<b>8 Procedures to Take Control of Sales and Marketing</b> iArticleBeach.com - Free Articles for Reprint. Add great content to your web site today

Home | About Us | Contact Us





Forgot Password? New User?

	Poetry
	Business
	Music
	Humor
	Arts & Entertainment
	Movies
	Destinations
	Women Issues
	Home Improvement
	Dating
	Real Estate
	SEO
	Health & Fitness
	Investing
	Home Based Business

View all Categories

Welcome to iArticleBeach.com - Free Articles for Reprint. Add great content to your web site today!

Articles » Business >> View Article

8 Procedures to Take Control of Sales and Marketing

By: Chris Anderson

The Cash to Cash CyclePart Three of SeriesPart One: InventoryPart Two: Accounts ReceivableNext Week: Accounts PayableWe’re sprinting toward that million dollar mark...and we’re only a couple strides away…Decreasing inventory carried us over the first hurdle, and last week reducing Accounts Receivable sped us through the half-way mark. We’re making great time, so let’s bring on the next mile marker – marketing and sales.Increasing Overall Sales and Marketing EffectivenessIf you are an organization spending $500,000 or more on marketing expenses (e.g. advertising, trade shows, print materials, direct mail, etc.) then STOP! We found it again. Why you ask…? Because marketing has the greatest potential of being very unproductive. In fact, many marketing programs struggle to break even, and actually frequently lose money. So if we increase the overall effectiveness, then we can eliminate 50% or more of your wasted marketing efforts, which translates into $250,000 in cash. So now, let’s see how this actually works in a real-life scenario. Sales and Marketing Company Policy Case StudyAn organization with $500,000 in marketing expenses needed assistance. We examined their sales and marketing process to understand and quantify the lead flow, follow-up, and demand forecasting issues. Then we designed and implemented a process to improve their sales cycle efficiency and tie it closer to their customer’s buying cycles. After the marketing reductions, we then reinvested $100,000 back into new processes for public relations and Customer Relationship Management (CRM), both of which were suffering badly. The metrics we developed reduced their marketing expenses by 60% overall and increased their sales cycle efficiency from 40% to 60% within 6 months of implementing the new procedures. With these new processes and reports, the company now tracks sales cycle efficiency and life-time value rather than just sales quota achievement, as the measure of their sales & marketing effectiveness. The result: an extra $300,000 in cash plus a 50% increase in process capability (capacity). As we have seen time and time again, time can be our best friend, if only we let it. Methods to Design the New Sales & Marketing Process•Improve Follow-up. Only about two percent (2%) of sales occur on the first contact. Eighty percent (80%) of sales will require five to eight contacts before the sale closes. This means that if you are contacting the prospect less than five times or more than eight times, then you could have a problem with follow-up.•Sales Cycle Efficiency. Time kills deals. The speed at which a prospect is converted into a customer and the number of prospects required to make that conversion determines your sales cycle efficiency. So ask yourself, are you taking the right steps to measure and reduce lost sales?•Life-Time Value. How profitable a given customer is over time defines your LTV or Life-Time Value. Companies spend ten times more to acquire a customer than to keep a customer. However, existing customers are more likely to purchase again, spend more money, and therefore become more profitable. If you don’t know your LTV, then how do you know how much money to spend and on which customer segment?•Demand Forecasting. Every customer buys on a cycle. So this means that you should track cycle times and variance to increase the accuracy of your forecasting and the loyalty of the customer. Do you know when your customers need to reorder? •Improve Lead Quality. Do you have methods in place to measure the conversion potential of each lead? Lead generation activities (i.e. forms) should pre-qualify every new lead so that you can take the right follow-up actions for the marketing offer. Strong leads produce strong sales.•Increase Awareness. To keep the sales pipeline full of good quality leads you must continuously increase the awareness of your company and the solutions that it provides. Public relations is more efficient at building awareness than advertising, yet many companies spend wildly on advertising and trade shows while neglecting to fund public relations efforts much at all. Increase your name recognition, not your budget. •Reduce Discounting. Discounts represent deficiencies in the sales & marketing processes, which means that you should use them sparingly. Instead, determine the root cause and then fix the process that’s causing the need to discount. Show customers the added value, and they won’t focus on price.•Train Personnel. Provide your sales & marketing personnel with regular formal training. This will arm them with better product knowledge, as well as presentation, negotiating and selling skills that will improve effectiveness. This will boost both employee morale and the bottom line – a win-win. Control of Sales and Marketing Policy and Procedures Improve your sales cycle efficiency. Reduce your marketing expenses. Tie it closer to your customer’s buying cycles. And take control of your sales and marketing program to let it work for you.Improvement with Well-defined Policies and ProceduresWith well-defined processes and procedures in place, you will increase efficiency by reducing ineffective sales and marketing programs. And, again, we make such improvements to create more cash on hand – all toward that million dollar goal and to cross the finish line.Next week, we will hurdle the final $250,000 mark with the Accounting Payables function – so close you can see it. About the Author
Chris Anderson is currently the managing director of Bizmanualz, Inc. and co-author of policies and procedures manuals, producing the layout, process design and implementation to increase performance. To learn how to increase your business performance, visit: Bizmanualz, Inc.

Total Views : 1022 Word Count Appx. : 907

See All articles From Author

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:54:11 GMT Chairman, 3 others out in Yahoo board shake-up (AP)

AP - Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and three longtime board members are stepping down, submitting to the demands of many frustrated shareholders who blame them for contributing to the follies that have dragged down the Internet company's revenue and stock price.

