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Posts tagged mobile app sales tips
How to Sell Mobile Apps to Small Businesses – More Tips!
Jan 13th
We know, we know: we’ve offered tips before. But we don’t want anyone’s approach to get too stale when it comes to our white label resellers. There’s almost always an opportunity to improve, or to test out a different sales method, so we keep jotting down our notes and writing up posts with our favorite tips.
Join the Community
A stranger is viewed with a skeptical eye, but a member of the community is one step closer to being a friend. Don’t just hide behind your website and reach out only when you need to make a sale. Participate in community events, chamber of commerce meetings, get active in fundraisers, sponsor kids’ sports teams, and more. And be sure to show your activities on your social media profiles and website, so that people can get a sense of your commitment to your area.
These things are good to do all on their own, but the business benefits are nice, too!
Research Your Prospects
We often emphasize this point, but it’s critical. When you pick up the phone to call a prospect, it often pays to take a quick look at their website to see what the business is about. You might even spot a great opportunity that mobile strategies would be perfect for. The result is that you’re more well prepared to discuss your prospect’s business and to find a way for mobile to fit in.
Don’t Try to Drive the Conversation
The most important thing you can do is listen to a customer’s needs. Then you’ll know exactly how mobile can help them accomplish something that you know is important to them. If you’re too busy selling and driving the conversation toward a closing to hear these valuable pieces of information, you’ll miss out.
Work to Make it Work
Don’t try to mold the customer to your reseller business, mold your business to the customer. Whatever you have, the goal will be to find the ways that it can deliver value to your prospect. This can take some effort, but you need to invest the energy to adapt the mobile world to suit the customer, not the other way around.
Treat the Customer Like a Person
Because, you know, they are.
Don’t treat your prospects like a sale. Instead, take a moment and put yourself in their shoes. What are they concerned about? How might they perceive a mobile app seller calling them up? What would help them feel more comfortable?
Your prospects are people just like you, and it always pays to remember that.
Be Proactive
You know as well as anyone that sales don’t make themselves (unless its your lucky day). You need to keep dialing and following up in order for good things to happen. Keep motivation strong (and check out our posts here and here for quotation inspiration) so that you can continue pedaling (and peddling) no matter what each day brings.
Stay dedicated, and success will follow!
Check these out, give them a try, and let us know how things are going. If they don’t work in practice, or you’ve got a better way, we (and the other members of the reseller community) all ears!
More Simple Tips for Landing a Mobile App Sales Appointment
Nov 13th
Recently, we blogged about the right way to approach cold calling when you’re trying to secure a mobile app sales appointment. Today, we want to offer some further tips to help resellers continue developing. Successful cold calling takes a lot of practice and thoughtful preparation. But if you put the right amount of energy into it, your next sale will only ever be a few calls away.
Preparation is key
It all starts with initial research. The more you do, the better off you are. Of course, it isn’t worth it to deeply research each person and company that you call, but it’s essential to have a basic idea of what the company does. Even better, browse the company website for a few minutes, and see if you can spot any business lines or other opportunities that might match up well with apps.
The more you know, the more fluid the conversation will be. It also can impress a prospect if you already have an understanding of what their business does. It shows that your business is detail oriented, and it also helps a bond begin to grow between your companies.
The bottom line is that a couple of minutes of research could have a meaningful impact on your conversion rate. Why spend that time calling and getting rejected when you could do your homework and break through the insta-rejection filter more often?
It’s worth it!
How to grab attention quickly
People are used to filtering out sales calls, so you need to catch your prospect a little off guard, and pique their interest. You can do this with a figure (“Our average customer sees a __% increase in sales after publishing an app” or “Over half of Internet activity is on mobile devices now, and businesses with traditional websites are starting to lose out”) or you can get creative.
Think of what would stop the business owner in their tracks. Maybe a competitor issued an app and has 2,000 local downloads? Maybe you went to their site on your mobile device and you got errors everywhere? You need to give them a reason to keep talking to you, and it can’t be about you.
It needs to be about them.
Focusing on core rewards
Apps and mobile websites can offer a lot of benefits, but it’s often most effective to focus on one or two. During your conversation with the decision-maker, try to learn what problems are occupying his or her mind the most. Then, find the benefits that speak to those needs. Don’t overwhelm the prospect with all the bells and whistles. If they’re worried about increasing sales, focus on how they can boost promotions with push notifications, or offer an online store through their app for direct ordering.
That way, you’re the solution to their biggest problem. And that puts you in a great position to earn a new customer.
