Every now and then you have to ask yourself if your products still have their window of opportunity for the company you are working in.

The window of opportunity relates to your company size, image, market share and maturity of the market.
The question you should answer:
As the market evolves, is your company still capable of keeping up with the changes ?
Not all companies are fitted or suited for all stages or generations of a product or solution.

The innovators

Young small companies or start-ups need to come up with innovative products or solutions in an emerging market or emerging industry.
- New emerging market
- Selling the uniqueness of the products
- Buyers are the early adopters
- People care about the manufacturer and can feel involved
- High production costs
- High sales price
- Small quantities for specialized or advanced technology.
- High margins on relatively small revenue.

The market expansionists

Once the market grows the technology is more widely available which leads to a decrease of price decreases whereas the quantities increase.
The smaller companies or start-ups need to be able to handle the increase in production quantities and be able to lower the production costs. This requires growth of the organization and management, but will also require additional funding.
In any case other larger companies will become competitors and will take market share.
If the organization isn’t capable of handling this change it has to move on to other innovative products.
- A real market
- Selling on function and features
- Buyers still consider themselves taking some risks with these new solution products
- People chose a manufacturer driven by their passion for the products or manufacturer.
- Lower production costs
- More affordable sales price
- Larger quantities
- Good margins

The marketing companies

As the products become widely spread and more commonly accepted, the larger manufacturers will step in having redesigned or simplified the products capable of being produced in very large quantities at a low cost.
Again the vendors of the previous generation will have to grow or get out of this market.
- Established market
- Marketing makes the difference – including branding
- Selling on small differentiators supported by marketing
- Buyers are followers – the innovators have already found other solutions
- People can be influenced by the brand name for its’ quality (risk avoidance)
- Low production costs
- Fair price
- Large quantities
- Minimal margins

The common good manufacturers

The last step is when a standard is being defined for a solution or a type of product. An international commission or specialists or an important country (US, Germany) define and impose their standard to the market.
From this moment on almost any manufacturer in the world is capable to produce this type of products in line with the standard.
Typically the manufacturers of emerging countries including the BRIC countries: Brazil Russia China India.
- Marketing becomes less important
- Selling on price as there are hardly any differences between the products
- Buyers just follow the specifications required to buy
- People aren’t interested in the manufacturer: they don’t care at all
- Ultra low production costs
- Mass quantities
- Minimal margins

Change or get out

Most products go through these different stages. Some companies can grow with the product from innovator to mass manufacturer.
However in most cases companies stay within their normal battlefield as each stage requires different organization, production capacities, marketing, sales and after sales. These changes impose big financial investments and risks.

This is why in management or in sales you have to ask yourself if the window of opportunity for the products and the company is still present.
Is the company capable of growing to the next level or should it leave the market and seek other solutions?
Change is the only constant in live and in business. This means also the company should be able to change with the market adoption and market penetration of the products. This has implications on every part of the company – every function and job in the company.

If not then start looking or start cooking a new solution as larger manufacturers will take over the market.
If management of your company is too blind to see due to their current or previous success, then you need to take action yourself and start looking for another opportunity in a different company.

What type of company do you work for ?

Selling passionate products

In order to sell do you have to be passionate about your product(s)?
If you have some or a lot passion for the products of the company your argumentation and pitch will be ardent and much more from the hart: the passion is apparent.

Do you sell the products of the company or do you sell your products ?
Although the products or solutions belong to the company you identify them as
‘your products’. This is a major difference and indicates your passion for them.
If someone attacks the company products or ‘your products’, your reaction will be much more profound in case of ‘your products’.

If you aren’t passionate about the products you are selling then:
- Your leads, prospects and customers will notice and that will reflect in your sales.
- Nobody else will be passionate about the products and buying on price.
- Customers will not tell their friends and peers about them.

A big commission of a product will not make anybody passionate about that product as it will only increase the hard selling methods employed.

