Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their very own.
If you’re purchasing for a pair of recent trainers, how lengthy does it sometimes take you to decide? For those who’re choosy, the method may take months. Irrespective of which business you use in, gross sales cycles have the potential to take longer than they need to.
Whereas components do embrace choosy buyers (even I’ve been recognized to look far and broad for the right costume), sure advertising and marketing techniques can nonetheless persuade probably the most difficult prospects.
A recent survey reported that 74% of businesses say gross sales cycles are getting longer. That interprets to spending extra assets (money and time) to generate flatlined outcomes.
In operating my very own enterprise, PostcardMania, I’ve confronted this and far more, but saved our progress on an upward trajectory. Actually, final yr set a brand new income document for us at $119 million, and we have grown 239% quicker within the final 5 years than we did within the earlier decade, averaging 17% annual income progress now versus 5% then.
Here is a breakdown of the road-tested advertising and marketing techniques which have helped me speed up our progress and shorten the sales cycle.
Associated: How to Shorten Your Sales Cycle and Convert More Leads
Step 1: Develop the highest of the funnel by rising leads with out spending extra — that is how I lowered my common price per lead
About 28% of businesses say producing leads is a problem. My prime technique is easy: Do not cease advertising and marketing, and stay constant.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, many firms determined to chop again on their advertising and marketing funds, however I held quick.
My resolution to proceed marketing consistently all through the pandemic resulted in a 9.24% improve in leads — an extra 186 leads per week — with none elevated prices or doing something in another way. In any case was mentioned and executed, PostcardMania’s annual income was up 10% that yr regardless of the chaos.
However for many who in the reduction of on their advertising and marketing, analysis exhibits they seemingly suffered.
A recent study examined the long-term results when two massive manufacturers beneath monetary strain in the reduction of on promoting. One lower their advertising and marketing spend by 27% and the opposite by 65%. Within the first quarter following the cuts, the primary firm noticed income drop 66%, and the opposite was down 51%.
This examine simply goes to display one thing I have been saying for many years: You must market constantly, week in and week out, if you wish to develop your corporation.
It does not matter which advertising and marketing channel you select. Simply be sure to’re tracking your marketing and responses to be able to attribute your new prospects and gross sales precisely to know what’s working and what is not.
As soon as you realize what works for your corporation, do extra of it! And for those who can, put it on autopilot.
One in every of my shoppers, an actual property investor, carried out a unsolicited mail automation that mechanically despatched postcards to individuals who visited his web site for greater than 30 seconds with out changing. After mailing simply over 100 of those mailers, he closed two new gross sales price $70,000.
Since these automated campaigns run day by day, this implies you possibly can have new leads each single day. This might compound over time and finally generate a complete new checklist of recent prospects for you.
Associated: How I Built a Sales Funnel That Generates Over $80 Million
Step 2: Evaluation your lead follow-up funnel and contemplate creating a greater stability of on-line and offline communications
Following up with prospects is simply as necessary as producing new leads. In my expertise, the best stability of on-line and offline communications helps transfer leads down the gross sales funnel to buy.
And the analysis backs me up right here — research present that built-in unsolicited mail and digital campaigns elicit 39% more attention than single-media digital campaigns. Actually, practically 2 out of 3 consumers (60%) say they’re extraordinarily or very seemingly to answer promoting they see throughout a number of channels.
Observe-ups are like reminders, and you should ship out numerous them to impress motion. Ideally, these reminders occur concurrently in an effort to preserve your model prime of thoughts. So if you’re mailing postcards weekly, you must also be operating on-line adverts on Instagram, Fb and Google, in addition to SMS messages and e mail.
These channels all work collectively to convey prospects again to your web site or choose up the cellphone to make a purchase order. Skilled entrepreneurs are in lockstep on this: 91% believe integrating unsolicited mail and digital has a optimistic affect on marketing campaign efficiency.
At PostcardMania, we proceed to mail postcards each single week, however we additionally prioritize pay-per-click adverts, remarketing, video-based ads on social media and day by day e mail blasts. All of those strategies collectively have helped us frequently improve our income yr over yr.
Associated: How to Boost Your Business With Direct Mail Automation and Retargeting — a Detailed Beginner’s Guide
Step 3: Discover different advertising and marketing channels to exchange a few of your e mail touchpoints
You might be generating leads with constant advertising and marketing, executing on-line and offline follow-up, however what in case your advertising and marketing messages aren’t even being seen or opened? This part of the gross sales funnel can final for a while earlier than a prospect makes a last buy.
E-mail is a prime methodology of communication for companies, but emails have a low open rate of 37% — and it may get even worse as extra shoppers are ignoring emails or mass deleting them. I do know I do! One study showed that emails and textual content messages have been the highest two most irritating channels on the subject of being bombarded with advertising and marketing.
About 33% of businesses struggle with declining open charges, however they are often improved by launching the best advertising and marketing campaigns
As an alternative of specializing in what’s normal, give attention to what works. The principle advertising and marketing technique I’ve used to attract prospects in has been unsolicited mail, and that has by no means modified for the previous 27 years.
I’ve constructed my enterprise from the bottom up with zero capital, based totally on unsolicited mail advertising and marketing, and immediately we make over $100 million in annual income. We began out mailing 1,000 postcards per week promoting our companies, and now we mail over 230,000 per week.
The information additionally do not lie; analysis confirms that unsolicited mail has a a lot increased open rate of 90%. A enterprise may also get round open charges altogether with postcards, catalogs or brochures because the recipient sees the message and pictures instantly. This provides your corporation a greater likelihood of constructing a long-lasting impression.
One other unsolicited mail benefit: much less competitors within the mailbox versus the inbox. Personally, I dislike fielding a whole lot of emails day-after-day. The USPS studies the typical family receives 7,750% more emails than mail items per day — a median of two unsolicited mail commercials versus 157 emails a day.
All of those strategies collectively have helped us frequently increase our revenue yr over yr. I’ve tackled my challenges head-on with these advertising and marketing strategies, and I do know with effort, you may do the identical.
