Deliver on Promises

It’s not surprising that the top characteristic SMBs said they want from their local sales person is that they deliver on what they promise. While sales is not fulfillment, when setting expectations with SMBs there should be a clear understanding of the value and process.  Recently we delved into some of our newer questions in the most recent Local Commerce Monitor™ Wave 19 (LCM) survey of small businesses. Besides marketing and advertising spend and usage, we asked our SMBs about their use of and interactions with sales.  While a majority of SMBs, 58.2%, say they don’t use a salesperson to purchase digital advertising instead opting to DIY, those that do engage with sales prefer on the phone versus in person. And one in five SMBs work with digital agencies, specifically small local agencies. SMBs are multi-channel  and according to Stacey Sedbrook, our VP of Strategic Sales Consulting, “Companies that go to market with both do-it-yourself and do-it-with-me product and services are in a win/win situation if they know how to effectively manage the engagement path of both models.” SMBs who do-it-yourself have specific wants and needs before they click the buy button. Our new report Sales & SMBs dives into SMB sales channels and what SMBs expect along these purchase paths as well as what SMBs are buying.

The Sales & SMBs deck is available for purchase in the BIA/Kelsey eStore.  BIA/Kelsey CAS Clients can download the Sales & SMBs deck from the client portal here.