With the Christmas hiatus now over I’m sure the thoughts of many business owners are turning to the challenges of 2017; and many I’m sure will be asking themselves the question: Are We Ready For The Challenges Of 2017? Well in truth I have been planning for this, and on behalf of our clients, since September and the importance of focusing on this business discipline has never been more important.
Those of us with effective sales, marketing and business development procedures at the core of our success, (whether it be for product or services offerings), should never lose sight of the importance of planning for the future and looking inwardly, in order to identify how our businesses can evolve. Add this to the constant pressure of identifying where new markets and opportunities can be found; and the pace of these challenges is becoming relentless.
Our markets are being targeted constantly because advances in technology now make it possible for a new breed of aggressive business professionals to target established markets at their will, through combining advances in technology with the ability to collate customer data. Ally this to an approach of listening to what the customer wants, an aggressive business strategy and sound business operational disciplines, and they are now able to target established markets at their will, often moving accepted practices and the “Modus Operandi” forward at a pace that leaves existing businesses in the sector dizzy at the pace of change and unable to react.
In truth, we represent the problem many businesses face, because this is no different to what we are delivering for our customers; when working in partnership with them as their outsourced sales, marketing and business development resource. We are taking product and/or services offerings, identifying target markets and then building and delivering highly targeted sales and marketing campaigns for them; and this is proving to be a very successful and popular approach.
But as with everything, the importance for any business owners reading this post, is to identify their immediate business requirement and then build the team to deliver what is required, whether via an employment model or by partnership arrangements with specialist business resource suppliers like ourselves. And much care and forethought must be applied to this process, because as with your market, in the outsourced business resource sector, the pace of evolution has been startling and many have been left behind. So choose wisely, if you are to ensure that you don’t partner with an organisation delivering outdated business practices and initiatives.
Many business owners I meet start by identifying marketing as an immediate and pressing business requirement and there are certainly many independent suppliers of marketing expertise and services for you to choose from, so how do you identify who would be the right partners for your business? This question is critical, because effective and highly targeted marketing campaigns will form the foundation of any successful campaigns. My advice; never work with an organisation whose first question of you isn’t, “Why Should Anyone Purchase Your Products Or Services?”
So what is the answer? Well this depends on the sector you are operating in, they all have their individual challenges, and for some, unfortunately it is just all over! But for most business owners reading this post, it will be all about bringing more customers to the business, increasing sales volumes and thus profits. As a business owner, should you feel you have the sales team required in place, then the answer could be to find a marketing partner who knows how to identify new routes to market, as well as how to expand existing markets for your product or services offering. Thus generating the new sales enquiries and opportunities to do business that your business requires.
However, if you don’t feel you have the sales team required in place, then the challenges you face are stark; there is no point generating enquiries that nobody is managing effectively on behalf of your business. And in this instance, how do you achieve immediate growth and increases in profitability?
Luckily help is at hand because you can now look to build partnerships with a company like mine, Virtuoso Consultancy. Representative of the new breed of successful and proven sales professionals, “Guns for Hire” if you like, we can become your outsourced Sales, Marketing and Business Development partners.
We can be engaged as and when required on projects in order to grow your business via building sustainable, effective and highly profitable sales pipelines.
Working on a flexible basis around the needs of your business and supplying the skills and expertise required, in order to succeed on your behalf, we have already constructed and delivered successful growth models for IT businesses operating in the Independent Schools, Pharmaceuticals, Legal and Recruitment sectors, (to name just a few), as well as identifying new routes to market for the producers of “Game Changing” technology products; which has seen us building the sales campaigns from the “Ground Floor” up and driving them to success.
My fellow directors and I have over 40 years combined experience in growing businesses and can deliver sales, operational, business development and marketing experience, that is IT sector specific, straight to your door. When the job is complete, we are done, we shake hands and “Part Company”, until the next time!
We know how to build these models, they are “Current” and continually evolving, we know how to target and speak to the decision makers in your target markets and most importantly, we know how to grow your business and make you money!
If this post has resonated and you would like to explore how we can help you achieve your growth aspirations, then please do not hesitate to contact Andrew Banning on 0118 947 1010, or at andrewb@virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk