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:58:47 GMT Disney 1Q revenue misses estimates but profits up (AP)

AP - The Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday that its net income rose 12 percent in the final quarter of 2011, as a slimmer movie slate and upbeat theme park results helped the company top earnings forecasts even while revenue gains were less than expected.

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:01:25 GMT 2.1 million viewers live stream Super Bowl online (AP)
AP - The first live stream of the Super Bowl drew 2.1 million unique viewers, NBC said Thursday.

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:49:44 GMT Just Show Me: 3 great and free cooking apps for the iPhone (Yahoo! News)
Yahoo! News - Welcome toÂ Just Show Me onÂ Tecca TV, where we show you tips and tricks for getting the most out of theÂ gadgets in your life. In today's episode we'll show three greatÂ cooking apps for theÂ iPhone. BigOven Epicurious Serving Sizer Take a look …

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:39:36 GMT Transparent Screen app saves you from bodily injury while texting (Yahoo! News)
Yahoo! News - Fond ofÂ texting while walking? Unless you're extremely nimble, you may have bumped into people, objects, or even stumbled. In extreme cases, you may have even bruised yourself or broken a few things. But if you have anÂ Android device, you can …

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:45:44 GMT NASA Launches Facebook Game to Test Space Program Knowledge (Mashable)
Mashable - How much do you know about the NASA space program, Earthling?

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:37:34 GMT Analysis: More than just Great Firewall awaits Facebook in China (Reuters)
Reuters - When it comes to China, Facebook should consider itself forewarned. Cracking the world's biggest internet population might seem an obvious ambition for the social networking giant as it trumpets its global growth before a $5 billion initial public offering, but the chances it will succeed look slim.

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:23:46 GMT Yahoo chairman exits, review drags on (Reuters)

Reuters - Yahoo Inc Chairman Roy Bostock and three other directors will step down as the struggling company ploughs ahead with an internal overhaul, including discussions on dealing with its stakes in China's Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan.

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:26:41 GMT Social Gaming Apps for Android -- Steam, Xbox Live and More (ContributorNetwork)
ContributorNetwork - For many people, gaming is no longer a solitary experience where you buy a game and bring it back home and play it -- not even on Android-powered smartphones and tablets. Because it's not just that people are buying games from the Android Market, or Gameloft's store, or other online marketplaces. They're making friends, playing online, and earning trophies and achievements through gameplay that their friends can then see on their profiles.

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:50:41 GMT Google Android Mascot Merchandise -- Own Your Own Tiny Robot (ContributorNetwork)
ContributorNetwork - COMMENTARY | Say what you will about the relative merits of Android smartphones vs. the iPhone, but the Android mascot wins against the iPhone's hands-down. This is largely because the iPhone doesn't have a mascot, but that's not the point. The point is that the cute little green robot seen all over Android phone commercials (and depicted in Google branding) can be yours, and can sit on your desk or even do useful things for you. And yes, he comes in more colors than just green.

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:31:45 GMT CalSTRS wants Facebook board to expand, add women (Reuters)

Reuters - The California State Teachers' Retirement System, the second-largest largest pension fund in the United States, wants Facebook Inc to expand its board of directors and diversify a panel that has no women.

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:35:39 GMT Halliburton to abandon BlackBerry, turn to iPhone (Reuters)
Reuters - Oil field services company Halliburton plans to stop issuing BlackBerry smartphones to employees and switch over to Apple's iPhone, which it said was better suited to its needs, marking another setback for Research In Motion.

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:13:00 GMT Path iPhone app shown to be uploading iOS address books to its servers (Appolicious)
Appolicious - One of the most popular social networking apps available for iOS and Android devices is in a bit of hot water.

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:50:06 GMT Summary Box: Jobs flow from mobile, Facebook apps (AP)
AP - CAREER OPPORTUNITY: All those apps being made for smartphones, computer tablets and Facebook's online social network are helping the U.S. economy lower its unemployment rate. A study released Tuesday by the technology trade group TechNet estimates apps are responsible for creating about 466,000 U.S. jobs since 2007.

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:51:02 GMT Amazon, Viacom close to Web video deal (Reuters)
Reuters - Amazon.com Inc is about to announce a Web video deal with Viacom Inc in what sources said was one of the last steps in a plan to launch a standalone subscription service to compete with Netflix Inc.

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT Don’t stress tax time with these helpful iPhone apps (Appolicious)
Appolicious - It’s tax time! What, it isn’t a happy time for you? Well maybe you should spend more time prepping throughout the year with your iPhone apps so you don’t get so stressed out come the beginning of next year. Tax time shouldn’t be stressful, it should be routine. Here are some helpful tax apps to get you started on a road to financial stability.

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:53:55 GMT RIM tells European developers it's "ready to compete" (Reuters)

Reuters - Next-generation software for BlackBerry's smartphones is "ready to compete", Research In Motion's new chief executive, Thorsten Heins, told more than 2,000 technical developers on Tuesday, expressing confidence in RIM's long-term future.

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:21:16 GMT Cisco seen reporting solid second quarter (Reuters)
Reuters - A year after network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc unnerved investors with yet another weak quarterly outlook the company looks set to report a stable quarter buoyed in part by improving enterprise demand in the United States.

© 2006 - Present - iArticleBeach.com - Free Articles for Reprint. Add great content to your web site today. All Rights Reserved. Use of our service is protected by our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service