Selling to an Industry
Selling to Clothing and Accessories Brokers Businesses
The problem with selling to clothing and accessories brokers businesses is that misguided efforts can threaten your entire business model. For companies that sell to clothing and accessories brokers businesses, the focused selling strategies discussed in this article can be important for breaking into the industry.
Selling is one of the hardest tasks you'll ever undertake. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that new customer acquisitions in this industry is a lofty ambition that demands diligence and respect.
Don't be intimidated by the speed of the marketplace. Although speed is important, sales fundamentals and logical strategies will make the biggest difference in the success or failure of your selling efforts.
Reaching Prospective Customers
Prospecting transforms contacts into qualified leads.
Networking can fine tunes prospecting performance and closing rates. However, it's important to make sure your sales force isn't so focused on conversation that they miss the point of prospecting, i.e. the identification of likely buyers, key decision makers and high value industry contacts. In other words, quality is just as important as quantity when prospecting for clothing and accessories brokers businesses.
Lead lists are useful because they narrow the field for your team. Third-party lists from reputable vendors (e.g. Experian Business Services) arm your sales force with good leads, making it easier for your company to balance the quantity and quality demands that are prerequisites for effective prospecting.
Understanding the Market
Start with good market research, which is a prerequisite for profitability in this industry. High volume sales teams conduct thorough research on market demand, pricing and niche opportunities.
More importantly, they research and evaluate the specific clothing and accessories brokers businesses that they want to add to their customer roster.
Since relationships are an important part of the selling process, meetings with clothing and accessories brokers businesses leaders and their staff facilitate the flow of the sales cycle. These meetings can also provide information that can improve your competitive position.
How to Evaluate Sales Staff
Frequent employee evaluations are a must for companies that sell in this industry. Businesses that achieve significant market share recruit the cream of the crop and routinely evaluate them against performance goals and benchmarks.
Although annual reviews may be enough for other business units, sales units should be evaluated quarterly with monthly or weekly reviews of sales totals. Training, coaching and sales incentives can be useful for improving performance and revenues. In some instances, it may be appropriate to team underperforming sales reps with reps that have more experience selling to clothing and accessories brokers businesses.
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