product or service, and you convert them to a sale. However, the journey doesn’t end here; it transforms into an opportunity for businesses to build on the one-time purchase and create a long-term client. The most important aspect of this stage is providing a seamless, positive buying experience for your customer.

Loyalty and Advocacy Stage

Customers who have had a positive experience with your brand can become loyal customers and advocates. They not only continue to buy from you but also recommend your products or services to others. Cultivating this loyalty is an ongoing process that involves maintaining high-quality products, exceptional customer service, and personalised communication.

Understanding the customer’s buying journey is essential for any business looking to build long-term business relationships. It’s no longer enough to focus solely on the purchase stage; you need to engage with customers at every step of their journey, from awareness to purchase and beyond. Working with YBDT to create a clear sales and marketing strategy will give you the overarching plan that touches each part of the customer journey. Using our team of experienced professionals to support your implementation of that plan will ensure that you have the best opportunity to convert prospects to loyal long-term clients. YBDT’s business development process has supported sustainable development for countless companies over the last decade and a half. Get in touch to book a discovery call today and book the call that starts your journey to growth.

Getting started with business development activity

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In our last blog we talked about getting the temperature of your business development right, so that your activity is appropriate to the stage of evolution your business is at now. Whether you’re a startup, or a seasoned entrepreneur, mastering the art of business development is a critical part of achieving your goals. But where to start?

Before diving into methods, we need a clear understanding of what business development actually is. Business development involves identifying growth opportunities, building strategic relationships, and creating paths for income generation. It’s about creating connections, nurturing partnerships, and aligning your business goals with your market. The foundation of successful business development lies in thorough research and analysis. Identifying your target market, and understanding their pain points, the drivers for buying decisions. By studying the customer base and identifying your key competitors you will gather valuable insights and can tailor your approach to address specific needs and stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Creating a comprehensive business development strategy that outlines your goals, target markets, and key tactics is the single most important step. This plan should include a timeline, measurable objectives, and a clear roadmap for execution. You should regularly review and adjust your strategy to adapt to changing market dynamics. As part of this you should be looking at your value proposition. This communicates why your product or service is unique and valuable, what problems you solve for your client base. A well-defined value proposition serves as the cornerstone of your business development efforts.

With your target markets defined as part of the overall strategy, the next step will be to research and identify the key decision makers in companies who fit into your target sectors. Sourcing static data lists can be a minefield unless you clearly understand the process of selecting the correct parameters.

Creating a suite of material to support your business development is vital. Case studies, and brochures need to be professional and able to encapsulate the value proposition you have set out. But there is more to your sales collateral. You need to consider, email templates for follow ups, telemarketing scripts, and how you will appear on LinkedIn and social media. All these items are part of the crucial first impression that you give a prospect so taking short cuts is not an option.

With business development activity planned how will you and your team handle the expected enquiries? How will you communicate with your potential clients? Do you have the telephone, and sales skills to capitalise on each enquiry.

If the to do list for business development sounds daunting, then YBDT can help. The first tier of our staged sales support package is all about helping you get started. YBDT support the creation of sales collateral and help develop the data that will drive your engagement, as well as working with you on the all-important strategy. We can provide skills development workshops and through our mentoring sessions help you stay accountable for the success of your business objectives. Get in touch to book a discovery call, that is the first step to your business growth.

Take your business development temperature

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We’ve asked the question, “what sort of lead generation do you need” around different market sectors and targets, but how do you get started on your business development journey at an early stage of your business? The temperature you apply to your lead generation is related to the budget and resources you have available, as well as where you are in your business’s life story. You can turn the heat up or down depending on seasonal factors, your growth plans or market conditions.

Gas mark 1 – Getting the basics right.

Smaller businesses or ones that are at an early stage of their development need to build the strategy, collateral (case studies, brochures, email sequences), and data that will help you progress. The most important part of any business development campaign is creating a viable strategy. Defining your target markets, looking for opportunities for growth within them, and agreeing campaign goals will help you build a firm platform for success. Once you start seeing tangible results from your lead generation effort you will be able to progress to the next stage of your growth. If you put the basic building blocks for sales success in place early on, they will last you for the lifetime of the business.

