Sales Process Improvement
Identifying your target audience occurs during the marketing process, but it has important implications for the sales process as well. If the leads you generate aren't relevant, that is, they don't correspond to customers in your target audience, then your sales representatives won't be very effective.
A common mistake businesses make in this respect is assuming their entire target audience shares the same needs. They try to streamline their entire sales process to match one specific type of customer.
A recent Business 2 Community article explains why this doesn't work. According to the article, it's common for customers in the same target audience to have different needs and preferences:
"Elite sales teams have a sales process that’s focused on one thing — the buyer. If your process isn’t aligned with how your buyers buy, it will never be effective. A common mistake is to assume that one process fits all. Your market likely has different segments of buyers that have different needs. Some have regimented buying processes, while others may be less refined. All have their own key decision criteria."
In addition to identifying your target audience, you should also create buyer personas. These will represent different people and have a certain set of characteristics.
This tactic is especially important for your sales representatives. If they understand the different personas in your target audience, then they'll be prepared to speak to prospective customers. Rather than just having one plan for everyone, they'll have multiple strategies based on the persona a customer matches.
Some businesses inform their sales representatives of their target audience and expect them to take care of the rest. This creates an incredibly hard challenge for the representatives. Rather than describing a vague group, consider creating concrete buyer personas that the sales representatives will recognize. This will help them close more sales.
To talk more about your sales process, or anything else, contact us today.
