Sales Archives - Page 21 of 29

What to do when the market begins to pick up again

Posted on 26 May 20203 June 2025 by Doug Roots

In recent months the world has undergone a transformation. Most of us spent the first weeks of lockdown readjusting to new ways of working and living. Equally, most businesses spent those tentative early days of the pandemic finding their feet, testing systems and remote working arrangements. For many this time was hectic but in terms of normal business operations, decidedly unproductive.

It remains an uncertain time, and even the easing of lockdown rules represents a far cry from the normalcy we enjoyed only a few weeks ago. At some point we will be able to return to work, meet with our colleagues and clients again and return to a more familiar landscape. So, what happens then?

Lessons from lockdown

It’s fair to say that everybody’s perspective will have shifted after living through a global pandemic. We simply don’t know what the world will look like, but we know we’ll have to adapt. When everyone can be in the same room again, it’s important that everyone’s experiences are shared and the lessons learned shape the future of the business. This can be a real opportunity to do things differently and better and help rebuild your culture.

Keep the conversation going

People and culture are such an important part of any business and it’s imperative that leaders are honest and authentic in the way they communicate with their people. Especially when decisions are being made quickly and with less consultation. The current circumstances can negatively impact and dilute even the strongest cultures. People will feel disconnected and isolated and it’s everyone’s responsibility to mitigate this through keeping the conversation going, so after lockdown we can bring a sense of normality back.

This disconnection can extend to current clients. Make it a priority to pick up the phone to have a real conversation. It’s not business as usual at the moment but simply acknowledge that and check in to see how it’s all going – it helps maintain relationships and will be appreciated.

Take advantage of headspace

For those businesses that are experiencing a slowdown in sales, now is the time to take that valuable commodity so often in short supply… headspace. When you’re running at 100mph and are consumed with the fast-paced day-to-day, there are strategic projects that never get the attention they deserve. This is a chance for leaders to be creative and interrogate their processes, be honest about what works and what needs to change.

Work on your pipeline

Nobody knows how the coming weeks and months will unfold. When business is fully operational again and markets open, there is likely to be an element of desperation with everyone clamouring to make sales. Those who’ve strategically prospected and nurtured their contacts and worked on developing relationships will be best placed to sell. There’s lots of groundwork that can be done now, and it’s a truly valuable time investment for your business’ future.

Check out our video where Owen Richards, MD of Air Marketing, and Richard Forrest, MD of Forrest Marketing Group, discuss what businesses can do to prepare for when the market begins to pick up.

Air Marketing are the leading outsourced sales agency in the UK. We design and deliver sales services to deliver the best conversion rates for our clients. To hear more about how we can help your business grow, get in touch today or call us on 0345 241 3038.

Whatever you do, don’t stop selling

Posted on 26 May 20203 June 2025 by Doug Roots

It might be something of an understatement to say that 2020 has been a challenging year for businesses across the globe. It’s hard to believe just a matter of weeks ago (although for many of us it feels like much longer), we could work from an office and most of us were largely unfamiliar with the term ‘social distancing’. The impact of Covid-19 has been overwhelming – we’ve seen major changes to the way we work and relate to each other, both personally and professionally.

In times of crisis, it can be tempting to pull back and you may even question whether new business is a priority. Shouldn’t we batten down the hatches, hunker down and focus on the surviving rather than thriving?

The short answer is no. Sales is the lifeblood of your business, so resist that temptation to slow down and hold back and instead change the way you sell, so you can ensure future success. Ultimately, without sales, no future opportunity exists.

If you can sell today, great! If you can’t, prepare!

If you have major barriers to selling right now, get ready for life after. Those who plan and prepare and pay close attention to building their pipeline will have a running start as life returns to ‘normal’. They will be best placed to succeed in the immediate months and years post-pandemic.

Keep reaching out but change the message

People are understandably less contactable as they continue to work from home. But businesses are still operating and they still have a requirement for your products and services; it may just be less of an immediate priority. You need to change the messaging to resonate with the current climate and let people know you understand the challenges around Covid-19. Conduct your conversations with a positive but sensitive tone and don’t be afraid to be the expert and demonstrate the value you can bring to help, even in these anxiety-inducing times.