Gas Mark 3 – The first step into external support.

You may find that your growth expectations quickly outstrip your ability to create new customers internally. At this point outsourcing lead generation activity will enable you to allocate your own resources to where they will be most valuable, nurturing and closing new clients. Identifying and connect with potential prospects through LinkedIn, and creating content that raises brand awareness and strengthens relationships can be outsourced, often more cheaply than they can be carried out internally. Taking the first steps into proactive marketing, such as direct email campaigns are often better taken with support from an expert.

Gas Mark 6 – Outsourced Business Development

Once your lead generation activities are bearing fruit you will need to consider how you will maintain a pipeline of new prospects to maintain existing revenue levels and continue to grow in line with your objectives for the business. At this point your own sales team will be best employed solidifying relationships with existing clients, and nurturing prospects who are close to a buying decision. Pouring new leads into your lead generation process, and then cultivating until they are ready to be passed on to your specialist sales team to close.

YBDT’s staged support mirrors these steps, enabling you to warm your business development up as the business grows. Our 15 years’ experience of supporting business in many sectors means that we have seen and solved most of the issues that business will face. The first tier of our staged support package includes extensive mentoring and support along with skills development workshops that will put your team on track. The second tier of support introduces the content and data driven components of the YBDT service, paving the way for you be ready to turn the heat up to the full YBDT business development process that has supported sustainable growth for countless companies over the last decade and a half. Get in touch to book a discovery call today and take the temperature on your lead generation campaign.

Managing lead generation for your renewal clients

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Renewal clients are existing customers who have already bought products or services from you that have a renewal date or contract end point. As well as ensuring that the renewal is secured, managing your contact with these clients involves identifying opportunities to add additional services to your current customers. As Lewis Howes points out, “It’s almost always easier to sell to an existing customer base than to find a new one.”

Managing lead generation for your renewal clients involves a combination of tactics and strategies that are focused on retaining and expanding your existing client base.

Analysis: The first step is to identify which clients are most likely to renew their contracts, which ones have the potential to expand their business with you, and which ones are at risk of leaving. From there you can determine the best tactics for approaching each segment of your client portfolio.

Connection: To avoid clients falling into the “at risk of leaving” segment they need to feel valued and appreciated by your company. Staying in touch with your clients regularly through check-in calls, personalised emails, newsletters, and other channels will keep you in their mind and open to hearing extra sales messages from you.

Planning: Develop a plan that outlines the actions you will take to achieve your renewal goals. This plan should include communication strategies, and product offerings that suit each of your identified segments.

Refinement: Renewals are a continuous cycle, not just for a single year. Using data acquired from one sales cycle to guide decision-making for future campaigns.

By effectively managing lead generation for renewal clients, you can increase customer loyalty, retention, and revenue. Our new favourite business quote comes from sales expert (and sister of Robert for the music fans) Patricia Fripp. “It is not your customer’s job to remember you, it is your obligation and responsibility to make sure they don’t have the chance to forget you.” Growing your business with YBDT’s effective approach to outreach will give you a clear blueprint for success and ensure that your renewal clients don’t get the chance to forget you.

We are more than a lead generation company and focus on supporting the creation of an effective strategy for finding and then developing leads with your existing clients and new prospects. Using our highly experienced team to nurture your clients through regular contact will leave you in the ideal position to capitalise on the opportunity to renew and extend your relationship with them when the time is right.

After years of building sustainable effective marketing for our clients we have a toolbox of techniques and insights into market sectors and prospect behaviour that make YBDT the ideal choice to support your lead generation. Get in touch to book a discovery call that is the first step to your business growth.

Why applying empathy is key to your sales conversion?

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‘You can‘t understand someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes.’

The person who first uttered this American saying is lost to history. The fact that it’s so well known is a good indication of the importance of empathy in living a meaningful life. It is also an important lesson to remember when approaching the planning of lead generation campaigns.

