Removing the Barrier to New Customer Acquisition

When we talk with companies, their biggest challenges are growing revenues through new customer acquisition.

Companies have robust records of success with their existing customer base but are confronted with a barrier to securing new customers.

To understand why new business is so difficult for some companies, we conducted numerous interviews with top sellers and senior sales leaders. We led several studies of our own, combining our experience in hiring and managing sales forces.

We found that successful companies recognise that the sales process for new customers requires more allocation of time and manage different objections and barriers by comparison to existing customers. Time allocations include:

• 38% more time meeting with customers
• The meetings are in-person, educating buyers investing some 36% more time in those meetings
• Companies are evaluating a completely new product requiring broader consensus within a company and an additional 40% more time meeting with customers’ cross-functional teams.
• The time investment in new customers is considerably higher, and the sales process can be extended 4 to 6 times longer.

Do your salespeople have that amount of time available to invest in new business and service existing customers?

We also found that New Business Sellers are different

1. Those who excel have traits and behaviours different from those of people who successfully sell to existing customers. They don’t just fit into the team.
2. They require different compensation packages to ignite them and reward the additional effort.
3. They require a different management style from those that focus on customer relationships
4. They need different marketing support to excel in their role
5. They are more influential in all stages of the sales process, not just some parts.
6. They can be more demanding individuals within the business.

When hiring, new business sellers are seen as a person that would not fit into the company culture and way of doing business.

The best companies develop sales organisations and cultures to support new business salespeople in rising to the challenge.

• They embrace rising stars.
• They hire a different profile of a person
• They embrace different management styles, compensation, tools, and marketing to assist them in delivering the results.
• They focus on breaking down the barriers and testing customer engagement at all stages of the process.

Ensuring you have the right culture and processes to support new business acquisition will increase your level of success. Reach out to us today to discuss your specific business situation.

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You may also like to read these articles:

• The Contemporary Sales Organisation
• Breaking Through The Sales Revenue Barrier
• Finding New Customers to Increase Sales

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