Building Sales, Loyalty and Trust
Doing Business in Difficult Times
Operating a business during the COVID-19 Pandemic may be the most challenging experience of your lifetime. You may have had success in the past, but the disease has changed everything. A customer’s loyalties, priorities and how they buy have all changed dramatically. We are in a storm that has swept over the entire planet. In fact, Adapt or die seems to be the current mantra in the marketplace, but what does that mean for your business? We have to find ways of building sales, loyalty and trust.
First, doing nothing is not an option. Every sailor knows that getting to a safe harbor in a storm takes skill, planning and courage. Luckily, we are not just passengers on a sailboat. We may be in the same storm, but each business can chart its own course to safety. As the captains of our businesses, we are in control. It is up to each of us to take the action that is right for our businesses, our customers and our employees.
It All Starts with Sales
Most everyone knows that having a game plan, leading employees, customer service and follow-up are just some of the many traits a good company has to grow business. But it all starts with sales. Problems disappear or can be overcome if we have sustainable sales.
The focus is to look at Business to Business Sales, as well as Business to Consumer Sales and discuss what we have to change or begin to do better to move us out of the Covid19 doldrums. B
Business-to-Business Sales
Pipelines, proposals, and positioning define the consultative sales process used to sell to businesses. The percentage of proposals you win is called your “hit” rate. Think about these:
- The Consultative Sales Method
- Ten Rules for Success
- Writing for Specific Objectives—Tailoring Your Approach
- Guidelines for Organizing Your Methods and Your Thinking
- Strategies That Work Time After Time
- Proposal Content, Form and Function
- Helpful Hints for Writing
- Keeping Track of the Process
- Responding to Your Client’s Special Needs
Business-to-Consumer Sales
Training retail sales staff in the new norms of customer contact is only a part of making sales goals and quotas. Retail sales during COVID will be different in many ways.
- Safety First
- Align Sales with New Business Direction
- Develop Branding, Sales Approach, and Image
- Sales Roles and Staffing
- Basics of the Sales Process
- The Visual Store
