Business
Inside Versus Outside Sales
If we were to think about how people purchase stuff nowadays and how they used to do it ten years ago, we would find that things have changed quite a little bit. Because of the technological advancements that were made so far and thanks to the Internet, people who are looking to buy things online are now doing extensive research before even contacting a sales representative – and this means that every sales team is required to adapt accordingly, just like people started to research interview questions to be hired before even applying for a job in their fields of work.
Why Are Inside Sales the Future
The first reason that comes to mind is, clearly, the improvement of video conferencing and the fact that it will change the way we do things in the future. There are several available tools, such as Skype, Zoom, and WebEx, that give sales representatives the option to communicate easily and quickly with their customers without the need of being physically there. This can cut huge costs that are required for traveling, such as time and money.
For example, just think about the effort and the time that is invested in scheduling ten meetings with people in ten different locations around the country. Fun fact: Scientists have estimated that, in the future, around 85% of the buyer/seller transactions are expected to happen in an online environment, via video calls and social media. Video conferencing is the future, and the number of people joining this movement is exponentially growing from month to month.
Internet meetings will be a mandatory skill for any salesperson, as Internet meetings will slowly replace the typical face-to-face meetings, in which the salesperson delivers his speech and tries to sell his products/services to a potential client. Internet meetings have many pluses, such as:
- the time spent in traffic will be eliminated
- people from all over the world will be able to connect with each other in a matter of minutes
- traveling costs will be eliminated
- more free time for the employees, as they will be saving all that time spent commuting
In this scenario, technology plays an important part in enabling the sales team, as it can give them an edge by allowing the team to be more productive and efficient than their counterparts, that are on the field. This is one of the many reasons why inside sales have a massive momentum right now, as virtual meetings are starting to slowly replace the face-to-face classic business meetings. You can say goodbye to those long lunches and the rounds of golf that usually happen afterward.
You Will Find the Best Candidates in a Different Way
Even if we like it or not, the corporate world is going through some changes, and we will have to adapt, as businesses nowadays are starting to find the best candidates through different methods, and the traditional way of standard working hours will change towards more flexible people. Salespeople are starting to close out deals on their phones, even outside working hours. In this movement, the rise of inside sales has been an important part of supporting the change, ultimately resulting in a happier sales representative and an increased satisfaction factor for the customers.
The cost savings are increasingly substantial, as it has been observed how the average cost of sales has seen a significant drop of 50-90% in comparison with the traditional way of sales field. It is no wonder that inside sales teams are expected to replace the traditional way by the end of this decade. If you check this website here, you will be able to discover new methods, through which you can get emails and help your inside sales team to find the appropriate leads, and follow through with them.
Inside sales have a long list of pros that can speak for themselves, and if we were to look from a sales rep perspective, it is a more convenient method in comparison with the old-school field sales. It helps them focus more on their customers and less on travelling and commuting. This ultimately brings much happier sales reps that will be motivated to achieve their goals without wasting any time on unnecessary things.
Behaviors and Preferences are Changing
The buyers of today have the tendency to do exhaustive online research on the product they desire, and only afterward, they will contact a sales representative, meaning that they will already have most of the product knowledge. As a matter of fact, it is known that buyers are already at 60-90% of the buying process before even engaging a sales rep. With that in mind and the fact that your customers are probably facing a very busy schedule, it’s pretty easy to digest the fact that almost 70% of the customers are choosing to work with an inside sales team.
The way salespeople find contacts, has changed over the years, as social media profiles have become a gold mine when it comes to finding out their prospects’ areas of interest or requirements. As a result, you will be able to have personalized discussions with your prospect and increase the chances of building a stronger relationship. Now, to back this up with some statistics, we will have you know that a whopping 72% of the sales representatives have updated their sales process and added “social selling” in their repertoire.
The sales methods field has always worked so far, so we cannot discredit them and give up on them, as there is still a place and a time for the traditional methods. The fact that face-to-face business meetings have the ability to help you strengthen your relationship with a customer is undeniable, and it will surely contribute to the success rate of sales teams, bringing them closer to their business objectives.
