Convenience Services Operator Sales Tips For a Rebuilding Year

Published on Vending Times Feb. 22, 2021

After a long and arduous year, 2021 brings a fresh start. Now is the perfect opportunity to revamp your company’s sales and marketing plan if you haven’t yet. All over the country, we have spoken to convenience services operators that have lost from 20% to 40% of their business due to a work-at-home environment that is a little more longer-lasting than we would have imagined. Those that have suffered the most have a better portion of their business in the white collar space. But – have hope – there are brighter days ahead, and there is something you can do about it. 

As a side note, the PPP2 loan offers operators an opportunity to take a piece of the expenses pie that would have otherwise been spent on staff and operations, and put that towards marketing and sales to get new clients. Though the loan cannot be used directly for that purpose, it offers additional funds in the big picture with which to get back to whole. Now is the time to reflect on who you need to hire and outsource for skills and time that you as the owner lack in some areas. If you are truly committed to serious growth this year, in part to make up for the tough times nearly behind us, prospecting may be a great piece of the sales funnel for such a consideration. 

Prospect list and qualification 

Get started by evaluating your company’s prospect list. Identify your most qualified business opportunities. Take some time to reconstruct your target market and focus your attention on them. The pandemic has caused many businesses to change the way they do business, while others had to close down all together. It’s important to requalify your list to be sure you have the most practical targets during this time. Decide what factors make for the best segments to target. 

In order to optimize your team’s time and effort, create parameters around what opportunities are worthwhile. Qualification factors can include geographic location, on-site staff size minimums, industry classification, etc. A company that is a good fit for a micro market is often a different demographic than would be a better fit for vending. Nano markets are changing this, but either way, the research has to be done to identify what the marketing message should be. 

A quick search for your decision maker can go a long way in properly aligning your phone outreach and nurture campaign. Seek out a valid email for the decision maker so that there is an email newsletter nurturing those prospects behind the salespeople’s efforts. Reaching your prospects may not be easy, especially with many people working remotely, but prospects are hearing less marketing noise now, so when you do reach them, you will likely have a better experience speaking with them. 

Multi–channel approach

After qualification, use a multi–channel marketing approach to pursue prospects and further brand awareness. This tactic encourages companies to approach prospects and targets through various channels such as emails, phone calls, direct mail and social media. Some ideas on each platform include, but are not limited to: 

Monthly newsletters 

Start the year off fresh in the eyes of the prospect and inspire inbound calls from a monthly email campaign. Make sure content on the newsletter is simple, yet engaging for a human resources director or facilities manager. Be sure to include graphics and images to grab the prospect’s attention. Use links to other content, social media and your company website to give them a quick and easy avenue to explore. Create strong call-to-actions to inspire conversions. 

Appointment setting 

Outbound calls are imperative to get direct answers and narrow the large funnel into qualified prospects that have interest, but don’t necessarily call you. Through dialogue, you can differentiate those who want appointments, callbacks, further information or are not interested in what you offer. This will give you a better understanding of how much time to allocate to specific records in your prospect list, while reducing costs for techniques such as direct mail. 

Direct mail 

Do not neglect tactile resources when pursuing new targets. Using direct mail a few times a year is a traditional yet refreshingly underused avenue to pursue. Despite many channels moving online, people still open their mail, and while they’re getting less of it, you can get noticed. 

Press and blog opportunities 

Craft branded content that your target’s decision-maker(s) will read. Do you belong to local membership associations that would welcome content for their website or newsletter? Make a blog on your company’s website that includes articles and posts from trade magazines and other press opportunities. Original content is the perfect tactic to reach readers who may be interested in your business. This may be where they find you first, thusly creating additional organic inbound opportunities. 

Also consider translating your articles into videos or infographics will grab a viewer’s attention quickly. It’s important to have media variety in anticipation of different types of buying styles. Posting content on LinkedIn and any other social media platforms will ensure credibility. Include articles in email newsletters with easy access and eye catching headlines. 

Strategic alliances

Build a list of strategic alliances in your industry that can refer you to potential new business. Get creative by considering who else targets the facilities manager or HR director and see how you can form a referral system. Try to make it a mutually beneficial relationship as much as possible! Use the tactics listed above to nurture and refine your relationships. If you haven’t already, connect with your allies on LinkedIn or via newsletter announcements. Doing this will add them to your professional network and introduce you to more potential connections. 

Much has changed, but hopefully these tips will help you effectively market your company in 2021. It will take hard work and determination, but it will be worth it. If your company needs extra assistance, the seasoned MarketReach team is what you need. We specialize in prospect pre-qualification and high-level appointment setting for new business sales meetings. We also supplement your sales pipeline with monthly newsletters, LinkedIn Connection & Awareness programs, and sales collateral! Close deals, faster, with MarketReach. Give us a call at 609-448-6364.