Start 2018 Off With Some Quick Wins

It’s almost the new year, and with it, new budgets, new projects, new customers and more. Customers come back to life after the holiday season looking to get back to work with their own initiatives, making the first month of 2018 extremely important in our sales and marketing activities.

Here are 10 simple ways you can start 2018 off with some quick wins.

1. Just ask. You might be surprised how many distributors release email messages that lack simple call to action. Adding a “Contact Me,” button or link to your website is a simple way to boost engagement.
2. Start a conversation. The new year is a great excuse to put yourself in your customers’ planning cycles. They are starting to get busy and need the help and you can position new business as a solution. The key is to make the conversation about them and keep it two-way. Train your reps to really listen to gather cues about new needs, purchasing trends and competitive information.
3. Be social. Share ideas on social media – Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook. Explain how you’ve helped other customers. Share photos of training events. Share photos of your counter sales or new product information. Share personal information like new employees, hobbies, charitable giving and more.
4. Follow up on open bids. Just because last year is over, it doesn’t mean your open bids are useless. Use SMP to help you find and create follow up activities on your most important open bids and quotes.
5. Go with what worked best in 2017. What offers, sales messages and email subject lines performed best for you in 2017? Start out with the best of those in 2018 to get sales moving quickly.
6. Give gifts. Many customers of distribution companies also shop for their own needs. Make it easy for them to buy for their homes or own projects buy giving purchasing incentives in January.
7. Promote unique services. Can you offer new delivery times and methods? How can you better meet job requirements? How can you help your customers win more deals? Now is the time to promote what makes you stand out in 2018.
8. Stay top of mind. A lot of B2B purchases happen out of convenience. There is a quick job your customer sold and they need parts today. A job is finishing but they forgot a couple of important assemblies. Whatever their need is, convenience shoppers need constant reminders that you can serve them quickly.
9. Offer an account review. SMPs self-service dashboards allow you to quickly tell your customers’ stories with interactive visuals based on their own data. You will impress your customers with your knowledge of their preferences and purchases and help them meet their needs better in 2018.
10. Send a video. These days, video is both more effective and easier to create than ever. Take your mobile phone into the warehouse and record your team in action. Shoot a quick training video on a new product. Interview a frequent customer about why they do business with you.