Keep going to market

Check out our recent blog, turning virtual – how to change your sales process from face to face to virtual meetings, in which we explore how you can ensure the virtual meetings you do have are as professional, prepared and focused as possible.

If you’re au fait with prospecting on the phone then integrate other methods into your approach, leveraging video and social to tell your brand’s stories. Use LinkedIn to connect with people on a more personal level, joining relevant forums where you can actively engage in solving customer challenges, and keep up-to-date with emerging conversations and themes that could help you tailor your approach.

Tell positive stories

Celebrate success where you can. Shine a light on the good things that are happening in your business and for your clients. People are seeking connection and positivity right now. If you can create content or stories that raise a smile, it will improve your sales relationships and spark conversations that could lead somewhere good.

For more insights on this subject, watch our recent webinar where our MD, Owen Richards, explores how businesses can respond to the crisis while continuing to set the stage for sales success.

The importance of health and wellbeing in a sales team

Posted on 27 April 20203 June 2025 by Doug Roots

A car cannot be expected to run on the wrong fuel, drive endless miles without rest, never have an MOT and expect it to keep performing to the best of its ability – our bodies and minds are exactly the same. The unhealthy feelings of pressure, anxiety and stress wear us down and can cause us to become demotivated. Simply put – when we’re not feeling our best, we don’t perform at our best, and this is heightened during times of difficulty and uncertainty.

For sales professionals, while they may be known on the front line for their big personalities, confidence and ambition, more often than not there are underlying challenges that they face on a daily basis that are impacting their health and wellbeing.

What makes the challenges of sales professionals unique?

There are many of challenging jobs in the world – doctors, healthcare professionals, teachers, lawyers, the forces, the list goes on… but there’s something unique about the role of a sales professional. Outside of the careers of those saving lives, the sheer quantity of challenges that sales professionals are up against everyday is second to none.

High expectations: Sales professionals are no stranger to targets. Not only does this impact their performance and therefore financial reward (commission), but also their company’s bottom line. There’s no doubt in that they’re expected to be consistent in bringing in X amount of revenue every quarter. As the saying goes, you’re only ever as good as your last month or quarter.
Lack of routine: For a lot of sales professionals, in order to meet expectations, the 9-5, Monday to Friday routine is non-existent. Acting as a brand ambassador, being available for events and networking opportunities and being flexible to prospects doesn’t always allow for ‘office hours’.
Managing potential rejection: It’s inevitable. Even the greatest sales leaders experience knockdowns and knockbacks from prospects who may not be ready to purchase just yet, or the product/service simply isn’t right for them.
Finding qualified leads: To avoid the possibility of rejection and potentially wasted time, it’s important to ensure that leads are qualified within the sales team (sales qualified leads – SQLs) or marketing team (marketing qualified leads – MQLs). But finding these takes time and effort so it’s a careful balancing act of spending time on this vs acting speaking to prospects.
Long sales cycle: It’s unusual for things to ‘just happen’ overnight. Building relationships and trust as well as the case for why the client should be interested takes time, consistency and commitment. Remaining empathic and patient when under pressure is a tricky skill to master.
Unpredictable markets: It’s difficult to predict when a market is going to be impacted, whether that’s from an economic downturn or a global pandemic like COVID-19 (Coronavirus). While this drives uncertainty through the supply chain, it’s important for sales professionals to remain calm and support prospects through what is likely to be an even longer than usual sales cycle.
Competitors: Standing apart from competition is a challenge for many sales professionals, especially when they’re competing against low cost providers. Having a strong relationship to make a ‘needs’ based sale rather than a ‘costs’ based sale is important here.
Maintaining a relationship with marketing: Ultimately working towards the same goal, it’s vital to set aside time to work with the marketing department to maximise opportunities and make sure that you’re singing from the same hymn book.
Building a personal brand: We’ve reached 2020 and there’s now more pressure than ever to be active and building your personal brand and network on professional networking sites such as LinkedIn. This is key to becoming a trusted advisor.

Why is this important for businesses?

In the workplace, health and wellbeing allows for sustainability of top-level performance. It’s important for sales professionals to keep motivated and believe in themselves. At the end of the day, your sales team generate revenue, and without revenue, there is no business. Should businesses be effectively making a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of their sales team, they’re likely to see a decrease in absenteeism and costs, as well as an increase in motivation, performance and employee retention.