Stay committed
“No” is not necessarily a final answer. Sometimes, you can call back an interested person who wasn’t ready to move forward, and things will be different. Don’t harass people. Just mark them for follow up in Bizness CRM (free to use for our resellers). If they say, “No” more than a few times, however, leave it alone.
We’re sure you’re having interesting experiences out there with cold calling – share them in the comment section below!
Mobile App Sales Tip - Stress Benefits, Not Features
Aug 27th
You’ve heard it a million times: when you’re selling, talk to the prospect about benefits, not features. It’s a classic sales strategy, and one of the most fundamental rules that a salesperson can have. The world of mobile app sales is no different.
The key shift is to focus on what a product does to help your prospect out; how it makes his or her life better. Not something descriptive about the product. To highlight the difference:
• Benefit: “This freezer allows you to enjoy ice-cold popsicles year-round.”
• Feature. “This freezer is capable of 12,000 BTUs of cooling power.”
The first one answers the question, “What’s in it for me?” The second one does so only indirectly, and requires the prospect to make the connection on their own. Don’t leave it up to someone’s imagination. Make it explicit!
In this post, we’re going to give specific examples for how mobile app resellers can discuss a variety of desirable benefits that business owners can get by publishing a mobile app. Armed with a laundry list of benefits like this, you’ll never be at a loss for how to convert a great feature into the language of benefits. Let’s dive in:
• Apps make you money. With a mobile ordering feature, an app can actually be a direct source of sales. With Refer-A-Friend and other promotional tools, you can easily earn new business through your app.
• Apps save you money. Instead of having to pay for separate services that allow you to do email marketing, loyalty programs, push notifications, and more, you can get everything in one place and save a ton of money.
• Apps save you time. With a wealth of informational resources like location, event calendars, mobile reservations, and more, you can cut down the amount of time team members spend giving out info to customers over the phone.
• Apps can increase customer satisfaction. From promotions and loyalty programs that save customers money to GPS directions and tip calculators that save customers time, an app will make your fans happier than ever before.
• Apps can reduce risk or uncertainty. With event attendance confirmations, you can get a sense of how many people will attend your event and have a chance to plan accordingly.
• Apps can improve your image. Customers expect a business to have a mobile app these days, and you will enhance your image and competitiveness simply by publishing even a basic one.
Bizness Apps is a very full-featured platform, so this list is not comprehensive. The more you speak to customers regarding how they use their apps and what works best, the better you’ll be at understanding the benefits customers can expect.
If you have any suggestions, or can think of benefits we missed, let us know in the comment section and we can all learn together.
How to Use Social Media to Generate Mobile App Reseller Leads
Aug 15th
You’ve no doubt heard that social media offers massive opportunities to market your business. But when it comes time to actually generating leads from social media, you may be at a loss. If this is you, we have a few methods you can use to generate buzz around your app business.
But first, let’s provide a few facts for the doubters who think that social media is a pointless pursuit for app resellers:
• It’s popular. More than a quarter of time spent online is spent on social media sites.
• It’s effective. Social media conversion rates are 13% higher than the average.
• It’s superior. Social media marketing creates nearly double the leads of trade show, telemarketing, direct mail, or PPC channels.
• It’s proven. More than half of marketers have found a customer via Facebook.
(Data compiled by Wishpond.)
Ok, so social media can definitely be used to create leads. But how do you do it? Here are some tried and true tactics:
Run a contest
“Tell us your craziest customer nightmare story and win a branded app for your business!”
Sounds like fun, right? It’s that easy. Broadcast your contest through social media platforms, and you’ll be surprised at the activity you generate. You might be worried about the level of interest you’ll get, but with a bit of promotional effort, you can make it happen.
Webinars
“5 Reasons Why Every Small Business Needs a Mobile App”
As a mobile app reseller, you can rattle off at least five reasons (if not more) why every business needs a mobile app, right? Then why not hold a webinar and explain them to the business community? Many businesses may be wondering what all the buzz is about, and they might not want to read about it on their own. A webinar is the perfect opportunity to give a detailed explanation of the benefits of having a mobile app. Use your favorite video conferencing or streaming platform, and spread the word about “going mobile.”
Polls
Social media lends it self to short formats best of all, so embrace it with a simple Facebook poll.
It can be mobile related, or just something like, “What’s the hardest part of running a small business?” The point is to try to activate people’s opinionated-ness, if possible. Afterward, you can also publish a blog post on the results and some of the comments you have received. All of this serves to promote your business, teach you about your community, and if you’re lucky, generate a few leads.
Chats
This is a bit like a webinar, but without the video. Hosting a Q&A about mobile strategies is a simple way to reach out to the business community via social media. Solicit questions and listen to your prospects. Even if you don’t get any leads, you’ll still learn plenty about the folks you’re selling to.
