MARKETING STRATEGIES: How to get your resources on the right sales track

Low-level marketing staff can ensure the prospect is provided with standard answers. This can also be done automatically through the website Q&A or a contact email help desk. Information can be provided digitally keeping servicing costs low. Links can be provided to case studies, user manuals, explanatory videos, local exhibitions, and product specifications and so on, all of which can help the prospect gather and evaluate information. As long as the prospect also has the opportunity of engaging at a higher level, many will appreciate being provided with information to help them better understand their own requirements and your capabilities before they engage at a more detailed level.

There are many instances where we sell rather than letting the customer buy. If we can provide the information which the buyer needs to fully evaluate their requirements and enable them to determine that we have a match to their needs, there is no requirement for intervention. In fact, we see this happening more and more with internet purchases where the customer is able to undertake a process of information gathering and evaluation where they purchase without assistance. In many cases, sites provide design simulation, virtual tours, calculators, diagnostic tools and so on to assist prospects to clarify their requirements. These firms are using technology to do the qualification task for them in order to better optimize their marketing resources.

It is worth taking a step back and asking the following:

• What information do our prospects request and how can we make this available in a digital format?
• What information do we wish to release in a controlled manner and what do we need to know and/or verify before we do that? How can we better automate that process?
• What information do we want to collect from the prospect to allow us to better evaluate them as a prospect? How could we do this automatically?
• How can we better assist the prospect to clarify their requirements before they engage more actively with us?
• How can we ascertain the urgency and priority of the purchase decision so that we can channel the prospect into active or passive status?
• What objections do we get and how can we better address these through marketing collateral and Q&A content?
• If we are to engage in a conversation with a prospect, what information should we be gathering and how can we do this on a systematic and consistent basis?
• How can we better inform the prospect that we are not the right choice of vendor where we clearly are unable to meet the prospect’s needs?

Next week I will be looking at how to progress a lead.

Tom McKaskill is a successful global serial entrepreneur, educator and author who is a world acknowledged authority on exit strategies and the former Richard Pratt Professor of Entrepreneurship, Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. A series of free eBooks for entrepreneurs and angel and VC investors can be found at his site here.