As an increasing number of sales professionals are beginning to prioritise their health and wellbeing, there’s no better time for businesses to take a step back and review wellbeing policies. When looking for their next employer, will sales professionals be on the look-out for organisational cultures that champion employee health and wellbeing? We think so!

How can you help?

Conversation: In an office environment you would usually see visual cues or hear audio cues of people seeming unhappy or a bit low, and that might come across in the work that they’re doing and the sales conversations they’re having. Outside of the usual office environment, if sales professionals are working from home, you still have a number of cues and it’s just as important to still be looking for them. If you think someone’s not looking too good, just ask. If your team communicates together socially, then they will start to pick up on this as well. If you don’t have that conversation, then it’s more difficult to tell if people are struggling.

Normalisation: Good health and wellbeing is proactive. Leaders should be starting the conversation and driving it through the organisation to create a culture where talking about physical and mental wellbeing, how you feel and what’s going on in your mind is normal.

Trust: Management should lead by example and build trust by opening up about how they’re feeling and what they’re doing to keep their body and mind healthy. A lot of people will be having good days, but there will also be a lot of people who are having down days too. Be honest about how and why this is impacting your motivation. Showing vulnerability as a leader and being honest with your sales team will allow them to open up.

Initiatives: Support conversation, normalisation and trust by implementing initiatives to keep sales teams engaged and motivated. Help sales professionals build a routine whereby they’re able to get away and switch off. Do a team Joe Wicks workout or yoga class. Bring out the natural competitiveness of your sales team with a step or running challenge. Organise access to a 24/7 mental health support line. You would even go so far as to remove sales targets which are seen as unrealistic for the greater good of your sales team.

Tools to succeed: Drill back down to the basics and review whether your sales team have all of the tools that they truly need to succeed and hit their targets – regular training and skill sharing activities, a strong sales process, effective scripts, clear KPI’s and a way of repeatedly filling their pipeline with qualified leads. If lead generation is something that your team don’t have time for, we recommend outsourcing. Find out more about outsourcing lead generation with Air Marketing here. For marketing qualified leads (MQLs) we recommend our sister company, demand generation experts – Roots to Market.

Sales leaders and management – if you’re not investing in your sales team’s health and wellbeing, you’re missing an opportunity. With so many knockdowns and knock backs in the sales environment, being supported emotionally, physically and being resilient is incredibly important. It’s down to you to nurture this. Don’t just drive your team on numbers and targets but support them to be in the best shape possible so they can perform at their best for you.

If you’d like to hear more about how we at Air Marketing prioritise a culture of health and wellbeing for our sales team, get in touch today or call us on 0345 241 3038.

How To Keep A Sales Team Motivated Vlog #7

Posted on 1 April 20203 June 2025 by Doug Roots

In the seventh instalment of our series we ask the question ‘how do you keep a sales team motivated?’ Find out the answer in this vlog hosted by our MD, Owen Richards featuring Air’s Sales Directors Simon Scott-Nelson and Marco Alfano-Rogers.

Ask The MD: What’s Your Passion When You’re Not At Work?

Posted on 30 March 20203 June 2025 by Doug Roots

In the ninth instalment of our ‘Ask The MD’ series we ask the questions ‘what’s your passion when you’re not at work?’. Find out the answer in this video featuring our Managing Director, Owen Richards, and sister company Forrest Marketing Group’s Managing Director, Richard Forrest.

How important is traditional sales prospecting in today’s digital age?

Posted on 23 March 20203 June 2025 by Doug Roots

There’s no denying that the digital age has changed the way businesses connect with their buyers. In the past, face–to–face sales or cold calling were the only way to reach prospects and talk them through the benefits of your products. Social selling and content marketing have changed the customer journey; buyers are far more empowered with product knowledge ahead of purchase and for low value purchases, most don’t feel compelled to speak to a salesperson at all. But does traditional sales prospecting still have a place? The short answer is yes, and here’s why.

Never underestimate the power of a conversation

A personal human connection is ultimately what chatbots are trying to replicate – in 2020 nothing comes close to a real conversation. If you want to build trust and rapport with a prospect, a friendly and open approach can go a long way. The more insight you gain into the specific challenges, the more personal and tailored your sales approach can be in a face-to-face meeting.