Having passionate salesmen has its’ advantages.
What are the requirements in order to:
- Become passionate about them
- Have the company products become ‘your products’?

Requirements for passionate salesmen

The products you sell should be:
- Outstanding: not always possible as this space is limited in any market
- The best quality for a fair price: the best to aim for
- Differentiate from the competition: without you have to sell a ‘me-too’
- Being successful with selling them: you will love well selling products
- Involvement in defining the need, demand or the problem the product solves: early involvement.
- Involvement in the development of the product: involvement in the creation
- Involvement in the product management of the product: involvement in the product life.
- Making you proud: there is more in life than commissions and company car

Most founders and executive managers are passionate about their products due to their involvement from the early stages of the product. They are probably the most capable to sell if they are able to limit themselves to a short pitch.
Maybe salesmen should get involved early in the definition and development stages of the products too.

How passionate are you about the products you sell ?

What Women Want is a romantic comedy film about a man who eavesdrops on women’s thoughts.

What companies really want are paying customers – not more funding.
Venture Capitalists should be able to eavesdrop on founder’s thoughts.

Additional funding can come in handy to:
- spend more money on marketing events and efforts
- have more salesmen
Both with the final goal to get paying customers.
Additional funding is not the goal.
Funding is just to speed up the development of the company as it allows for increasing marketing and sales spending.

Customers instead of Venture Capital

Investors, Venture Capitalists and Business Angels mainly think of investing whereas the main problem is getting the customers. Money doesn’t imply a company will get paying customers or increase revenue significantly.

Especially in the business of web services the investment to get a service up and running is fairly low as Randy Komisar of Kleiner Perkins says: Maybe Web start-ups don’t need venture capital. The start-up and operation costs are fairly low compared to the marketing and sales costs.
In the extraordinary case the company has the luck the solution is picked up by bloggers and reviewers, the marketing spending requirement can be very limited too as this will give major exposure money can’t buy.

Conversion from visitors to customers

In most cases the main problem is the marketing for exposing the solution and generating the buzz around the products or services. Letting the potential customers know the solution to their problem is available.
The marketing, social media marketing and SEO should generate traffic to the website, generate interest and stimulate the demand.

The next problem is the conversion from visitors to leads and eventually to customers.
The funnel is a long or slow process that in most cases cannot be speed up.
Marketing and sales need to cooperate to achieve the conversion from lead to customer.
This costs more money or creativity.

Money is a tool – custmers are the real thing

In any industry the paying customers are the real goal.
Getting there can be helped by taking money from investors (at a cost or company control) or as a loan (interest). Money is just a tool.

What does your company need the most ?

When the gatekeeper always informs you the manager, executive or VP you want to speak is not in the office you are probably on the Black list”.
Even if you ask for a different person, you are being told the person is not available or not in the office.
Apparently you have called numerous times in vain and you have been placed on the “Black list”.

The gatekeepers are well-paid executive assistants
Your problem is now:
- How to bypass the gatekeeper
Or
- How to get off this Black list

Bypassing the gatekeeper

- Letting someone else call
- Call directly on his mobile: on the Internet much data is to be found
- Leave an incomprehensive message concerning an opportunity with the gatekeeper that drives to call back

Getting off the Black List

Getting off the Black list will be nearly impossible as the decision needs to be made by the managers or directors who have put you on the “Black list” in first place.

Starting a conversation with the gatekeeper
- First name:
By now you should know the name and first name of the gatekeeper. The next time you call, use her/his name when she/he picks up the phone.
- Small talk:
Be nice to the gatekeeper and try to start a small talk conversation
- Benefits:
Explain in a few words the value you could bring to the company or for the manager, the executive or the VP. Paint a picture of the concept and bring the benefits. Maybe you get connected or you get a hint when to call.
- Benefit for gatekeeper:
If your solution has a benefit for the gatekeeper then you should mention it to the gatekeeper.

