At CMS we have learned that developing an effective sales strategy for a small or medium-size building contractor does not need to be complicated or expensive. One of our CMS sales hunters would be able to deliver results for your business through one concentrated sales day per week. From this day of sales hunting we’d expect to generate one or two appointments for the directors with targeted potential work providers. We’d be looking to secure 3 – 5 tenders a month.
Sounds good, doesn’t it? A small company can achieve serious growth from just two to four dedicated sales days a month.
But we can’t work from nothing. The marketing foundations need to be in place to build from. So before you call us in, make sure you’ve got the following in your marketing toolbox:
- A serious, long-term commitment from the directors and managers to the active sales strategy. Growth doesn’t happen overnight, and sales can’t be considered a quick fix. It’s about building relationships, not just delivering a handful of new contacts.
- A strong, attractive and effective corporate identity. You need an identity that makes you memorable, that communicates trust and professionalism. Make sure it’s applied consistently across everything you do.
- Clear thinking about the company’s market focus, so that your salesperson can prioritise and target the best and most appropriate business. What sort of work are you after? What’s your ideal job, and who can provide it?
- Effective marketing resources for introducing the company and following up contacts – i.e. a brochure, website, email material, case studies, etc.
- Great market intelligence – that means among other things a well selected set of project sales leads to work from, from planning lead providers such as Glenigan or Barbour ABI.
- How does your company fare on that checklist? Is there anything that could be improved? The stronger your marketing platform, the more effective your sales agents can be when they hit the phones and start making connections.
