Boost sales in lean times

By Alan B. Isacson, President
A.B. Isacson Associates, Inc.

In down economic cycles, commerce doesn't end. Companies are still purchasing products, equipment, and services. What changes is the frequency of new orders. Ordering may slow, or be postponed, but eventually these purchases are made. The secret to success is to capture that moment when needs out-weigh postponement and users are ready to buy.

Yet many businesses miss this critical sales opportunity because they are no longer on specifier and buyer radar screens. They're no longer visible because to operate leaner, they severely cut advertising and promotion efforts. As a result, when fish, albeit in smaller schools, are ready to bite, the winners are those who keep baited hooks in the water.

Here are five ways to cost-effectively attract and capture eager prospects in down markets:

1. Identify champions

Determine what products and services, targeted to which users, will generate the greatest amount of revenue in the shortest time. For example, a company may determine that among its labeling systems, its front and back panel labeling unit offers the best opportunity to grow sales among packaging engineers in the short term. This firm should then focus its promotion and sales efforts to packaging engineers to grow sales.

Refrain from programs that shotgun your marketing and sales efforts. Chasing too many opportunities will dilute your resources and garner poor results. Instead focus your promotional and sales activities on prime targets.

2. Strategic advertising

With key prospects identified, create an advertisement that spotlights the single most important benefit these specific users will gain by installing your "champion" product. Your ad should focus on the key "hot button" that will cause target prospects to react and contact your company. While a general capabilities ad may seem cost-effective, it typically will not encourage many readers buy your product and therefore won't maximize your marketing dollars. Instead, particularly in down economic cycles, it's critical to advertise that your champion product will deliver results. . .fast. Prospects will spend capital, especially, if they can satisfy priority objectives and gain quick payback.

Avoid ad buys that scatter placements over a 12-month period. Strategically run your ad consecutively in four or six issues of a magazine that best targets your prime prospects. Advertising in consecutive issues will effectively cast your net over a four to six month period to capture select users who are looking to buy.

3. Champion selling

Before ads appear, make your sales people aware of your advertising plan and provide training on how to follow-up leads generated by the advertising effort.

Prepare a PowerPoint® presentation for use by sales people that clearly outlines the benefits and features of the advertised "champion" product.

Provide salespeople with a manageable list of users in their territories that would be ideal customers of that product. Include the names and telephone numbers of specifiers and to help salespeople make the initial calls. The purpose of these calls is to schedule meetings with important specifiers to review a better solution to effectively increase productivity, reduce waste and/or speed products to market.

Time these prospect presentations so that they take place as the ad program begins. Require that a set number of presentations be made during the first and second month. All presentations should be completed by the third month. Communicate progress and success by emailing updates to sales people, customer service, tech support and top management. Fuel competition among sales people by offering incentives for most presentations and greatest sales.

4. Leverage customer successes

Fuel market preference by leveraging the power of customer testimonials. Third party endorsements effectively demonstrate to prospects that their peers are achieving significant results and gaining quick returns on investments by using the featured brand. Testimonials add significant credibility to product viability and performance.

Develop customer successes in feature article formats and work with appropriate magazines and on-line media to get them published. Editors generally have little time to rewrite submitted articles so it's important to develop copy that closely meet editorial guidelines and formats.

Also, make certain that articles emphasize the benefits and ROI users realized by applying your products and services. Too often testimonials are minimized because they simply describe how products operate or interface at user locations. Testimonials that clearly outline how users gained greater efficiencies, increased sales, and reduced total systems costs by employing your product can successfully convince prospects to buy from you.

In addition to developing case history feature articles, prepare and distribute mini-testimonials in press release formats. Incorporate testimonials on Web sites and use them as follow-up literature for inquires generated by ads and publicity. Also utilize customer success stories effectively in sales presentations to establish credibility and speed closure.

5. ROI trade shows

In down business cycles, trade shows can efficiently net faster sales. Specifiers and buyers who make the commitment in time and money to attend trade shows, especially during weak economic times, are often serious prospects on a mission.

To get these prospects to your booth requires a series of important pre-show promotions:

• Require sales people to convince ten or more key prospects to see your champion product demonstrated at your booth.
• Send out pre-show press releases at least four months before a trade show to make prospects aware that they can learn how to accomplish key objectives by reviewing product demonstrations in your booth.
• Send out invitations with RSVP cards to target prospects prior to trade shows to schedule special VIP demonstrations of your product.

Feature your champion product in a virtual booth on trade show Web sites to ensure that prospects include your company as an exhibit they must visit.

Exhibitors who believe that "if we build it, they will come" will probably miss trade show opportunities. In lean times, attracting qualified prospects can help propel sales faster.

It's critical to remember that in down cycles, business doesn't end. Products and services are still required. The secret to success is to identify your champion products, then develop focused advertising, leverage user testimonials, and initiate targeted sales calls.

Copyright © Alan B. Isacson, A.B. Isacson Associates, 2001

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Updated:
15-Jul-2003