Productive Strategies Can Help You Discover Sales Growth
April 18, 2025
Phil Krone
Most companies can’t identify which factor in their sales and marketing mix would, if changed, result in the most increase in revenue. Frankly, we don’t know what your number one sales challenge is either..
We do, however, have a process for figuring it out. While helping hundreds of companies we have found:
- Some need strategic help; others tactical
- Some need a marketing plan ; others require help in implementation Some need more leads in the pipeline; others should focus on closing a higher percentage of existing opportunities
- Some need a more powerful sales process in order to be successful in high stakes competitions; others would benefit from being invited to the “short list” dance
- Some feel they have to differentiate more from competition so buyers can’t commoditize them; others would benefit from being able to communicate the differentiation more efficiently within the sales process
- Some need a shorter sales cycle ; others need to shorten the time frame for new sales people to become cost effective
- Some need to build up their channel of distribution ; others have to learn to sell direct because the channel has become dominated by order takers
- Some need more suspects and prospects in their database; others need a new database engine to track their customer relationships
- Some need to strengthen selling skills ; others need product training for their employees, distribution channel, or customer
Is your greatest challenge listed above?
Our suggestion: Have a discussion at your firm to answer the question about the number one challenge. Try to prioritize the various shortcomings you identify. There might be consensus and you can begin to address the issue. If you need help, keep reading.
Our offer: We will meet with you for an in-depth session to help you identify your greatest sales challenge-the one that, if overcome, would result in the greatest return on your marketing investment. There is no charge for this. Our fees are earned helping companies implement the solution.
If interested, please contact me.
The post Productive Strategies Can Help You Discover Sales Growth appeared first on Productive Strategies, Inc..
Asking the questions that give you the confidence you need to win in sales.
This faith-based not-for-profit achieves 40 percent year-over-year growth for 17 years by applying well-known business principles, one in particular. Why can so few businesses even dream of such growth?
Are you selling business to business or business to government or both? There are similarities but also differences that need to be recognized to optimize your results.
Last year after a talk I gave at the Small Business Expo on Business to Business Selling (B2B) , a woman asked for my card because she wanted to meet to tell me about her business and learn more about mine. When we eventually got together she shared that her start-up company’s goal was to console consumers who had suffered the loss of a loved one directly, as she had. But my talk had inspired a new idea: assist funeral homes to improve their services by showing more empathy to their customers who were struggling as she was. I sensed that my talk gave her confidence that, despite the challenges, her business could succeed. What I didn’t realize was that this small assignment for a start-up would eventually have such a big impact on her business as well as an industry.
To date we have covered the Sales, Information, Tactical, and Marketing Plan Levels. Although the fifth level is the last to be discussed, it is often what sets a business in motion when it is founded. Today we will illustrate marketing to support a vision by discussing two very successful businesses.
As a reminder, the Five Levels of Marketing are (1) Sales, (2) Information/Data/Analytics, (3) Tactical or Campaign, (4) Marketing or Program, and (5) Vision/Strategic. We’ve explored each of the first three levels in separate columns in August, September, and October. They are available on our website's Productive Insights collection.
Using intelligence from prior levels leads to revenue-building sales campaigns on the ground in real time.
Tracking key types of data each month provides insights that can build a highly productive marketing plan.
The Five Levels -
Sales: Prospecting, qualifying, discovery, presentation, demonstration, proposal writing and closing; Information/Data/Analytics; Tactical or Campaign; Marketing or Program; Vision/Strategic
If you believe you have ADHD, you can be more successful by scheduling fewer first meetings and spending that time on more second and third meetings with qualified prospects. For our client, that meant cancelling half the medical CFO conventions his sales rep was planning to attend and investing more time following up with the CFO prospects he had already met. When your discovery is not productive, step back and restart at the point the discussion began to be about whose system is better. That’s an argument you are not going to win. Don’t waste years in prospect meetings in which you ask the same questions every time and get the same answers. Either decide that your product or service isn’t right for this prospect and move on—or broaden your discovery to find a need behind the need. In this hospital case, the hidden need was a fear that because no outside vendors had audited their system they might be in violation of regulations that an outsider would spot right away.