If we think of a sale as a customer or end user, perhaps we will only see the specific moment of the transaction, but if we put ourselves in the role of the marketing expert, this would only be one more step in the entire process. To close a sale, it is essential to carry out a prior analysis of the brand, the competition, the sector, the products… and then, it will be necessary to design a sales cycle strategy in which each one of its seven actions is defined and concrete. stages.
If you have studied marketing, market research and sales, surely you already know this, but the most difficult thing is not to get a conversion but to know your audience so well that you are able to make them fall in love and be so creative that you never stop surprising them. to retain him.
Know the 7 stages of the sales cycle
As the competition evolves, improves, innovates and grows, it is necessary to pay more attention to the sales cycle, since the actions we take in each of these stages will be decisive. But, let’s start by defining what they are and what this flow of seven points consists of.
- Research or Prospecting: Potential customers are identified and sought after. Research is carried out and data is collected on potential customers who may be interested in the product or service offered.
- Qualification: In this phase, the quality of the leads identified in the previous stage is evaluated. It is analyzed if they meet the criteria established to become real customers. This implies determining if they have needs that can be satisfied by the product or service and if they have the economic capacity to acquire it.
- Connection: The goal of this stage is to get attention. The interaction with the potential client begins, which will be through the media that our target uses the most: social networks, mailing, organic searches, and offline media… it is important to adapt the message and form to each of these media.
- Presentation – Now is the time to present the products and services offered in more detail. Their characteristics, benefits and added value are highlighted, which will differentiate them from the competition. The goal is to persuade the potential customer and demonstrate how the product or service can meet their needs.
- Feedback and objections: in this stage, the seller deals with the criticisms or doubts raised by the client. His concerns are heard and convincing answers and arguments are provided to overcome objections and build customer confidence.
- Closing of sale: the sale is formalized, in which the client accepts the conditions and terms of purchase. This part is not only important because we achieve the objective, but also because we have the client’s trust and commitment, which we will then have to maintain.
- Follow-up : in the final stage is when we have to implement the most creative and innovative loyalty strategies to ensure that the client does not feel attracted to another brand and an emotional bond is created, which serves to choose us whenever they need one of our products or services.
How to get the first online sales
As you already know, each business is a world with its brand, its identity, its objectives, its target… but, even so, we want to guide you in the most commonly used actions to generate the first sales or, failing that, lead portfolio, so that you can continue working on your sales cycle strategy more consciously.
If you already have a product analyzed, niche and tested in a small context, you are prepared to perform these actions:
Generate traffic to your website: in the early stages it is very important to work on awareness, for this, you must develop an SEO strategy (that brings organic traffic to your website) and Paid Advertising in Google Ads (to increase the visits of users segmented by interest and other filters). Of course, these are the most basic options that you should do, but also consider investing in more aggressive ones such as affiliate marketing or capturing leads through social networks.
Campaigns with influencers: if your target is a regular on social networks and your product fits into them, do not hesitate to carry out influencer marketing campaigns to increase awareness. You can offer discounts and other types of benefits through the profiles of these digital prescribers to get leads.
Within these two large groups of strategies to make the first sales there are many variants and possibilities that you can carry out. Follow our blog closely to learn more about trends in digital business!
How to create stable and lasting relationships in the sales cycle
Once you have already achieved the first sales, the most difficult part comes, to make them repeat themselves. To do this, you must get one step closer to the user, make them a participant in your brand values and, of course, reward them for placing their trust in your business. To do this, you can do this:
Send emails with exclusive promotions: make them feel special with discounts, congratulations and birthday gifts, an attractive newsletter with content that provides solutions and everything you can think of that may be of interest to your closest audience.
Organize events only for top clients: if your brand lends itself to it, you can continue to strengthen links in the real world as well. Events are a very good option for the user experience to improve and go from the digital level to the tangible one, which takes it out of the same plane as the rest of the competitors and reinforces the memory.
And you? Have you ever carried out these or other strategies? Do you think it is important to work conscientiously at each stage of the sales cycle? At Educa.Pro, we continue to investigate new trends and news from the digital world. Follow us, we want to share it with you!