Webinar Recap: Effective Sales for Food Businesses
The world of sales can seem daunting, but mastering it is crucial to turning your brand into a profitable business. In this webinar, Jo Densley explores the process of developing and executing sales for food startups and growing food businesses. From creating a solid list of prospects to deploying sales campaigns, the webinar aims to help you get more confident about selling. Many clients that Jo works with used to think that selling was a big, scary and complicated task. In the webinar, Jo seeks to demystify that because the selling part of your role as a food business owner is what makes your business grow.
One potential challenge when it comes to sales is the initial time investment required to set up the systems and processes that will deliver your success. However, the long-term benefits of a structured sales approach far outweigh the initial setup time. Overcoming potential setbacks requires regular review and adaptation of strategies, which can be facilitated through monthly reviews of sales goals and outcomes. Additionally, you can get help to put your sales activity on the right track – either as coaching and support or a fully-outsourced sales team.
Agenda
- Building and maintaining a list of prospects
- Strategies for targeting and executing sales campaigns
- Practical approaches for contacting buyers
- Tips for engaging retailers
- How to follow up and handle buyer feedback
- The importance of continual analysis and review of your sales strategy
Key Takeaways
- Building a Prospect List: Jo stresses the importance of creating and maintaining an up-to-date prospect list through research. This is almost always better than purchasing lists, which can be of low quality or out of date. Using online resources, trade publications, attending events, engaging on social media (especially LinkedIn), and direct outreach are the recommended strategies to build contacts and understanding of your target buyers and retailers.
- Sales Campaign Execution: Successful campaigns require detailed planning and clear monthly targets such as conversion and turnover.
- Approaching Buyers: Selecting the correct communication method – whether telephone, email or in-person visits – and tailoring to the retailer’s size is critical. Jo highlights the need to include core product details and benefits that are tailored to the buyer’s needs and objectives, as well as providing evidence of existing sales and consumer interest.
- Follow-up and Evaluation: Persistence in following up until achieving a definitive answer is crucial. Jo recommended analysing feedback and maintaining relationships. Reviewing activities, actions, and results every month helps you refine and improve.
Additional Resources