When I launched Your Business Development Team all those years ago, one of the first things I did was to ask business owners within my target markets what were their key issues with lead generation. Many said that they found it frustrating because the campaigns rarely provided them with sales; they got leads but very few of them converted. This fact was fundamental to the development of our key USP, which is the provision of a long term lead generation and nurturing service designed to support our clients along their sales journey and beyond initial lead generation activity.

Making sure you understand firstly, who your target markets are, and secondly what their key issues are within your area of expertise, is key to your sales success. Earlier in the month, we wrote about understanding the right lead generation for you. Our key point was that you needed to understand how people bought your product to get a better understanding of how you should approach your lead generation campaign. Today, I want to explore how you can go further down this road to improve your product and sales conversion.

Consider what you currently do to understand your prospects’ problems. Do you,

Make assumptions based on your market knowledge?
Run surveys or focused groups?
Read books, research and articles?
Ask questions to improve your understanding?

Based on my conversations with many business owners, I would guess that most of us stick to making assumptions and these are often correct. After all, if you have been operating in an industry for many years, you tend to get a good understanding of it. But relying solely on assumptions can be dangerous for a number of reasons including:

Market conditions change and industries adapt
Assumptions can be over simplified or too general
We can often become biased by our own offering

Another problem, is that people involved in selling often overestimate their preservation abilities and rely heavily on relationship building instead of getting a better understanding of their prospects true motivation to buy. People who talk about sales enablement often talk about understanding pain and asking pain questions. As you might know, this relates to the status quo bias which claims that most people are unlikely to make a change unless they are forced there. Simply put, this means that true motivation, the holy grail of sales conversion, depends heavily on our prospects’ issues. This means that by understanding their problems better we can achieve two important outcomes:

Improving our solution and increasing our chances of a sale
Improving our ability to understand the odds for sales success

Yet asking pain questions is not easy, particularly if you are a people pleaser, a common trait amongst relationship builders. It also requires us to listen carefully and apply empathy, being prepared to alter our understanding and start again. Putting this together with how overworked and busy many of us are and you get to a point where all of this becomes a step too far. Which is why so many sales end up with companies choosing to keep with the status quo and keep with what they have already got.

This is not so bad if you operate in a high demand environment where you attract many leads and can afford to convert only 20-30% of them. It becomes more important if you are struggling to find many leads because your offering is high end, very specific or a new product. So if you are placed with the latter, when you are considering your next lead generation campaign take some time to go beyond your initial assumptions of the problems troubling your prospects:

Talk to your current clients and contacts
Read related articles and analyse data
Put together some key pain questions
Make sure you ask them and listen carefully to the answers

This will not only improve your conversation rate, it will also help you ensure that your product is current and relevant to your future clients. If you need help understanding how to include this in your current sales practice, get in touch.

Playing The Long Game

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Successful lead generation and nurturing takes time. We looked in a recent blog at the planning which is needed to build a sustainable strategy for growth. That growth is not something that can be achieved overnight, so it’s important to set realistic expectations and be patient. There are many different tactics you can use to generate leads, the most important part of any strategy is discovering the most suitable ones for your business, and the markets you operate in.

A lead generation strategy will identify potential customers who are interested in your products or services and reaching out to them to start a process of understanding and engagement. By building relationships with them, providing information, answering their questions, and addressing their concerns you will be in an ideal position to act when they are ready to buy. Nurturing leads takes time because you need to establish trust and credibility with potential clients before they are willing to make a purchase. It’s important to provide them with relevant information and solutions that address their specific needs and pain points. This process can take weeks, months, or even longer depending on the complexity of your product or service.

My favourite lead nurturing statistic is Wanda Allan’s ‘80% of sales are made between the 5th and 12th contact yet, 90% of sales people make 3 contacts or less’. This stat says more about the reality of time poor salespeople than about their willingness or ability to follow up leads.

