Surfside Group

Increase Sales with these 12 Sales & Marketing Strategies - Part 2

Last week, I shared some information with you about 12 things you can do to boost your sales and marketing results for the rest of this year (and beyond!).  To see the list of all 12 items, just Click here .  You'll also be able to read what I said about putting a plan in place. 

So, now it's time to decide if you need to hire an expert to help you with your plan and what type of expert you should consider.  If, after a week, you haven't begun writing your plan, then you definitely need to talk with a marketing consultant or business coach who can help you get started.  If, however, you are a do-it-yourself type who has a written action plan, you have some more choices to make: 

Option A.  Do you have time, energy and the knowledge to implement your plan successfully?  If so, good for you!  Just keep in mind, that as you create more success you will need to either hire someone to perform and/or manage operations for your business or hire a salesperson while you manage the daily operations.

Option B.  Or, would you prefer to assign the responsibility for your sales and marketing efforts to a professional? 

If you chose Option B, you have still more choices to make, depending upon your budget and other factors.

1. Outsourced sales & marketing – There are various service providers who can perform all or portions of your plan.  Some companies only provide the outbound telemarketing and appointment setting, while others (including The Surfside Group) will help you with the details of your plan, develop a strategy and act as your full-time sales and marketing organization until you are ready to hire an employee.  Fees for these types of services vary but are usually a good way to begin a sales program or test a marketing campaign without committing to a lengthy hiring and training process.

2. Hire a full-time employee(s) – Hiring a rock-star salesperson is every business owner or sales manager's dream.   Be sure to know what the standard compensation package is for your industry – is it straight commission? a draw against commission? salary plus bonus?  What level of professional will you need?  Can you train this person or do you want someone who is 'seasoned' and has a long list of contacts and accounts they can bring on board immediately?  If hiring a full-time marketing (only) person, what are the specific responsibilities for him or her?  How will you measure their performance? Again, working with a consulting firm or professional placement agency can help you to understand which answers are correct for your situation and how to avoid common hiring mistakes.  

3. A combination of employee and outsourcing – Many companies outsource at least a portion of their marketing and sales programs at some point.  This can combine the best of all worlds because the two can work together to generate great success.  To do so, it's imperative that the objectives of the project(s) are clearly outlined before implementation begins.  Again, consider what your budget is and find a resource that has the ability to accomplish what you want within that budget.

1. "Hire" an intern. Contact your local community college, university or even area high schools and ask them how to post an internship.  Many students will work for free or minimum wage a few hours per week in exchange for a letter of recommendation and the ability to list the experience on their resume'.  Hire an intern to perform some of your regular office tasks (such as entering data into your CRM) so that you have time to focus on income-generating sales efforts.  Or, many college students have the ability to help you create marketing collateral or write a marketing plan. Talk with a few candidates to make sure you bring someone on board who can be a short-term asset to your organization.  
2. Plan your time wisely.  Doing everything in your business can be time consuming and frustrating – especially if you are not well organized.  Schedule a few hours every day to devote to your ongoing sales & marketing effort so that you can eventually have the budget to pay someone else to do this for you!  After all, isn't that part of the reason you started your own business – to have more control over your time (and more money?)?
3. Read and follow the next 10 weeks (and beyond!) of this blog.  It will include valuable information about specific ways to build a successful sales program.  This is only Week 2 in this 12-part series that explores how to Increase Sales & Marketing with these 12 Strategies. 

Of course, if you have questions or comments at any time, we look forward to hearing from you!