There’s a secret to creating successful sales campaigns, but it’s not the mystery you think it is. Here’s what the best salespeople already know.
As successful sales campaigns go, you don’t have to look far to find a few winners. The “Share a Coke” campaign from Coca-Cola boosted sales by 2.5%, according to the Wall Street Journal. And while that may not seem like a lot, consider the fact that sales of Coca-Cola had fallen for 11 straight years at that point. There’s also the not-so-inconsequential fact that 2.5% of more than $30 billion in sales is $750 million. We feel safe in saying that’s a successful sales and marketing campaign.
Coca-Cola isn’t the only example, though. Think about campaign slogans like, “Got Milk?” or “Snickers really satisfies.” These are big examples, of course. Few of us are working with the large teams and enormous budgets of these national and international businesses. Still, there is a lot we can take from successful sales campaigns like these that can apply to smaller businesses. Whether you’re working with a sales team of one or one hundred, there are some basic sales principles, and some creative approaches, that can help you close out the month strong.
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All successful sales campaigns have one critical element in common: a goal. That goal may be as simple as boosting brand recognition, or it could be ambitious, such as increasing sales of Product X by 40% over three months.
You get to decide what your goal is, but no matter what, you have to have one. Your goal is the destination that determines how you will set up your roadmap, and the more specific you can get, the better. If you want to drive from Philadelphia to the west coast of the U.S., there are any number of ways you could go and roughly 2,000 miles worth of potential destinations. But if you wanted to drive from Philadelphia to the San Diego Zoo, you can plan your route with pinpoint accuracy.
With your goal in place, it’s time to prepare. How? Define your audience, create your call list, then get your sales script in order. Write or adjust your email templates, so when you need to send an informational or follow-up email, you can do it while you’re still on a call. We aren’t privy to Coca-Cola’s inside workings, but it’s a safe bet that they had a goal, and they carefully crafted their PR releases, commercials, social media campaigns, and the entire marketing approach to achieve that goal.
Most successful sales campaigns have a start and a review date, as well. You’ll want to evaluate your campaign to ensure it is working, and to make adjustments if it isn’t working. It’s evident in the “Share a Coke” example that Coca-Cola reviewed their campaign because they went on to expand and adjust it.
The campaign was originally launched in Australia in 2011. The wrapping around the Coke bottles included the slogan, “Share a Coke with…” followed by one of the 150 most popular names in the country. The campaign was successful enough that it was introduced in the U.S. in 2014, and in 2016 it was updated to, “Share a Coke and a Song.” Well-known, and carefully-curated song lyrics adorned the labels of the soft drinks.
While Coca-Cola has the resources to monitor and refine their marketing and sales campaigns continually, it doesn’t take a large team to do that. In fact, with the right auto-dialing software, you can monitor and get real-time reports on your campaigns with just the click of a button.
Setting a goal, and making appropriate adjustments to reach that goal are the basics, of course, but what about the details? What can you do to create successful sales campaigns over and over? Align and streamline your sales process. Before you make that first sales call, you need to know what your entire sales process looks like, from beginning to end.
- Create a template for cold calls, as well as warm leads.
- Create emails for each step of the process that you can then send to corresponding prospects as needed.
- For cold calls, ensure you have a method for recording information about your call.
- For warm calls, ensure you review information from previous calls with your prospects. (This is especially easy with Call Logic; you get a pop-up screen with all the information right in front of you.)
- Record a voicemail. You will need to leave voicemails on a large number of your calls. You don’t want to get stuck doing that manually. A pre-recorded voicemail (along with the system to deliver it) can save you hours.
- Contact your existing customers and clients. Depending on your industry, this may be more or less possible. But even in real estate, for example, you can always reach out to past clients to share a new service you offer. If it’s something they aren’t interested in, ask for referrals. Remember, your existing customers are your greatest source of new business, whether that’s directly from them or through their network.
The secret to closing the month on a strong note
Any of these tips can help you create successful sales campaigns to end the month on a positive. Here’s the real secret to success, though. None of these tips will work magic if you decide you’re going to buckle down and work late nights for just the last week of the month.
If you want to be successful in sales, you have to work at it regularly. These tips will work. Call templates are your friend. Auto-dialing software can streamline your work. But you have to keep at it. The most successful sales campaigns are the ones that put in the effort and make things happen.
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