Addressing through a different channel
- Emailing:
To boldly spam-email the manager, the executive or the VP in the hope to get their interest in order to contact you
- Inviting:
To send an invitation by mail or email for a high-level event like a conference, trade show or web seminar in the hope they participate
- Entertaining:
To send an invitation for an exclusive sports event – only works if you know their interest: investigating on Facebook could help out.
- Business event:
Encountering the manager, the executive or the VP “accidentally” during a business event: you need to go to all the events he is likely to visit.
- Social event:
Encountering the manager, the executive or the VP during a social event or while eating out.

Use your imagination where to encounter the manager, the executive or the VP.

What did you do when you got on the “Black List”?
- Never bothered and turned your attention to another company
- Made it top priority to get off the Black List
- Forced your encounter with the manager, the executive or the VP

When sales revenue is seriously under budget, the company management can blame it on many factors:
- Economic: recession
- Competitors: slashing prices
- Salesmen: not performing – not achieving
- Marketing: the wrong campaigns, the wrong events
- Management: this is the most unlikely to do
in order to explain to the Board of Directors.
Still in most cases the Board of Directors will require a fast fix.

The real question is question: how to solve the problem?

Salesmen related

- Fire a few salesmen
This will give shock to the other salesmen, but will it motivate ?
- Hire more salesmen
Could work but that will be costly and the geographies or product lines need to be reorganized – costing time
- Replace a few salesmen
Firing salesmen and hiring new ones will take time.
Some leads and prospects will be lost.
It takes at least 6 months for a newbie to know how to sell in this B2B.
- Demand to increase the cold calling
If your sales cycle is short: it might help. If the sales cycle is long: no cure.
If your customers are hard to influence, this will be not a solution.
The valuable time of salesmen is wasted by waiting on the telephone and dialing.
- Call on existing customers
As these companies have previously decided to buy from you it is likely there will be additional sales.
- Up-sell or cross-sell with your existing customers
If you don’t try you will never know.
If your salesmen didn’t bother previously, then this could generate marginally more sales.
- Shorten sales cycle
Sales cycle can be shortened by more calls and more meetings, but are your customers deciding more quickly ?
- Higher commissions
Salesmen will make more efforts and spend more time on selling.

Marketing actions

- Start several email campaigns
Could help, but will not change revenue overnight as email campaigns are marketing tools to generate leads.
- Telemarketing
This is a marketing effort that can generate leads.
- Setup an event for customers, leads, prospects and partners
Might work but depends again on your sales cycle length.
- Look on your website for more leads
Use a web service that reveals the company name of the website visitors and their interest: generating more leads

Management decisions

- Give additional discounts
This will bring in additional sales as there are always people and companies looking for bargains.
Still you need to close more deals than before due to the discount.
- Higher quantity discounts
Works for a short time span, as your customers stock up on products they will buy less next quarter.
- Increase your prices
Then you need to close the same number of deals in order to increase revenue.
You have to close the same number of deals.
And hope your customers aren’t switching to your competitors.
- The carrot
Give away an additional service or item for free from a certain level of order value.
- Promote a sleepy product sitting in your inventory at rock bottom prices
As the products have been paid, keeping them in your inventory will only cost you more interest
- Partnerships
Signing a few promising partnerships has potential but will consume time before any result.
- Bundle your products with partner products
This sure will generate interest as you address the market differently.
However his will require a marketing campaign. Thus not an immediate solution.
- Online sales:  setting-up an online shop in the hope to sell direct
Selling online can be direct and fast.
It takes probably much longer before your online shop is findable on Google, Bing or Yahoo! than you average sales cycle.
Your distributors and resellers will get upset and refuse to sell your products.

Financial possibility

- Prepayment or payment on delivery
Instead of needing to wait 60 to 120 days for your payment, ask for immediate payment.
This will not increase your revenue, but sure will help your cash flow. The question is what will you give in return ?
More services ? Less maintenance fees ?

What do you do to reach the budget if you are lagging significantly behind ?
Or you don’t care as it is only a budget.

