Post on 20-May-2020
SalesStrategy
A brief of Company: It's a Five year old company catering the Educational segment by providingtechnologyproduct/service.ThecompanyiswellknownnameinBangaloreasdemographicareaamongtheeducationfraternity.
Goal:Thoughhavebeeninmarketfor5yearshadbeeninnegativerevenuesforalltheyears.NeedtoincreaserevenueandimprovetheBottomline.
Obstacles:· Revenuecash�lowwasunevenduetopaymentcyclebeingquarterly· FinancialSpikeandTurfsacrosstheyear· Absenceofprofessionalsalesteam· Nosalesorsalesstrategyinplace· Financiallowhiringnewsalesteamwasnotpossible· PresalesandPostsalesprocesswasnotdesigned
ModelofsalesStrategy:Theuniquenessofthecompanyanditsculturewassuchthatitcouldn'tgetadaptedtowellprovedsalesmodelhenceuniquewayofworkingwastobedesigned.
Physiological Barriers: The employeeswere not from corporate background, the staffwasworkingtogetherforallthe�iveyears,anditwasmorelikefamilyoutingofwork.
ManagementTeam:Theteamhadlivedtogetherandwashabituatedtoslowgrowthofrevenuewithnotargetsandnopressureforreachingtargetsandatsametimelackedincentivizingforperformances.
Process: After having gone through in understanding the management vision and employees.UnderstandingofthemarketandsegmentationoftheclientsandtargetprocesswasstartedwhichwasmadeinThreePhase
Phase1:SettingthePreSales
As the client was in Educational segment, the �irst was to get database of educational institutionsavailable.Theprocessofgeneratingthedatabasewasputintoprocess.Whereinone-personjobwastopulldatafromInternetandcollectdataofeducationalinstitutions.
Thedatacollectedwasputforscrutinyandvalidationwhereinonepersonwouldcalluptheinstitutionandverifythedetailsalongwith�ixingappointmentsforsalesperson.ThechallengewasdesigningthescriptonwhichtheTelesaleswouldtalkandengagetheeducationalinstitutionheadandalsogivebriefabouttheserviceandcollectinginformationofcompetitorincaseiftheeducationalinstitutionswereusinganyotherservice.
Thesalesteamwouldgomeettheeducationaldecisionmakerandprovidedetailsofservice;theywerenotauthorizedtoprovidecostofservice.Theteachingtheteamandchangingattitudewentalongwayinchangingthewaytosellwasbytellingandnotselling.Astheteamhadnopriorexperienceofcorporatesaleswhereinlotofprocessweretaught,heretheteamlackedhencemotivationalvideoswereshownandthethoughtprocessofhandlingNOfromclientwasconvertedtoNEXTOPPORTUNITY.
Sales Strategy
Phase2:Providinglowcostmarketingsupport
Thedatacollectedwasdesignedinsuchawaythatallinformationpertainingtotheinstitutionwouldbetaken at one go. The email id's of the principal or the decisionmakerwere taken, where in emailcommunicationwassentonceaweekandthemobilephonenumberscollectedwereusedforsendingoffermessages.
Phase3:SalesStrategyforconversion
The�irstaspectthatwasdesignedwascoveringasmuchaspossibleeducationalinstitutionsinadayhence themovementwasdesignedareawise.Thehourwiseplanningwasbrought in toensurenowastingoftimewasdoneatclientplace.
Everystepofsaleswasanalyzedkeepinginmindthepeopleandtherebehaviorastheresistancewastooheavyfromeducationalinstitutionsforchangingthereoldwaysandgettingusedtotechnology
Theidentifyingofdecisionmakerwascrucialastherearemanygatekeepersineducationalinstitutionwhenitis�inancialimplication.Thepsychologyofeverystepfromsecurityguardtoreachingdecisionmakerwasunderstoodandprocesswasdesigned
Thefactorswhichhelpedinconversionwaspitchingsameareaeducational institutewhichactedascompetitorhavingadvantageandtheusageoftheservicehowithelpedinincreasingtheadmissionanditsimageastechnosavvyeducationalinstitute
Targetswerebroughtinandpressurewasbuilttogivesenseofseriousnessalongwithincentivizingwithclientconversionwithacakeandticketstomovies,givingthoughtprocessofvariousaspectssuchashowtoengagethedecisionmaker,itshouldn'tjustbesellingitshouldbetellinggivingexamplesandalsochangesinsocietywereusedtosubstantiatethechangerequiredfrommovingfromtraditionalmethodstotechnology
Theotherhurdlewasthecostfactorwhichwashighestinpricingwhencomparedtoothercompetitors,itwasnotaboutdiscountingfactors,itwasaboutmakingthedecisionmakerfeelthateverypennywasworthasit.
PostSales:
Thehandingoverofclientfromsalesconversiontoimplementationofservicewasthebiggestchallengeas the backend team that would interact with client were the data entry people who had limitedunderstandingoftheclient.
ProjectManagementOf�icewascreatedwiththecompletebibleofstepstobetakenalongwithrolesandresponsibilitieswerelaidouttoensurethatclientshouldn'tbeleftwithdualmind.Therelationteamwascreatedtomeetandgreettheclientandprovidewithinductionofservicesthatwouldbeofferedandhowitwouldbene�it.
Toensurethatactualpayersoftheserviceparentswerealsogiventrainingaboutthebene�itsoftheserviceandtheroleitwouldplayinhelpingtheirwardimprovetheperformance.
Sales Strategy
Theacademicstaffalsotrainedtounderstandtheserviceandhowitwouldhelptheminreducingtheirmundanejobandimprovingtheirmethodologyofteachingandgivingmoretimetowardstheacademics
TheinitiativesthatwerestartedarewishingthedecisionmakeronBirthday's,Interactionwithprincipalby understanding the nature and behavior of the principal. Understanding the urgency of thecommunication.ProcessofRespondingratherthanReactingwasbroughtin
Results:
· Increaseofclientsinthreefolds· Increaseofrevenuebysixfolds· Increaseofsalesteam· Increaseinpenetrationtonewmarkets· Increaseinmanpower
Duration:Timetakentobringthecompletechangewas24Months
Sales Strategy