If you’re a small business, winning sales appointments over large companies may often feel like David fighting against a multitude of Goliaths. But, if you take a simple shift in perspective, you’ll see that you have many advantages over large companies— all it takes is playing up these advantages to win over prospects to the services of your small business.
While David was much smaller than Goliath, he had many strengths that Goliath didn’t. For starters, he was more mobile; he had a greater ability to be agile, adapt to change, and think on his feet. The tips below will empower your small, David-sized company to take on even the largest giants in the battle of generating sales appointments— and you may even steal a few of their customers along the way.
Don’t market yourself in the same way a large company does.
According to one Successwise article, one of the biggest mistakes small companies make is trying to market their product or service in the same way that a large company does. This is wrong because a small company has completely different goals than a big company. While they obviously share the common desire to make a profit, large businesses must also worry about factors such as satisfying shareholders & board of directors, appeasing their higher-ups, winning marketing awards, and so on.
Meanwhile, what’s a small business’ number one priority? Making profits. Not only should strategy change with scale and budget (you obviously can’t compete with larger companies’ lofty marketing budgets), but your entire vision should be different. Stray from branding and ego-based tactics because they will be a drop in the bucket when compared with larger companies. Instead, utilize methods that bigger businesses can’t as easily— such as direct response marketing that evokes action from the prospect.
People like personal.
When you compare your small business to a mega-company with thousands of employees, which do you think seems more approachable to the average customer? Take advantage of your ability to connect with potential customers on a personal level easily.
When it comes to setting a sales appointment, you can much more easily tempt a prospect to inquire for more information than a large company can. They’ll be thrilled that they don’t have to dial a 1-800 number and go through 10 minutes worth of automated options before speaking to someone.
Focus on your specific demographic.
While many large companies simply try to appeal to everyone all at once, you can capitalize on catering to a more narrow and specific target market. This tactic allows you to learn everything there is to know about your target audience. You can also more easily go to your key demographic, both digitally and physically, through trade shows and similar avenues.
Be bold in ways big companies can’t.
While large corporations have to go through multiple rounds of approvals before reaching out to potential customers in any way, you’re allowed to be a bit more unconventional and daring in your sales tactics.
Consider utilizing a lead generation service.
While big companies often keep their sales efforts in-house, small businesses can simply outsource the process of finding qualified leads for their product or service. This enables you to avoid the entire (often headache-evoking) process of trying to accumulate a cold-calling and appointment setting team for your small business and allows trained and experienced sales representatives to do the grunt work for you.
These are only a few of the ways that small, David-sized businesses can maintain a strong voice amongst the screams of mega-companies. If your business takes advantage of your small size, you can capitalize on all the strengths that big corporations don’t have.