Capitalizing on Niche Markets

Selling to Protective Coatings Businesses

Many protective coatings businesses offer opportunities for business sellers to earn profits. If your offerings appeal to this market, it's time to learn how to sell to protective coatings businesses in the new economy.

There are no one-size-fits-all strategies for selling to protective coatings businesses. The recipe for success is the same as it is in many other industries.

In any B2B industry, one of the major factors in long-term success is the ability to expand your customer base. Fortunately protective coatings businesses are plentiful, but the challenge is to acquire and retain new accounts.

How to Evaluate Sales Staff

Periodic staff assessment is essential 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 suffice 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 protective coatings businesses.

Sales & Marketing Tips

Some B2B protective coatings business suppliers opt for third-party marketing over internal marketing activities. Either way, your marketing strategy should leverage a multichannel approach that appreciates the multiple ways protective coatings business owners access information. Traditional channels like direct mail and telemarketing have value, but they should be combined with online strategies like e-mail campaigns, website SEO and social networking initiatives.

Top B2B sales teams routinely use reliable lead generation mechanisms. Leads drive sales cycles. Until your company develops a system for acquiring and qualifying protective coatings business leads, it will be difficult to capture a meaningful share of the market.

If your sales force is floundering in the area of lead generation, consider buying updated lead lists from a recognized lead list provider. Experian and other vendors have a reputation for delivering accurate and affordable protective coatings business lead lists to B2B sellers.

Benefits of Networking

Networking expands your reach within the industry. In addition to raising your company's profile, it increases your credibility with protective coatings businesses.

But more importantly, a strategy that emphasizes networking dramatically boosts leads and referrals. Sometimes the leads you generate through solid networking will be leads that you had never considered before.

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