This is where YBDT’s sales enablement service comes into its own. Using our extensive experience of lead generation and sales we have put together a three-step process aimed at improving your sales success.

Gap analysis – Our unique gap analysis system identifies bottle necks and other blocks in your sales process.
Tailored sales process – We help you create a winning sales process that is based on your operation and becomes the blueprint to your sales success
Bespoke sales training – With these steps in place we can deliver training and mentoring individually designed to support your team as they adopt the new process.

With time always at a premium for your sales team, lead nurturing service may be the solution to making sure the follow ups are maintained consistently for as long as required, rather than risking the effort of acquiring the lead being lost as priorities within the business shift. The beauty of what we offer is that we can help you with both, providing a full sales support service, from lead generation through nurturing to improving your internal sales mechanism.

Successful lead generation and nurturing requires a long-term commitment to building relationships with potential customers. It takes time to establish trust and credibility, but the rewards are worth it in the form of loyal customers who are more likely to make repeat purchases and refer others to your business. YBDT has built a successful business over the last 8 years by applying the principles of sustainable relationship building to ourselves. And we can help you achieve the same long-term success. Get in touch to book a discovery call that is the first step to your business growth in 2023.

Don’t believe the hype. There is no fairy dust

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Like most people I’ve been getting a lot of emails promising to work miracles in all areas of business. One recent one told me how the sender had “helped John go from £100k/mo to £200k/mo in 3 months and Joe close $485k in new deals while working part time”. The truth, of course, is that the sort of magic needed to live up to promises like that does not build viable businesses. If you had found the secret formula to instant sales success, would you give it away? In the real world where our businesses live, we want to create sustainable growth that gives value to our customers now, in a year and in five years. To do that takes time, planning and developing a long-term strategy to prove your worth to your clients.

In 2023 sustainable growth means taking a clear view of how to achieve your aspirations for the business. It is easy to get attracted to each new opportunity and devote all your resources to chasing it down. Much like a football team where everyone is running after the ball, you risk of leaving your own goal, or existing business, undefended. Any game, or business plan needs to be built on a sound strategy with the tactics used to achieve your aims changing depending on the opposing team you want to beat, or the business prospects you are looking to convert into clients.

In a leading article at the CEO-Worldwide portal Colin Thompson suggests that: “The route to growth is more important than the growth target itself”. He goes on to point out that skincare company Natura, owners of Avon and Body Shop, has achieved success by concentrating on a relationship-focused business model. While having a target to aim for is clearly still important, putting the steps in place that make hitting targets repeatable is critical.

YBDT has 15 years of experience in doing exactly that. We create finely tuned sales and marketing strategies for business looking to build success for now and the future. Creating a successful sales and marketing plan calls for a comprehensive understanding of your business, it’s products, unique selling points, and story to help us craft the strategy. We can help you pit that strategy into practice by creating a tailored sales process and using our team of experts to produce the content and make the calls that will convert leads into customers.

We have worked with Higos Insurance Services since early 2020, here is what their Regional Manager Alan Clarke said about his experience of working with us, ‘I would say YBDT are ideal for businesses who are looking for a strong partner, who will represent them well, and deliver positive results in terms of strengthening your telemarketing distribution channel and sales pipeline.’

We know there is no fairy dust, but after 15 years of following our own advice and building sustainable effective marketing for our own business, we also know what is needed to do the same for your business. Get in touch to book a discovery call that is the first step to your business growth in 2023.

Top tips to improving your sales conversion rate

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Here is a key question for anyone who wants to grow their sales this year – what is more important for your sales success, lead generation or lead conversion?

I am sure it will not surprise many if I said that both were as important because one will not work without the other. However, most companies we come across will find it easier to invest in lead generation than conversion because it’s easier to measure and influence. It may also be because lead generation is often outsourced so it becomes somebody else’s problem then.

Whatever the reason, the problem with concentrating on lead generation alone is twofold:

Once the initial excitement wears off, you realise that you have spent the money but not got any sales yet. It then becomes harder to justify the spend going forward
Your initial conversion rate is likely to have gone down as you now have more leads and less time to develop and nurture all of them.

