It can be easy to settle for reactive sales, but this can also result in lower margins and a customer-controlled business.
“To overcome these challenges, you must use a tactful approach that starts by driving the process with clear communication that highlights the value your company can bring,” says Alison Blobner, director of marketing and sales for LandOpt. “By developing and implementing a proactive sales and account management process you and your team can reap the rewards of higher conversion rates, increased customer loyalty and predictable business outcomes.”
Blobner will cover the steps you need to take to build a customer engagement experience that will bring you success and share the stories of other landscape companies that have utilized these strategies in her session “Proactive Sales: How to Build and Drive an Extraordinary Client Experience” at ELEVATE.
This session will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 9 a.m. Richard Allen, owner of Dream Scapes, will also help present on this topic. This session is part of the Customer Experience track and is worth one CEU.
“This session is for any landscape company that is looking to increase their sales, financial and operational performance,” Blobner says. “Having the right sales and account management processes are the starting points for excellence in all of these key areas of the business.”
Blobner stresses that proactive sales are not cold calling. Rather it’s identifying, finding and filling your company with the clients where it is a pleasure to work with from start to finish.
“Proactive sales is about understanding who your ideal client is, specifically targeting them and walking them through a defined process that sells the value your company brings,” she says. “This doesn’t end once they first become a client but continues throughout the entire time they work with your business through proactive account management. Once you have determined your IDP (ideal client profile), targeting can be through referrals, previous clients, networking or other various means of finding qualified clients.”
The first step to moving to proactive sales is having the right team and equipping them with a defined process and the tools to be successful.
“We will discuss all these points during the presentation and attendees will walk away with the knowledge to put a plan into action,” Blobner says.
When it comes to getting buy-in from your team, Blobner says the results speak for themselves as proactive sales have better margins, less chaos and operational improvements. Educating your team on the process and what it can do to help the company’s success can help get your staff onboard.
While you won’t be able to eliminate all your reactive sales immediately, you can over time replace these with higher margin proactive sales from clients that fit your ideal profile.
“Customers today expect more than ever before,” Blobner says. “They want to do business with companies that understand their wants and needs and are committed to providing a first-class experience time and time again. In addition, you will clearly illustrate to your clients that you are a different from your competitors and your business is truly customer-focused, which in turn leads to higher customer loyalty.”
Want to learn more about implementing proactive sales? Register for ELEVATE and we’ll see you in Orlando, Florida!
