™Marketing Magazine Issue 16 | Page 29

SALES INSIGHTS that pre-dated Ford . If we could rewire our sales and marketing process into a Henry Ford assembly line machine , it could increase our efficiency in generating new clients .
At Tulip Media Group , we divide the business development process into an 8-step “ SMarketing ” business development assembly line :
1 . Prospecting / researching new leads : the stage where you identify your ideal client and how you ’ re going to reach out to them
2 . Lead generation / interest from new leads : typically done on websites with a free guide or a place to leave an email so that you can contact them later
3 . Introductory meeting with those leads : an discovery call ( or video on a website ) to qualify the lead and determine if there is a potential fit
4 . Product / service demo : a video call where you gain a deeper understanding of their needs and the service is demonstrated to the prospect
5 . Strategy session : a call with the prospect to determine how your services would best serve them
6 . Confirmation call : answering any questions they may have
7 . Finishing call : asking the prospect for the sale
8 . Closing the sale : a contract is signed , deposit is paid , and you move forward
Once your assembly line is clarified , the question then becomes , how do you optimize and automate steps along that assembly line ?
Typically , we can automate the prospecting stage with content marketing , SEO , and pay-per-click ( PPC ) advertising . It allows us to take our hands off the prospecting steering wheel .
At Tulip Media , we created effective StoryBrand messaging for our website and marketing campaigns . With this messaging , we are able to generate highly-qualified leads that are automatically dropped into our sales funnel . Our team is able to have a quick introductory call with the qualified lead to learn more and move them to the next step in the process .
If the leads make it through these steps , it then goes to our production team for an online demo that is created specifically for them . Following the demo and follow-up calls , we have one or two people on the team who are the best at closing the sale . Three entire steps of the development assembly line are fully automated , leaving five remaining steps that are done by a few people on the team .
The beauty of a process that is finely tuned like this is that it allows us to generate more or fewer leads just by flipping the first lever on our business development assembly line , our PPC spend .
When creating your own assembly line , start by examining your company and breaking down the entire business development process into steps . Figure out what each step is and then figure out how you can best optimize each of those steps . Then you can start implementing automated systems that will work for you 24 / 7 , and provide your team with leads and opportunities while you sleep . Suddenly your quality and volume of sales goes up while doing less work . Identifying the steps within your business development process and unifying your sales and marketing can result in big wins in the long run .
A system comprised of consistent and reliable business development strategies that you can tweak based on your capacity is the ultimate goal you want to strive for . It is the heartbeat of any business . When you can control the influx of new clients by simply pulling a few levers , you truly are in control of your growth .
Andy Buyting ' s thought leadership journey started when he published his first business book in 2007 and first magazines in 2009 . Since that time , he has leveraged custom magazines and online digital content strategies to establish himself as a leading authority in content marketing and brand positioning . Through his company , Tulip Media , Andy and his team make these content marketing strategies and tools accessible to their Client-Partners .
www . TM . Media
TULIPMEDIAGROUP . COM | 29