Niche Market Sales Tips

Selling to Building and Construction Trade Schools

If your company is missing sales benchmarks, take a minute and read our tips on selling to building and construction trade schools. Don't forget that building and construction trade schools aren't easy sales marks -- here's what you'll need to convert prospects into customers.

Selling is one of the hardest tasks you'll ever undertake. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that landing new customers in this industry is a lofty ambition that demands diligence and respect.

For B2B professionals that sell to these companies, the industry's positive growth outlook makes the solid execution of fundamental sales principles more important than ever.

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 increasing sales volumes and individual achievement. In some instances, it may be appropriate to team underperforming sales reps with reps that have more experience selling to building and construction trade schools.

Hiring Staff

Your sales force is your most valuable sales asset. A first-rate sales strategy is ineffective if your sales team is unable to do their jobs effectively.

Most building and construction trade schools appreciate the value of sales professionals who are informed and prepared. When a customer has a problem with an order, they typically reach out to their sales contact so it's imperative for your team to be trained in techniques for service after the sale.

How to Generate Solid Leads

There aren't any uniform rules for generating solid sales leads. However, leading sellers typically utilize a consistent strategy forlead generation. When possible, businesses that sell to building and construction trade schools should take steps to automate the lead generation process through the use of technology and networking activities.

One option worth considering is the use of lead lists into your prospecting routines. Lead lists provided by third-party vendors are usually cost-effective compared to the man hours it takes to create your own lead list from scratch.

At Gaebler, we advise our business partners to explore Experian Business Services for building and construction trade school lead lists. Experian is a reputable firm that is known for providing accurate lists that can be filtered according to your precise lead specifications.

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