Clearly, lead generation alone is never going to make sales and bring growth, despite the fact that many think it will just happen automatically. So, to get the best outcome for increased sales you need to work on both lead generation and conversion.

Successfully improving conversion can be harder to achieve. To make a difference, you need to work on two key elements:

Your strategic planning:

In an increasingly tighter market where convincing companies to part with their money is becoming harder, a one size fits all approach is not good enough. If you are busy updating your business development strategy, make sure you go back to basics and define the following elements:

Your target markets: ask yourself who are they, where will you find them, which companies are ideal clients for you and why.
Their key issues: There is no question that alleviating pain sells but only if it’s specific and accurate. Ask yourself what are the problems that your target markets face which you can solve.
The best solution for it: It’s important to consider the best solution you can provide which is based on their problem and not your original offering. Your leads will only take interest if they feel that what you offer has the capacity to solve their issue but also relates specifically to them.

Your sales process:

So many companies forget the importance of a well-defined sales process which is shared by the whole team. In the SME world most companies utilise their entire team to sell meaning that without a sales process, the lack of clarity and direction will often result in sales slowing right down. When you look at your sales process consider the following elements:

Where do your leads come from, and which source is most successful in terms of conversion?
What do you need to know about a new lead to ascertain it’s right for you?
Do you use uniform sales proposals?
How often do you follow up?
How do you nurture existing clients?

If you have taken one thing from our blog, we hope it’s the recommendation to spend some time defining your strategy for both your lead generation approach and lead conversion approach. Being specific and considering the details will set you on the right course of action as long as you are putting together a process which everyone in the business can follow.

At YBDT we can help you with both strategic elements:

Click here to read more about our business development strategy creation.

Click here to read more about our sales process support.

Wherever you want to start, we will be happy to become a part of your sales success this year so get in touch to find out more.

Should you prioritise existing clients over new business?

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There are many statistics and quotes around how much harder it is to generate new business than it is to retain existing clients and build additional work with them. Bill Quiseng encourages us to “work as hard to keep a customer as you do to find a new one.” Starting from scratch will always be harder than continuing to work with someone who knows and trusts your business. You need to find that balance between the existing business that keeps the wheels turning and allows you the time to create the new business that grows the company. How that balance is achieved depends on what you do. In sectors like insurance or SAAS renewals are critical to building a sustainable business.

Locking in clients for another year is a task that cannot be left to chance. Discovering where your competitors are not fulfilling their customers’ needs is vital to building your business. Creating a strategy that will take account of both the requirements of existing and new business is the key to making sure nothing slips through the net.

The common factor is that both existing renewals and new business are based on relationships. Existing clients need to be nurtured every bit as much as potential new customers. A clear business development strategy will give you the information to make decisions about where your existing team is most effective, and what other resources are needed to allow your goals to be met. YBDT’s sales enablement service starts by creating exactly this strategy.

If you are looking to build a renewals pipeline then understanding your competition, and differentiating yourself from them is important in busy crowded marketplaces like insurance and IT. Whether you are talking to new or existing customers your sales conversations should cover three elements: creating interest, nurturing it appropriately and conversion. Taking clients for granted because they have been with you for years, is to undervalue them. Nurturing them when renewals are due demonstrates their worth to you. YBDT have put the nurturing of potential customers at the heart of our work for clients for a long time. It works just as well when speaking to your existing clients about their renewals, by reinforcing relationships and flagging areas of concern.

YBDT have worked with Higos Insurance since 2020 through our sales enablement programme. We have helped them identify renewals in new target sectors, allowing their team to concentrate on supporting existing clients and retaining their business. Higos regional manager Alan Clarke said: “I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending YBDT to any organisation that want to create a sales campaign or indeed want to enhance their current sales structure.”

YBDT can help you create and implement a clear business development strategy to differentiate you from the competition, maximise your client retention and build a pipeline that balances renewals and new business acquisition. Get in touch to learn more about how we can help.