Digital isn’t always scalable and more suited to a transactional sale

Calling someone to extoll the virtues of a power bank or a lipstick is wildly different from talking to them about an integrated marketing or sales campaign. The fact is people don’t buy high value programmes of work online. Your website is vital to a first impression, and you need to ensure you have engaging, relevant content available, but to get under the skin of a project your prospective customer needs to be able to ask you detailed questions, beyond a comprehensive online FAQ. Research suggests that the earliest part of the buying process works most effectively, with 71% saying they want to hear from salespeople when they are looking for ideas to drive strong business results (Resourceful Selling).

Don’t limit your customer base

The people, who would benefit most from your services, might not even know you exist. If you’re relying on prospects who find you online and engage with your content to reach you via a web lead, then you’re ruling out a potentially lucrative market of businesses with money to spend, a relevant challenge that your product or proposition can solve who are ready to buy. There is strong evidence that the C-Suite buys differently; with 57% of C-level buyers prefer salespeople to call them above anything else (RAIN Group).

Traditional sales prospecting can work brilliantly with complementary technologies

This isn’t old school vs. new tech; all methods have their place. In fact leveraging powerful systems to enhance your data and effectively map your customer journey will make your sales campaigns much more viable. Using social selling and content marketing along with targeted calling campaigns will align and strengthen your approach, your brand and make it easier to deliver relevant follow-up materials during promising calls.

Check out our video where Owen Richards, MD of Air Marketing and Richard Forrest, MD of Forrest Marketing Group, discuss the role of traditional prospecting in a digital age.

At Air Marketing, we work with clients to create a tailored, blend of services that will deliver the best conversion rates in their desired market. If you’d like to hear more about how we can help your business grow or show you how we’ve helped businesses from all sectors achieve success. Get in touch today or call us on 0345 241 3038. Or hear more from our existing customers here.

Lingual and cultural diversity in telemarketing

Posted on 19 March 20203 June 2025 by Doug Roots

In the words of Paulo Coelho: Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they have a deeper understanding of one another, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers. But first they have to understand that their neighbour is, in the end, just like them, with the same problems and the same questions.

The days of selling our items to each other village to village (think the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker), face to face, are long past us. In my opinion, today we are selling our “technoproducts” and services via the digital superhighways to people all around the world. In this more tech focused world we work with “turbomachinerie” with “flashcapacities”.

Despite the fast changes that have happened and continue to happen in our selling culture, the culture of individual human beings who are ultimately the end users being sold to, are slower to change.

Culture within individuals heavily influence their choices – how to cook, speak, act, dress etc. These cultures are as diverse now as they were centuries ago, but they are changing and need to be kept up with. For example, the English culture of 1782 would not be the same as the one we experience in 2020. This is the same for all cultures French, German, Dutch etc. Culture is a living and changing thing.

So why is this relevant?

As a company we embrace this cultural diversity (including languages) as it enriches not only our teams and our methodology to solve problems and challenges, but it also benefits our clients and prospects. We find that a diverse team will find many solutions to a problem – whether that is within our business or within a client’s business.

At Air Marketing, we celebrate the German Karneval, we celebrate the Oranjekoorts during Koningsdag, we welcome the tartiflette and merguez on our lunch or BBQ and embrace the culture and language of our clients and prospects. By speaking their mother tongue we understand certain cultural differences (for example the directness of the Dutch Dutch-speaking market in comparison with the gentle tone of the Belgian Dutch-speaking market). All this out of respect of our clients and prospects and of course to do business together.

Wouter Vanaelst Background

Wouter was born and raised in Belgium, right on the linguistic border. His mother tongue is Flemish/Dutch and from a very early age he also learnt French and German. After studying in Brussels and gaining 2 academic degrees in Educational Sciences and Art & Cultural Andragogy, he then went on to work for 7 years as an Educational and Client Services Officer for the Centrale Culturelle Bruxelloise. In this role his focus was monitoring and researching the social and economic climate alongside organising and delivering marketing and recruitment campaigns

Wouter also spent 2 years in Africa conducting research on the educational & socio-economic challenges, whilst learning to overcome many logistical and cultural obstacles. Wouter moved to the UK in 2015, his first role in the UK was teaching French and German classes as an associate lecturer. Alongside this he worked with international companies analysing business to customer (B2C) communication in Dutch, French and German.