Being well organized you have made your pricing list or pricing scheme very complete in order to cover all possible cases.

However one day a potential customer comes up with a case not fitting into your marvelous pricing system. You need to make a specific price quote still matching or staying inline with the price list which requires a lot of work and calculations.

Ballpark versus calculated price quote
The trade off you have to make now is:
- To go through all the calculations and spend a lot of time
- Use quick ballpark pricing just making sure it matches the general line of pricing

The complex calculations not only cost you time and effort, but above all you need to avoid of making errors – especially if your pricing structure is complicated containing many parameters. Thus even after all your calculations you will need to make a ballpark pricing in order to see if you haven’t made a tremendous error with all your calculations.

The ballpark pricing is fast and avoids major errors and takes into account the case of the customer. Quickly and efficiently.

Profit versus hourly salary
The time you spend on all the calculations should be worth the effort:
- If the profit of your service or total order profit is about the same level or not significantly different of your hourly salary, probably the ballpark pricing method is sufficient as you can’t afford to waste your time.
- If the profit of your service or total order profit is high compared to your hourly salary, you might better spend some time on you calculations.
- If the order with a low profit could become a repeat order you better take your time too as you could be stuck for a long time with that price as increasing any price is not easy to manage and to obtain.

Get the deal
In the end even with all your calculations processed the pricing needs to be evaluated and adjusted to the probability to get the deal.
Even if you calculated the price faultlessly, the economic reality will come as a final test: will the potential customer buy or not at that price?
Discounts are given in order to convert the prospect into a paying customer.
Volume discounts are given too.

So what suits your case the best?

Every company has several marketing methods to choose from. However each method is not fitted for every company:

The durability

Advertising lasts as long as your budget lasts: exhaustive.
Direct mail lasts as long as your mailing list: exhaustive.
Social media marketing lasts as long the buzz goes on.
Content marketing will last until the content can’t be found on the Internet anymore.

The content use

Advertising is for companies with little content but having money to spend.

Direct mail is for companies wanting to promote at all cost and is intrusive:

Social media marketing is for companies that are creative to spike a conversation with their initial content and rely upon the added or enhanced content of the participants in the social media.

Content marketing is for companies producing massive amounts of content and distributing it through many channels in order to be found.

The engagement and impact

Advertising reaches as far as the money can pay for during a limited amount of time. The impact is minimal as there is probably no engagement.

Direct mail reaches as far as the mailing list reaches. The impact is minimal as it is intrusive and doesn’t engage at all.

Social media marketing can reach further if people pick it up and enhance it further but it is limited by the time the buzz lasts. The impact can be important for a while as people participate and engage.

Content marketing reaches far and last the longest as content nearly never dies on the Internet. The impact is less important and less massive but can engage many due to the long lasting effects and engagements.

For every company their budget, their creativity and their content generation will decide upon the best fitting marketing method.

What do you use: advertising, direct mail, social media marketing or content marketing ?
What would like to use in the future ?
What can you deliver ?

When business is slow and you aren’t reaching your targets you will become nervous. No doubt about that.
- You need that next deal to close soon.
- You need the money to pay off your house, your car, your divorce or whatever.
These pressures will make you even more nervous.

Start by analyzing the last number of deals that were successful and those that you missed.
Define the reasons of winning and missing in order to know:
- How and where to improve
- Find the deeper reasons related to markets, business, products or yourself.

The possible problems

The market or business
In all markets and all businesses there is a time of prosperity and a time of decay.
In the latter case there is not much hope on improvement, leading you to change business and thus employer.

The lack of marketing
The competitors have important marketing budgets and their advertising, press releases, events and social media are popping-up everywhere.
Whereas your company is hardly spending any money on marketing making it challenging to generate leads, to be on the short-lists and to sell.
You could ask management to increase marketing spending and efforts. However it is unlikely this will immediately change your business.
You have to ask yourself if staying with the company is still the right choice.