You can’t lose!
4 Ways to Get More App Sales Out of Your Website
Aug 8th
A website can connect you to billions of people, all around the world. So, why aren’t you rich yet?
Well, a lot of it probably has to do with the fact that most of those billions of people don’t need a mobile app. But for the ones who do, you want to be ready to get things started properly. To do that, you need a site designed to maximize sales. Here are six tips that will turn your site into a lean, mean selling machine.
1. Floating ads
A lot of people hated popups, but guess what a lot of people don’t hate?
Floating ads!
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they don’t go outside the browser window. We don’t know. But for whatever reason, floating ads are effective and can increase conversions on your site.
Another similar strategy is to use a chat window that opens up on your homepage. This lets you start a dialogue with prospects and provide personal attention right away. If you want to see an example of this in action, just head to our homepage and wait a few moments. Someone will be right with you.
2. Use testimonials
Honest, positive testimonials can have a powerful effect on the credibility of your website (in one case, producing a conversion rate increase of over 30%). If you display brief stories from actual customers regarding how your product helped their business, you can make it clear why people should do business with you.
Place a few testimonials below the fold on your website, and use actual full names of customers, along with business names and links to the app in question. With that info available, prospects won’t have to wonder what kind of product you create and why they should work with you. It will all be there for them in black and white.
3. Generate urgency
There are a lot of ways to communicate to people why they need an app or mobile website today. You can explain how competitors are gaining advantages over those who don’t have a mobile strategy at every minute. You can offer the promise of increasing sales through mobile apps, which is something most businesses would jump at. Or, you could make an offer that is time-limited.
However you do it, don’t make it seem like a mobile app is something that can wait until tomorrow. Things are changing quickly in the mobile space, and there’s really no time to waste.
4. Break it up and keep it simple
Don’t overload website visitors by trying to tell them everything about your business. Just keep it simple. Even something like this can be enough for a headline and call to action:
“Did you know a mobile app can increase your sales by __%? Click here to get started!”
If you do choose to include a lot of info, break things up into different sections with different layouts and visuals. The goal is to inform the reader without asking for too much of their time or boring them. Tell them what you do, tell them why it’s great, then ask them to take action.
Improving your website performance is that simple.
Also make sure to check out Bizness Web to create a free website for your mobile app company!
5 Tips for Getting Small Business Leads
Jul 8th
Small business owners can be elusive. They’re a busy bunch, so you need all the help you can get when it comes to finding new leads from their ranks. The good news is, there are tons of ways to cultivate small business leads!
Some are online, some are offline, but they all can be tremendously effective in earning you new business. The tips below are a few tried-and-true methods that will help you connect with new prospects and boost your sales.
1. Be an expert
The Web offers a lot of opportunities for you to showcase your knowledge of your subject area, no matter what it is. LinkedIn Answers, your own blog, and topical forums – they’re all channels in which you can offer advice and get your name out there. The more helpful you are, the better. Your messages will serve as lasting beacons that can result in leads tracking you down. As far as sales go, there are few more favorable situations than that.
2. Run a Pay Per Click (PPC) Campaign
If you target the right keywords, a PPC campaign can be a very effective way to find exactly the types of leads you want. It will depend on what you’re selling, but with a little research, you can find a set of keywords that can pull in a stream of leads that are very likely to include small business owners. What’s great about this method is that, by clicking, the leads have already taken an action that shows some interest in your product. This acts as a prequalification to filter out pointless connections.
3. Speak
Speaking events (especially local chamber of commerce events) are a good way to raise your profile and to meet new leads. Make sure and stick around after your event, as attendees will likely approach you directly. Also, provide pamphlets or business cards on a nearby table for audience members to take as a reference.
To get extra mileage from your hard work, post a video of your event online. If your event was instructional, people conducting online searches for related questions may find your video and then reach out to you afterward.
In addition, don’t forget to list speaking engagements as a part of your credentials in your online profiles!
4. Cross-Promote
Joining others that serve small businesses in a joint venture or cross-promotional project can help you find new leads easily. Customers of your partner business will learn about your company as a result of the joint project, and you’ll instantly have access to a second audience. If you chose your partner carefully, this second audience could be a natural fit as customers of your business.
5. Get social
Don’t ignore Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. They’re a highly cost effective way to make connections. It takes very little time, and the only thing you absolutely need to do is stay consistent. Post regularly on topics that are relevant to your business, and you’ll quickly cultivate a reputation for being knowledgeable and active. The leads will follow.