Wouter is now heading up the Multilingual offering for Air Marketing Group, helping businesses open up opportunities within strong economic countries such as Germany, France and Holland.

Wouter is fascinated by cultural and linguistic differences, how people choose to act, speak and work differently and in understanding this looking at how to make bridges in between cultures and languages. Wouter does not believe in uniformity, he believes every language, culture and client have different needs that require a bespoke approach. This includes adapting to cultural manners, working with native speakers who have native accents and cultural knowledge.

“Every language you speak is another market that opens up to you.”

Interested in talking to me about our multilingual offering? Contact me directly on 01392 575282 or complete our contact form here.

Wouter Vanaelst
Senior Business Development Executive Multilingual, Air Marketing Group

The benefits of outsourced sales for start-ups

Posted on 16 March 20203 June 2025 by Doug Roots

When you’re starting out, it can feel like you’re running uphill on a treadmill. Clients are hard won, you never have enough resource and it’s difficult delivering everything on your desk, let alone focussing on the 6 month, 12 month or 3 year plans for growth.

In 2016, the UK registered the equivalent of 70 new businesses per hour – that’s 660,000 annually; data shows us that more than 50% of these businesses will not survive beyond 2021 (The Telegraph, 2019). So why are businesses that start out so promisingly, failing to see their 5^th birthday?

An Entrepreneurs Network report reveals that nearly a third of the differences in productivity between the UK and US start-ups are linked to management practices. Businesses that are properly managed and benefit from expert advice, are able to drive better sales and recruit better talent.

A healthy pipeline is essential to every business, especially when you’re starting out. Making sales at the right price-point leads to long-term success and ensuring cash flow back into the business, to invest in marketing and product development. If there is market demand for your product, there is absolutely no reason why you can’t achieve the sales targets necessary for growth. Unfortunately, the reality is somewhat different, when companies are in their formation stages; it’s all hands on deck. Resource and headspace to focus on delivering an effective lead generation strategy and wider sales strategy seems like a pipe dream.

Part of the reason start-ups founded in brilliant, creative ideas then fail comes back to the fact that their leader, who is likely already wearing several professional ‘hats’, is not a sales specialist. The founder might be the face of the business and certainly needs to be hands on in all aspects of day-to-day operations, sales presentations and investor meetings. There is a myriad of benefits to outsourcing lead generation and sales prospecting to an expert provider. The main one being they have the expertise and resource to hit the ground running and start generating sales for you that will help secure the future of your business. The right provider will help you refine your target markets; your sales approach and build your brand awareness. And you can have some breathing space to focus on the here and now, knowing that activity that will benefit you down the road, is being taken care of by a trusted partner who will deliver for you and your customers and help you build a healthy pipeline.

Why Air?

At Air Marketing, we’re experienced in working with start-ups in all sectors to maximise their outsourcing budget to achieve their business objectives. We’ve worked with businesses at every point in their journey to leverage the best return on investment (ROI) for budgets that need to deliver real results.. We work with clients to create a tailored, blend of services that will deliver the best conversion rates in their desired market. If you’d like to hear more about how we can help your business grow or show you how we’ve helped businesses from all sectors achieve success. Get in touch today or call us on 0345 241 3038. Or hear more from our existing customers here.

The Problem With A Cost Per Lead (CPL) Model Vlog #6

Posted on 16 March 20203 June 2025 by Doug Roots

In the sixth instalment of our series we ask the question ‘what is the problem with a cost per lead (CPL) model?’ Find out the answer in this vlog hosted by our MD, Owen Richards featuring Air’s Sales Directors Simon Scott-Nelson and Marco Alfano-Rogers.

Ask The MD: What Is Your Current And Ideal Work/Life Balance? What Measures Do You Take To Control It?

Posted on 10 March 20203 June 2025 by Doug Roots

In the eighth instalment of our ‘Ask The MD’ series we ask the questions ‘what is your current and ideal work/life balance?’ and ‘what measures do you take to control it?’. Find out the answer in this video featuring our Managing Director, Owen Richards, and sister company Forrest Marketing Group’s Managing Director, Richard Forrest.

Category: Sales