selling to smbs€¦ · local business owners are overwhelmed by their options. and they’re tired...

Selling to SMBs

Amie Stein Director of Training & Development

Local Media Association Amie.stein@localmedia.org

@amiestein

Agenda Challenges

Social Selling

Contact Ball

Path to Purchase

Demonstrating ROI & Using Data

SMB Digital Workshops

How Many Vendors or Salespeople are calling on your local businesses every month

On average, local businesses are

called on by…..

39 Different sales people/vendors

every MONTH!

The competitive landscape is as

cluttered as it’s ever been.

Traditional Legacy Sellers Agencies and Resellers Self-Serve Options Out-of-Market Sellers Web-Based Solutions

To some degree, what we are doing has become a commodity.

Local business owners are overwhelmed by their options.

And they’re tired of having to spend hours of their time explaining their business to US.

Needs Analysis Fatigue.

92% of executives do not respond to generic email or cold calls.

Social media sources of information are used by more than 70% of B2B

decision makers.

SMBs have a hard time understanding what is driving results for them, if anything.

They are frustrated with the lack of ability to measure the return on their investment.

Summary of Challenges

Competition Evolving Sales Process Demonstrating Results Education

Social Selling

Tools to Reaching Business Owners in a Highly Competitive Landscape.

Cold Calls

Qualify Leads

Sales Presos

TRADITIONAL SALES MODEL

Social Networks

Engage Educate

NEW SALES MODEL

DO BOTH

Is this really a sales discipline?

14,430 LinkedIn jobs requiring social selling skills 971,929 people with social selling in their professional description 434,489 posts on the topic

HubSpot defines Social Selling as.. “The use of social media by sales organizations for listening, customer engagement and internal collaboration…

It is an inevitable consequence of social buying”.

Usage of Social Media sites has risen

1000%

Since 2005

The number of online U.S. adults who use social media sites has risen from

8% to 80% in the less than ten years.

About 90% of mass affluent consumers

actively use social media. Source:

LinkedIn

Why Social Selling?

• Competition is probably doing it

• Shorter sales cycles

• Your prospects are already there

• “Warm” starts instead of “Cold” ones

• Control your personal brand

• Reach a different audience than your core.

72.6% of salespeople using

social media actually outperformed their colleagues

NOT on social media. Hubspot: HOW SALES CAN USE SOCIALMEDIA TO CLOSE MORE DEALS

Let’s Look at this in Action

Here’s What We Know…. A business that exists that we probably never would

have known about

A new marketing director and what their objectives are

Commonalities/shared interests with decision maker

Insight to his personality and preferred platforms

Over ten shared connections

A few ways to get an introduction

Size and age and scope of business

30

On average, after how many calls do your sales people typically eliminate a business as a prospect?

How many calls or contacts does it typically take to get an appointment?

31

• 2% of sales are made on the 1st contact.

• 3% of sales are made on the 2nd contact. • 5% of sales are made on the Third contact. • 10% of sales are made on the 4th contact. • 80% of sales are made on the 5-12th contact.

32

• 48% of sales people never follow up

with a prospect.

• 25% of sales people make a second contact and stop.

• 12% of sales people make three contacts and stop.

• Only 10% of sales people make it more than three contacts with a prospect.

However…

The Contact Ball

33

92% of salespeople don’t make it to the 5th sales call.

B2B buyers engage vendors once they are 65% of the way to making buying decision.

What is a Contact Ball? A system for following up with prospects who have not yet granted you a meeting.

Develop a tactical plan for following up with prospects when you get voicemail or are told there is no current interest or need.

34

How does it work?

Outcomes:

35

1.Start to establish credibility.

3. Uncovers clues to optimal contact time and a first signal to objections.

2. Provide a mechanism to hold yourself accountable.

36

The Contact Ball 1. Follow-Up Email 2. Mail a card with your card 3. Connect on LinkedIn 4. Send a referral via email or mail 5. Send calendar invite for an appointment 6. Email marketing article related to industry 7. Send competitive marketing data 8. Email a testimonial from another customer 9. Invite to attend a networking event 10. Follow on social (Twitter/FB/Instagram) 11. Send a spec ad with creative ideas 12. Send a note acknowledging peak season 13. Invite to lunch or stop with coffee 14. Have a manager or supervisor email/call 15. Refer a client, friend or family member

37

Using Data to Demonstrate Results and ROI

38

One thing that can set us apart from most of the

marketing competition is demonstrating

accountability for results to our customers.

39

We can do this in a few ways:

Use Analytics tools such as Google Analytics, and Social platform metrics to discuss how we will be measuring success.

This conversation, coupled with identifying specific business goals and identifying audience should happen at the very beginning of the sales process.

40

Best Practices for Using Analytics: Get admin access to analytics as early in the sales process as you can.

Use the data to have monthly or quarterly conversations with your customers to show value and adjust accordingly.

Make sure your customer facing team has the confidence to talk about data.

41

Set Goals and Conversion Metrics: Conversions are not limited to businesses with

ecommerce goals. Think about other actionable metrics.

Newsletter Sign-Ups Registrations Form Downloads Contact Us Page Visits Request for Information Appointment Setting

Medium-Sized Home & Garden Business

Small-Sized Beauty & Fitness

There isn’t a magic formula for each business type, but it is important to be able to work with

SMBs to explain why the mix of media types are so important and how they influence buying decisions at different stages of the

purchase cycle.

SMB Workshops are a great way to help educate your local businesses about various

platforms that are unfamiliar to them and why the mix is so important.

Setting Up Digital Workshops for SMBs

• Determine your content and focus • Who is your audience? Specific Categories of businesses? • Who is your internal champion? • Determine your timeline. • Logistics-where/when • Determine marketing materials (email/direct/house ads) • Set account executive goals/targets • Promotions (door prizes) • Determine who will conduct the workshop • Pre-Train your sales team

Workshop Content Try to Keep this Informational Your Customers Came to Learn

• Local spend in your DMA by Business Category and Media Type • Consumer spending in your DMA • Path to purchase and importance of being relevant and discoverable across

platforms (desktop and mobile) • High-level facts about various social platforms and how they perform • Audience-based targeting and marketing strategies • Examples of specific categories and how an audience strategy might look • Your media company’s footprint • Promote specific print and/or digital bundles (perhaps special to those

attending)

Workshop Content Try to Keep this Informational Your Customers Came to Learn

• Local spend in your DMA by Business Category and Media Type • Consumer spending in your DMA • Path to purchase and importance of being relevant and discoverable across

platforms (desktop and mobile) • High-level facts about various social platforms and how they perform • Audience-based targeting and marketing strategies • Examples of specific categories and how an audience strategy might look • Your media company’s footprint • Promote specific print and/or digital bundles (perhaps special to those

attending)

Themes

• Clicks n’ Coffee (What is SEO? SEM? • Social Media BootCamp (101-201) • How are my Customers? Why Does Audience Matter? • Big Data? Small Data? Medium Data? What is it? • Blogging for Business • Lead Generation-What Should I Measure? • Getting the Most from your Website • Marketing Mix: Why it’s Important (Customer Path to Purchase) • Google Grants for Non-Profits

THANK YOU!

Amie Stein Director of Training & Development Local Media Association @amiestein amie.stein@localmedia.org