6. *Bonus tip
If you’re tired of tracking down your own small business leads, just use Bizness CRM! Small business leads are built directly into our simple, easy-to-use CRM system, which is designed specifically for those who sell to small businesses.
How to Earn Mobile App Sales Through Cold Calling (It’s Not So Bad!)
Jul 6th
We’re surprised that you even clicked on this post, given how most people feel about cold calling. They don’t want to make the calls, they don’t want to get the calls, and they wish the calls would just go away. And they would go away, except for one minor detail:
They work!
Yep. That’s why cold calling still exists. It’s an effective way to reach new prospects and to increase sales. Once you’ve accepted the reality, the healing can begin, and you can consider incorporating cold calling into your sales approach. And using the tips and steps below, you can make sure it isn’t a big waste of time.
Research
It’s important not to use a “volume approach” in which you call everyone on a list with no preparation and get hangups 99.9% of the time. A more effective method is to do a bit of research on the person you’re calling so that you can have some familiarity with their business.
That way, you’re not just using a canned pitch. Instead, you’re relating to prospects and you stand a much better chance of making a connection. If you show that you took the time to understand something about the world your lead lives in, you improve your odds of success. Obviously, this doesn’t mean 100% conversions, but the increase over taking shots in the dark is meaningful.
Listen
Don’t talk so dang much! The goal is not just to sell, sell, sell. Instead, you want to hear the prospect’s concerns. Your first order of business after getting someone talking is to take time and understand what his or her interests are. The only talking you should be doing in the first phase of the conversation is to ask questions. That way, you can figure out how your product might solve a person’s problems. Once you’ve done that, you can focus your pitch in a much more effective way.
Take notes
Don’t let all the details fly by. Take notes as you talk so that when you do follow-up calls, you’ll have something to jog your memory with. You will be making a lot of calls and it will become difficult to remember each person you spoke to. With a few short notes, you can always have a bit of guidance. If a prospect has to repeat him or herself, you’ve probably taken a major hit to your credibility, so you need to avoid that at all costs. Also, notes let your team members pick up the ball if you are away from the office or you need some support.
Use referrals
Referrals are great, and social networks let you “create your own” to some extent. Before you call someone, check out LinkedIn to see if you have any mutual contacts, interests, or other facts in common. This is sometimes a useful thing to mention to create a bit of familiarity or to loosen up a conversation.
With these tips, cold calling becomes less about selling to uninterested strangers and more about getting to know people, which is a lot more fun. Focus on that approach, and your cold calling efforts will be more profitable and more enjoyable.
Also make sure to check out Bizness CRM — which makes “selling to small businesses easy.”
4 Tips for a Strong LinkedIn Page for Your Mobile App Company
Jul 1st
“LinkedIn? Why do I care about that? I need downloads, not corporate connections!”
Good news – you can get both from LinkedIn!
Not only can your mobile app development company connect with recruits, colleagues, and more on LinkedIn, but you can actually promote products there as well. And here’s the best part – the people you impress with your product on LinkedIn are likely to be industry insiders whose recommendation is more valuable than a garden-variety one.
When it comes to favorable reviews or testimonials, gaining the attention of a fellow developer or other tech industry participant can be hugely valuable. They tend to be more active online, and are generally more willing to speak well about a product that impresses them. And if you catch the eye of a major tech blogger, you’ll be in great shape.
So, how can you make sure your page is helping your business and gaining you the kind of attention you want from colleagues and others? Using these four tips:
1. Create a memorable image
LinkedIn has changed over the years, and the most noticeable difference is that companies can use banner images to spice up their pages. Upload a nice banner that incorporates your logo, and your page will pop out from the mass of black-and-white text pages that predominate on LinkedIn.
Also, this should go without saying (but a quick review of pages revealed that, sadly, it does not): make sure your image resolution and size is optimal for the LinkedIn banner specs. If your banner looks sloppy, you won’t be making a very good impression at all. You’re an app company – a tech-savvy and attractive online image is a must!
2. Be social
Don’t view your page as a static website. Instead, add it to your list of social media outlets to update regularly. You can post news, announcements, info about projects, and the occasional promotional message or offer. (LinkedIn is all about business, so why not conduct some while you’re there?)
3. Use keywords
When writing your company’s textual description sections, be sure to use keywords that are relevant to those you want to bring to your page. This can mean incorporating words that recruits would use, as well as keywords that prospects might use. Choose your words carefully, and you’ll enjoy a bit of organic search traffic in addition to the activity from members of your current network.
4. Provide links
Don’t forget to put up a download link every now and then. You’ll be surprised what can happen when you’ve got a thriving LinkedIn page!
