Sell to Your Target Market
Selling to Soccer Businesses
If your business is having trouble reaching sales targets, take a minute and read our tips on selling to soccer businesses. Don't forget that soccer businesses aren't easy sales marks -- here's what you'll need to compete in today's market.
In today's economy, even small mistakes affect your company's bottom line and impede your selling success.
Love soccer? There's plenty of entrepreneurial opportunity in the world's most popular sport.
For small businesses that sell to these companies, the industry's positive growth outlook makes the solid execution of fundamental sales principles more important than ever.
Reaching Prospective Customers
Prospecting transforms contacts into qualified leads.
Networking can enhances the value of prospecting and closing rates. However, it's important to make sure your sales force isn't so focused on meeting new people 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, the type of people you meet is just as important as the number of people you meet when prospecting for soccer 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.
Networking Tips
The soccer business industry is relationship-based. Businesses that sell in the industry leverage networking and contacts throughout the sales cycle.
Lead lists are helpful in expanding your network, but only if your sales force is willing to develop list contacts into long-term business relationships. As an owner or manager, you need to encourage networking strategies and proactively model relational sales techniques.
Casting a Broad Net
The first step in selling to soccer businesses is to cast a broad net. Strategies that focus exclusively on the local market are not likely to succeed in an environment that is becoming increasingly reliant on e-commerce and other long distance marketing channels.
Although a geographic concentration may be a useful strategy for new sellers, you will eventually need to broaden your focus to include prospects outside of your initial range. You can also broaden your prospect base by introducing new products and partnerships into the mix.
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