If you’re planning to start a landscaping business, you’re going to need the right equipment to get the job done. Investing in high-quality equipment is essential for ensuring that you can provide top-notch services to your clients. Many of the options in this list are a must to buy, while others can be rented out for the day or week, depending on how long you need them.
What’s critical is, of course, maintenance. Always get a shadow board and other storage units to go alongside these tools and equipment. This way, you can safely transport the necessary tools to the job and minimize injuries. Since there’s a place for everything, your workers can find what they need faster, there will be less damage overall, and you’ll look more professional.
So, keeping in mind you’ll need a way to store every item in this list, here are some essentials you’ll need to get started:
- Plant Tools
Some of the most important landscaping tools you’ll need are plant tools, but these come at exceptionally high prices. Don’t worry. There is no need to keep all the plant tools you’d need for every job on hand. Instead, rent it. By properly planning out the schedule, you can rent those specialist plant tools like excavators for a day or even a few weeks and incorporate that cost into your quote.
- Surveying Equipment
Surveying equipment is essential for any landscaping business. This equipment helps you accurately measure and plan landscaping projects, ensuring you get the job done right the first time. From measuring tapes and levels to a transit, several options will help you get the job done quickly.
- Cutting Tools
There are many different materials you’ll need to cut down to size, from metal to stone. To make precise cuts safely, you’ll need a range of professional cutting tools like handheld saws, circular saws, and reciprocating saws. In addition to these saws, you’ll also need to make sure you have all the PPE on hand to prevent workers from inhaling the dust or getting it into their eyes.
- Gardening Equipment
No landscaping business is complete without a selection of essential gardening tools like lawnmowers, shovels, rakes, or pruning shears. These tools are essential for planting, digging, and maintaining landscaping beds. Look for high-quality, durable hand tools that can withstand frequent use.
- Trailer or Truck
You’ll need a trailer or truck to transport all of your equipment to job sites. A trailer is a more affordable option, while a truck provides more storage and towing capacity. Look for models that are large enough to accommodate all of your equipment and durable enough to withstand frequent use.
- Safety Equipment
Finally, don’t forget about safety equipment. As a landscaping business owner, it’s your responsibility to keep yourself and your employees safe while on the job. This includes personal protective equipment, such as gloves, safety glasses, ear protection, and warning signs and cones for job sites.
Moving your business can be incredibly difficult, and it can put pressure on your business in several ways, especially on your finances. As such, if you are worried about how the move will affect your company’s bank account, here is what you should factor into your budget when moving your business.
Storage
Although you may not think that you will need storage because, in an ideal world, you would simply transport your supplies and equipment from one location to another, that is not always the case. So, if something is getting in the way of your being able to move your office supplies and equipment easily, you should consider investing in self-storage units. These units can enable you to have somewhere safe to store all your different pieces of equipment without them getting damaged or having to give up any of your prized office supplies. Therefore, if you have an overwhelming amount of equipment to move and want to do this gradually, you should make sure that a self-storage unit from a company like StorageArea.com is within your budget. Any spending that can make the move easier for you is a good use of your money.
Packaging
Although you might be able to acquire spare boxes from your warehouse or get them off free online listings, if you want to keep your possessions safe, you will likely need to invest in some top-quality packaging materials. However, you should make sure that you only buy the packaging that you need and that you reuse any old packaging that you already have so that you can save money and care for the environment. This will cut your spending in the long run, though, as this will ensure that you will not have to pay out an extortionate amount to replace any supplies or equipment that have been lost or damaged in the move.
Moving Vans
It is unlikely that you will be able to move all your office supplies and equipment in a car, especially if you want to transport these all at once. So, you should make sure that there is room to hire a moving van within your budget and that you set these funds aside. By hiring moving services, you will also be able to make the move simpler and quicker as the moving professionals that come with these services will be able to help you to pack and transport the items that you are keeping, as well as unload the van at your destination. You will then not have the hassle of moving all these office items yourself.
