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In order to give you a better idea of the steps involved in the work and of how our work is structured, we have added some examples of selected service packages.
Opportunity Generation and Sales
Addresses these problems: expansion to new or additional foreign markets without knowing a distributor in this region; not enough distributors or key accounts in place to grow the sales at the planned pace; inefficient network of distributors and resellers that don't generate enough sales or are not profitable enough.
If done right, the benefits of this service could be tremendous: you can generate extra income by leveraging the sales network of suitable resellers in your target market; you can build your order backlog more quickly; you can add a sales network that complements the efforts of your direct sales force; you don't have the resources to set up a local branch but need to expand sales as quick as possible; you have a higher probability of meeting sales targets and report more positive figures to the board.
Typical steps in such an assignment are:
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Choosing the target market after properly conducted market research.
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Product positioning and adaptation (product, promotion, price, place) to target markets.
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Defining characteristics of an ideal partner and selection criteria.
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Generating leads through a variety of methods and sources.
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First introduction.
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Qualification of prospects and selection of suitable candidates.
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First meeting.
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Selection of the preferred distributor.
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Negotiation on terms with preferred distributor.
Lead Generation
Addresses these problems: Many high-tech businesses have lost their focus on lead generation because budget-strapped marketers are under “efficiency” pressures; growing faster at lower cost is the top problem keeping marketing executives up at night; missing lead generation is a critical growth barrier; lead generation skills are below average.
Missing resources for lead generation prevent growth. The following alarming facts suggest that fixing the lead generation process is a great place to generate new growth:
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Selling takes more time and resources—the sales cycle has become 22% longer as buyers are taking longer to consider their decisions and buying is being managed more professionally (Sirius Decisions).
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Too few resources are dedicated to “front end” lead generation—on average, sales teams spend less than 15% of sales time on lead generation (Sirius Decisions).
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Leads are not managed very well—over 75% of leads are not followed up on properly (Sirius Decisions).
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More resources are devoted now to the “back end” of the sales process —customer retention budgets are growing (Profitable Channels).
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Demand creation is not a major priority—only 6% of organizations make lead generation a sales-training priority (Sirius Decisions).
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Demand-generation budgets are being cut—fewer than 10% of organizations are undertaking significant strategic investments focused on new-customer acquisition (Profitable Channels).
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Most organizations recognize they do a bad job at managing the “front end” of the sales process— 87% of sales and marketing leaders rate themselves average or below average at generating demand (Sirius Decisions).
Typical steps in a Lead Generation assignment are:
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Scanning through industry publications, magazines, directories, newspapers.
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Scanning through websites of industry associations, portals, or job sites.
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Buying lists via Kompass, Hoovers, Dun and Bradstreet.
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Visiting trade shows or actively exhibiting at trade shows.
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Getting referrals from key accounts and other customers.
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Pre-qualifying leads according to demographic and behavioral criteria.
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Building a database of pre-qualified leads.
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Identifying sponsors, users and decision makers.
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First introduction of company, product and manager by phone, fax or postal mail.
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Demand generation through sending samples, presentations, and additional information material, as well as sending newsletters and educating users about the product, its value and the company.
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Additional qualification of the lead by identifying the level and types of their needs and problems.
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Arranging a meeting or web meeting with users and decision makers for a first live presentation or live product demonstration.
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Meeting with sufficiently qualified leads that expressed a real interest in the product based on a real problem and a real need they are facing in their company.
Lead generation typically stops at this point. This is where the pre-sales begin. Customers want to look at the technical details, learn more about the specs and features and how it would benefit them, and they want to get an initial price in order to be able to check availability of budgets. Technical staff needs to be involved and lead managers tend to take a coordinating role until the lead is mature enough to be handled by a sales manager who would then send a formal proposal.
Our experience tells us that all sales stages prior to closing are more important when selling complex products or when deals are more complex. In such a situation, it pays to invest in lead generation staff and in all types of pre-sales staff, whereas paying for sales training on closing and recruiting more sales reps has little effect.
The result: More paying key customers, more sales and higher income.
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