Selling to an Industry
Selling to Correspondence Schools
As the clouds dissipate, correspondence schools are gradually bouncing back from the Great Recession and are positioned for investment. To dominate in the correspondence school industry, you'll need to closely adhere to a handful of sales fundamentals.
There are no magic formulas for selling to correspondence schools. The basis for success is the same as it is in many other industries.
Many correspondence schools expect stellar service from the companies they do business with. But service alone isn't enough. For B2B companies that sell to correspondence schools, the steady execution of business fundamentals is just as important as your relationships with your customers.
Educate Your Sales Force
The truth is most correspondence schools aren't interested in middle of the road products. Before they make a purchasing decision, they want to know everything there is to know about your product.
In this industry, differentiation can be the deciding factor in conversions. It's critical for your sales team to be knowledgeable and smart. If you're selling a service to correspondence schools, your sales force should understand granular details of the service contract and be prepared to resolve customer concerns during the sales cycle.
Sales Incentives
In a perfect world, you want your sales force to be self-motivated to perform at a high level. But to encourage constant improvement, consider offering sales incentives to sales reps that exceed correspondence school sales targets.
Incentives don't have to break your budget -- sometimes merely acknowledging a team member's exceptional effort is more valuable than an expensive incentive that lacks recognition or prestige.
Marketing Mix
Since sales and marketing are connected business activities, your company's marketing mix plays a central role in bottom line sales revenue. The industry's leading sellers employ multichannel marketing strategies and prioritize channels that target decision makers.
Although there are no one-size-fits-all marketing strategies for correspondence schools, B2B sellers often achieve higher returns by outsourcing lead generation to a third-party provider. Experian and other vendors maintain accurate and up-to-date lists of correspondence schools. For many businesses, these lists lay the foundation for the rest of the sales cycle.
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