So, if you are about to move your business to a new location, there are many aspects that you might have forgotten but which are essential to include within your budget, from moving vans to packaging. You should also not forget expenses outside of the move itself, such as the need to provide employee relocation packages. This will ensure that you do not end up finding that your move is unaffordable for your company by the middle of the move.
So you want to start an ecommerce business as a complete beginner but don’t know exactly how to go about it, right?
Read along to make sure you’re taking the right steps towards running a successful ecommerce business.
How to Find a Market you Can Sell to Online
”Amazing things will happen when you listen to the customer” – Jonathan Midenhall
You know why the internet is littered with corpses of over a billion failed ecommerce websites?
People are selling what others don’t want. Heck, many business owners hate working on their businesses.
Running a business is much an experience, a service and product, to you as it is to your customer. If you don’t have some sort of connection to your business that surpasses just making money for its sake, you won’t be strong enough to weather the storm of entrepreneurship that’s surely coming your way.
But don’t be scared, you have it in you to win, you just haven’t realized it yet. Doubt me? Okay see…
Your business could help provide extra income for you and your family in these unprecedented times. That connection and duty to serve your family, is the motivation you need. Passion for your business could be another connection to help you do what’s necessary to succeed. Being tired of being at another human being’s mercy could be it for you.
Let one of those emotional subjects drive you. With that said, find a hungry market. It’s simply a group of people that have a problem you can solve. It would be better if that service or product is connected to your hobby or passion. A hobbyist writer can offer content writing services to companies on the internet.
How to Find Products to Sell Online
As we discussed above, if your passions are aligned with the problems companies need online, then you could sell that as a service or product. Someone who likes woodworking, could sell crafts to wood enthusiasts through their ecommerce store or marketplace.
But services and products don’t have to be about writing and crafting. There are many ecommerce business models out there to explore and adopt. For example, the woodworker could decide to sell woodworking tools through affiliate partnerships to fellow woodworkers that follow him.
A writer could do the same, by selling tech writing tools to blog readers who are aspiring writers themselves. A software engineer could create a Software as a Service company to help make business processes easier for a certain industry eg Online Marketing (HubSpot)
And if you’re just passionate about commerce, you could use the numerous online marketplaces to buy products on the cheap on one platform and resell at a higher price on another. This is known as ecommerce arbitrage. You could also decide to dropship products through a website store of your own if you don’t want to deal with inventory.
How to Setup Your Website and Register Your Business
Depending on what type of ecommerce business you want to start, there are many ways to create and launch your website online.
If you’re more of a service provider and freelancer, go for websites that have the drag and drop feature for an easy experience.
Affiliate marketers and content creators should use something with a content management system that gives its users the most customization options. They just have to find good themes for an attractive website design.
Register your business as a corporation preferably a C corporation to take advantage of the tax benefits associated with such companies.
How to Run Profitable Sales and Marketing Campaigns
Once you have your website set up and your business registered, plan out a paid and/or organic marketing strategy.
Organic content marketing is best suited for affiliate marketers and store owners on a budget with free time on their hands. Freelancers can start cold pitching their prospects through email.
If you have funds and a stomach to lose a chunk of it before you actually make a profit, go with paid marketing strategies.
Another thing to consider is buying a small profitable ecommerce business on online marketplaces. You can bypass all the grunt work of starting a profitable business, and now have a system that works.
How to Iterate and Optimize Business Strategies
Business strategies and tactics will always change because the human condition is always changing. Keep tabs on marketing metrics and sales statistics to monitor the health of your business. Execute your ideas and watch to see what works. Then do more of what works while shutting down failed experiments.
Your Time Starts Now…
Don’t wait another minute, spend the next hour selecting your niche and a business model that suits you. And start setting up your website. Make an effort towards your ecommerce business everyday and soon you’ll have a successful one.
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