Publisher's Synopsis
Are you an exhausted rainmaker? Do you struggle to maintain the focus of your sales team? Do your prospects say "quality" and then make decisions based on price? Are you really tired of the bidding game? So begins The Contractor's CODE For Marketing and Sales, a book that promises to revolutionize small and mid-size business development, especially as it pertains to sales and marketing-the core of any business. The book is based on a proprietary program, also called CODE(TM)-Communication-Organization-Documentation-Evaluation(TM)-that was developed by Elizabeth Allen and first introduced to business clients in 2001. After assisting in the sales and marketing turnaround of numerous organizations, and watching the enthusiastic responses of countless executives and managers at seminars and presentations conducted throughout the United States, CODE is now available in book form. This book trains companies to think and act differently in how they manage the sales process: 1.Take the emphasis off of bids and price, improving profit and quality. 2.Develop a sustainable sales organization that is not dependent on just one person. 3.Effectively utilize junior level talent in the sales effort. 4.Develop effective relationships between advertising, marketing, and sales efforts. From its construction industry beginnings, CODE is now being adapted as a "best practice" by contractors and sub-contractors throughout industry. While the book is written directly for the construction industry audience, the book applies to consulting firms of virtually any type, such as accounting firms, multinational engineering companies, healthcare providers, technology distributors and a wide variety of entrepreneurs. The Contractor's CODE for Sales and Marketing will specifically address: -How to market your firm in the most cost-effective manner possible to build an effective and compelling brand image. This applies to start-up as well as established companies looking to reposition or reinvent themselves. -How to manage the four actionable sales phases: Lead Generation, Lead Qualification, The Sales Pitch and Post-Sales Activities. -How to organize your prospecting efforts so that you can "predictably fill the prospect pipeline" and end all guessing when it comes to assessing where someone is in the sales process or wondering "what the next step should be." -How to and where to find prospects when they don't easily identify themselves; how you can get a step ahead of everyone else so that you can identify and impact prospects before they even realize that they are prospects. -How to effectively position your company from the customer's perspective so that, from the first contact forward, you have a distinct advantage over the competition. -How to effectively coach CODE for each key role in the company, focusing on issues specific to the prospector, technology expert and closer. -How to qualify and categorize each lead, so that you don't invest valuable internal resources on leads that aren't going anywhere. -The importance of setting an agenda for each point of contact with a prospect, so that each contact is meaningful. -Methods to stay focused and motivated when you are in a very long sales process, one that can take anywhere from 18 to 24 months. -How to address clearly and with purpose the issues of price, proprietary solutions and competition so that you control and manage the expectations of the prospect through a series of disclosures that puts you in the driver's seat throughout your sales effort. -Use of communication techniques to take the emphasis away from price. Know the CODE, and win jobs with NO MORE BIDS!