The products lagging behind
In case the products or service you sell seem to be the problem due to better offers from the competition and your colleagues having the same issues, then you might start looking for another employer as by no means you will be able to win sufficient deals.
Management can always propose to lower the price setting, but selling on price is not really stimulating.

Believe in the offering
In case you don’t believe in the products or services anymore as competitors have better or more adapted products or services, then you need to change product-line or employer.
Of course this is not so evident as the grass seems always to be greener next door.

Yourself
In case you seem to be the problem as your colleagues are reaching their targets, then you need to get in control of yourself.
You could start by doing something you are good at – not necessarily related to your work. Just in order to gain self-confidence.
- You have to prove yourself to yourself.
- You have to convince you are good, still capable of achieving.

You will only be able to sell if you believe in yourself else customers will spot your uncertainty and nervousness.

In any case when business is slow, you should start analyzing (actually you should have started analyzing a long time ago when business was still fine) in order to find the real reason, allowing being pro-active. Don’t let management decide upon you. You need to decide and be in control of your own destination.

Maybe you should get an online marketing and sales assistant in order to get more leads from your website, shortening your sales cycle and closing more deals.

How did you survive or are surviving during slow business?
Are you in control or are you going with the flow ?

The Internet presence

Almost all companies have a website.
At the very least your company should have an Internet presence.
Ideally when people Google your company name they should be able to find your company even in case they just need the contact details or to know how to get to your offices.
Let’s face it: B2B businesses without a website yet are stuck in the dark ages. Moreover the image your company will get is filed as old fashioned.
If someone searches your company name together with county or city and your website doesn’t show up on the first page, it’s as if your company no longer exists. No website then you might be out of business.

The purpose of having a website ?

Why do you have a website ?
- Internet presence ?
- To convert visitors into leads ?
- For branding purposes ?
- As an online brochure in order to explain your products or services ?
- For customer support, providing faqs or a knowledge base ?
Or a combination of the above ?

The website for trust and removing risk

One of the most important roles of a salesman is to take away the risk and build trust. The risk of buying a product or service from a company without trust is not done.
The role of the salesman is not so much explaining the functions, features and benefits of your products or services, but to take away the risk factors and to build trust.

Similarly your website should also take away the risk and build trust with you potential customers who are visiting. The functions and features of products or services are of a secondary importance.
Of course explaining in depth and listing out all the functions and features can help to build trust and take away fear, but is is just one of the many building blocks to build trust.
References, the quality of information on the website, the look of the website, the contact details (address, telephone number and email), case studies and the findability of your website are other aspects to build trust.

Gone are the days when a company just put the office building on their website. In those days the findability and the important building were enough to build trust.
Nowadays the competition has increased thus more is needed to stand out, to build trust and to take away the risk of the decision and the purchase.

Converting visitors into leads into customers

Should you provide just enough enough information, hoping that the visitor gets in touch with your company ? Allowing your sales team to take over the nurturing of the lead ?

Or should your website be a bastion of relevant, up-to-date content and insights with the goal of establishing your company as an authority on these matters or in this industry ?

How far can the website go in the process of conversion from visitor to customer ? When does the salesmen need to take over from the website or can your products be sold entirely completely on the website ?

What’s the purpose of your website ?
Just to explain functions and features of your products?
Or to take away the risk and build trust ?
Or to convert visitors into leads or even into customers ?

These questions need to be answered before starting to develop and design the website and the content.

What had the biggest reach at the least cost in your marketing budget ?
What marketing investment or effort for less than $200 gave you the biggest return ?

In our case it is a website:
- $12 for 2 years of domain name at GoDaddy
- $143 for hosting 2 years at Hostgator
- $14 for a design template from ThemeForest
- $0 for the Modx content management system
- $0 for Wordpress blog (download – but a hosted blog can too)
- $30 for paying someone to install all this software

Totals: $199
Of course we don’t count all the hours writing and editing the content.

What was your best spent $200 for marketing ?