How to Use Different Types of Sales Triggers to Boost Sales.

Now, there are two types of sales triggers: general and specific.

As we discussed previously, trigger events is about a certain change in the status quo that brings about a sales opportunity. From that change perspective, here is a descriptive, yet not exhaustive list:

-          Financial Change

• Positive/negative earnings
• Capital raise, funding, IPO
• Bankruptcy

-          Personnel Change

• Appointment/promotion of key executives
• Job postings

-          Legislative Change

• SOPA
• SarBox

-          Growth

• Expansion/ new locations
• Patent filing
• New product launches

Specific trigger events are only relevant to a certain industry or company. For example:

-          Engagement ring purchases are excellent sales triggers for wedding planners.

-          Issuance of building permits is a good trigger for construction companies and builders.

-          Hacker attacks are awesome trigger events for IT security companies.

-          Corporate debt downgrades are good triggers for turnaround consultancies and bankruptcy lawyers.

-          Etc., etc., etc.

Now to make this relevant, think hard what itch your product or service is helping scratch and, more importantly, what precursor events need to happen to for the itch to appear and – very important point – for your prospective client to become aware of the itch.

This point is paramount – for example, a hacker attack may go unnoticed and hence the prospective client may be unaware that they need to upgrade their IT security.

Now, go ahead and:

1.  Make a list of conditions or events that need to be present for your prospective clients to realize they have a need for the benefit that your product/service delivers.
2. Find sources, public or private, of this trigger event information. This can be Google Alerts, Factiva, various trade publications – both print and online.
3. For extra bonus: think how you can introduce the trigger event into your prospects mind, so that you actively drive the process instead of reacting to outside events.

This last point begs an example: HubSpot, an inbound marketing company, recently introduced a free tool called WebSiteGrader that grades any website on parameters like SEO, social media, information architecture, etc. – you might have guessed that these are some of the services that HubSpot is selling.

The when you grade your site and find where you are lacking, it is only natural that you’d turn to HubSpot to fix your issues – a brilliant tool that creates sales triggers – realization that the website is lacking – out of thin air. Beautifully done.

You can find more on how to leverage sales trigger events – specifically, management changes – for technology sales at http://www.CTOsOnTheMove.com. Further, you can sign up for the limited, free version and paid, full version of the service at http://www.CTOsOnTheMove.com/pricing.html

Sales Trigger – Selling Umbrellas When it Rains

So what’s a sales trigger? “Sales trigger” is an event that changes the status quo for your prospect and therefore creates a potential sales opportunity for you.

“Selling umbrellas when it rains” is the best analogy I can think of.  If you live in New York City, you saw a million times those impromptu salesmen popping up on every corner with a selection of parasols with the first drops from the sky.

Now, the trigger event – rain – changed the status quo for the prospective buyer who is now looking at the $3,000 suit being destroyed by the downpour.  Immediately, the pain of the status quo becomes greater than the pain from parting with $5.

If you think of it, prior to the rain starting, the salesmen could stalk people on the street, shout about the weather forecast, deploy telemarketers, invest in social media; however I’d bet they would NOT generate the same sales because the immediate and urgent need would not be realized by all the prospective buyers.

How does this relate to you? If you:

-          Identify your market – prospective companies, specific titles/roles within those organizations

-          Identify the type trigger events – management change, capital infusion, bankruptcy, merger – that are most likely to create a sales opportunity for you

-          Design a process to track those events – through Google alerts, news clipping services, etc.

-          Integrate specific actions – dedicated emails, phone calls, etc. – into your current marketing campaign,

… then you may see that incredible lift in response rates compared to the traditional “push” type marketing and sales efforts.  All you may have to do to close a sale is to “make your prospects aware that it started raining…”

You can find more on how to leverage sales trigger events – specifically, management changes – for technology sales at http://www.CTOsOnTheMove.com. Further, you can sign up for the limited, free version and paid, full version of the service at http://www.CTOsOnTheMove.com/pricing.html