Account Sales Strategy for Success

An account sales strategy should be in your business plan. In order for you to be successful in business, you have to have a business plan.
In your business plan you have to have an effective account sales strategy describing what you're sales objectives are and how you will achieve them.
It is often the component that gets neglected or undervalued in the scheme of a business plan. Most successful businessmen would agree that getting the this right will determine the success of your business.

Whether you are working for yourself in a small business or you're working for a high tech start up or you're working for a fortune 500 company, developing an account sales strategy is a critical component to your success.
We will lay out how you can develop one that is successful that will be easy and work for you.

Steps in Developing a Sales Model

Step #1 - Research

Find out what your industry is up to, especially your competitors and your clients. Part of your account sales strategy needs to have an ongoing research component so you know and are an expert in the latest news in your industry. This builds credibility as well as help you find new opportunities to sell your product or service.

Step #2 - Sales Lead Generation

This is a very important and often neglected component as well. Effective sales lead generation will lead to a successful strategy. Before you go and contact prospects, how will you find them. Go to my article on Sales Lead Generation for Dummies for more information on how to do this as a part of your strategy.

Step #3 - Cold Calling Plan

Cold calling is very important. Even when you start getting a book of business, cold calling needs to remain an integral part of your overall sales strategy. A strategy without cold calling is a failed strategy.
Sales people often neglect this part of the strategy because it's very difficult to do. But if you can't cold call, you should probably rethink your strategy and decide whether you need to be in sales or you need to hire someone who can cold call.

Step #4 - Post-Cold Calling

In your strategy, what will be your purpose in cold calling. Will it be to book an in-person appointment? Will it be to schedule them for a webinar? Will it be to offer a free consultation or will it be to offer a deal your company is having.
You need an end-goal in your strategy that is not actually selling them your product or service over the phone. You can't expect people to buy off of one phone call. But that one phone call needs to lead them to the next step in your strategy - and you need to decide what that is going to be.

Step #5 - Evaluation and Sales Analysis

How will you evaluate if your account sales strategy is being successful. Numbers, numbers, numbers. You need measurable, quantifiable tracking in your strategy that you can use to evaluate.
Numbers tell a great story, and if it's not a part of your strategy, then you might be getting the wrong story. Numbers don't lie, your mind can. If the time, money and effort you're putting into sales isn't being effective, you need to know so you can make a quality decision.

Finding Your Motivation

To be a successful sales rep, you must find ample amount of motivation to keep you going. You need a reason to succeed.
Maybe it's your family, or maybe it's to buy that boat or maybe it's to take that trip, or maybe it's to help that humanitarian cause. Whatever it is, it must be compelling enough for you to go after it and hit your sales goals month after month.
You need to always have that vision of success in your account sales strategy ahead of you and make sure the road to success is crystal clear. When you get your head in the game, sometimes the plan you set out to accomplish can get muddled up.
Make sure you remind yourself of your plan and why you thought it would work to begin with. If it's not working, it's time to step back and reassess your plan.

Marketing

You should also invest some time in marketing as well. No, not marketing your company or your product, but marketing yourself as an industry expert. If you can do that, you will have a lot easier time selling.
What does this mean? That means getting yourself in newspapers, tv and radio. It also means writing articles, newsletters, online content and other such outlets to get your name out there and build your credibility. Also, give free advice when you can to potential prospects and build a relationship of trust before you try to sell them anything.

Final Word on Sales Success

Succeeding in sales is hard work. There is no secret, magic bullet that will make it easy to do. But you can make your hard work pay off with a few tips, tools and skills that you can easily pick up.
You should always be doing professional development activities like going to training workshops, listening to CD's and reading books and articles in sales, not only to gain new skills but also to gain inspiration to fuel your sales day. Hard work is the most important ingredient in your account sales strategy.


By easyspeak
easyspeak.hubpages.com