Selling strategy tips for small businesses

Most small companies dream of making it "big time" by signing up a much larger company as a client. But getting to the point of actually securing a deal can take a long time, and can take many paths. This report highlights how a number of proactive Irish technology companies have gone about getting clients in the US.

The main messages:
1) Focus on a niche market.
2) Get out and meet people. Being small means you have to be proactive with your sales efforts.
3) Partner with other firms who already understand your service, and get them to introduce your business to potential clients. This is especially the case if you offer a truly new service or product that your customers will not recognise or be familiar with.
4) Establish credibility by using your senior executives to meet prospects on a regular basis. Let them know they have easy access to your decision makers.

Fact: Email gives wrong message 50% of time

If you use email as part of your client communication plan (and who doesn't these days) then this report is critical. It shows that only 50% of email messages are interpreted correctly by the receiver. But the scary finding is... that 90% of people think they do interpret the message correctly.

So not only do we misinterpret emails, we don't even know we are doing it!

Think about how disastrous this could be for your business. But the article does give a few tips on how to send a clearer message:

• Take extra time to compose your message.
• Be careful how you express things. Chose words, and phrases, that have a clear meaning.
• Pause - a real pause - before you hit the send button. Read your message again and check for clarity.

Matter of fact, I have my email settings configured so that my Out box is cleared every 10 minutes (not sent immediately). This way I can go back and alter a message if needed. Works for me!

Trade show tip: 16% of people don't want an approach

After working on dozens of trade show stands over the years - both as an employee and in conjunction with clients - I know it is hard to have a "standard" line that you use to approach all visitors. The worst thing is to come off sounding as though you have a canned spiel.

Exhibiting at trade shows can be an extremely important part of a B2B marketing strategy. Where else can you get a throng of potential buyers congregating? But how should you approach visitors to your stand? An article I was reading today stated that 16% of visitors do not want you to approach them. That is, NO approach at all.

Another 15% of people actually need someone to approach them (I assume they are too timid to ask). The rest are somewhere in between, meaning that they will need some sort of recognition from you, but may not want to have your 'offer' pushed at them.

If you are involved in trade shows, take some time to plan your stand so visitors can easily understand what you offer, and see your information from a few metres away. Then develop a simple but low key way of asking a few questions to open up dialogue with your potential clients.

High complexity equals low trust

Clients want to be able to trust their service providers. But how can you make people trust you? A recent report from market research firm Forrester highlights that many major technology brand names are not trusted now as much as they used to be.

Plus, see my current article about how to make people trust you.

A major influence on the shifting degree of trust in the technology world is the increasing familiarity of customers with the products. As people become more experienced they become more pessimistic. That's why early-adopters have more trust than late-adopters in the technology they use.

What does this mean for you?

Think about what you need to do to help clients trust you. This will help set your business apart from your competitors and create a lasting bond with your client that will insulate your relationship from competitive forces.