Increase Your Opportunities To Sell To Small And Medium Sized Enterprises

The art of selling is a special skill that all of us at some point have tried, whether consciously or subconsciously. For example, think about the last time you applied for a job and attended an interview. You were selling your skills, qualifications and experience to progress your career. Whether you realised at the time or not you were actually ‘selling’. Granted, this is an indirect form of selling as opposed to the more traditional forms that we are accustomed to. Nevertheless, selling is a crucial part of life that we should all embrace and try to develop.

Over the last few weeks our blogs have focused on the methodology for selling mobile apps and the psychology driving mobile app sales. This week we wanted to continue the selling theme as it is fundamental to the success of any business but really zoom into selling to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

Think of SMEs as the heartbeat of any successful economy as it creates jobs, stimulates growth and leads to prosperity. Taking the UK as an example, SMEs make up over 95% of the economy and contributed an annual turnover of £1.8 trillion in 2015. With similar numbers in other countries, SMEs are the major source for business to business sales.

However, with many SME owners becoming increasingly busy in today’s competitive environment, we have devised a number of tips that can increase your opportunities to do business within this sector.

One of the major concerns for many SMEs is the cost of acquiring a new product or service for their business. Whether it is a mobile app or a new point of sale system, SME owners are inherently conscious about the cost to their business and risk averse. As a result, it is crucial that you provide them with real proof and value very early on during your discussions. A great way to demonstrate this is through case studies, testimonials and reviews from existing customers that show the impact your product or service has already had on similar businesses thereby providing social proof.

Nothing frustrates a SME owner more than the feeling of being deceived or underwhelmed by the end product or service. Whether intentional or unintentional, if businesses feel a lack of value or the sales promise does not translate to their business they will not be happy. Therefore, it is vitally important that you continue the dialogue, enthusiasm and communication from pre-sale to after sales support. Putting in measures to maximise the impact of the product or service after the initial sale will lead to building a long term relationship with each SME client. Although many SME owners have the patience to let the product or service get up and running, they will be keeping a close eye on it to see the potential returns.

For most large businesses, investing in a product or service for the long term is quite a normal occurrence as they have the infrastructure, resources and budget to wait for long term results. However, for many SME owners waiting for long term results is not feasible as they are looking for an immediate return. It is therefore crucial that the value you promised them initially can be quickly delivered. Taking a mobile app as an example, immediate value could mean a specific number of downloads or customer enrolments into a loyalty program. By showing a SME owner value in the short term it makes the long term management of the relationship much easier.

Many SME owners know other business owners within their community whom they trust. Working with SME owners and delivering real value allows you the opportunity to be introduced to other potential business clients. If your product or service has already produced results for one business, that business owner is more likely to refer you to others. Building a referral system that is easy and potentially incentivises SMEs to refer you to others is great way to expose you to potentially more clients.

Working with larger businesses usually entails working with a single point of contact within the business and rarely affords you the opportunity to mix with senior management or the owner. One of the most enjoyable aspects of working with SMEs is the access you have to the owner or key decision maker within a business. If you can show the SME owner how you are adding value it will ensure that you have a strong and profitable long term relationship.

As we have seen throughout the course of this blog, there are many opportunities to sell to SMEs if you focus on the crucial areas that matter most to them. The key thing to remember is to add value and communicate frequently with SME owners. To find out how Eazi-Apps can help you sell mobile apps to SMEs, please contact us today.