Preparation is essential for successful sales. Without good preparation, mistakes are likely to be made that can be costly in terms of time and resources. It is important to have a clear understanding of the products or services you are selling, to know your potential customers and to establish an effective sales plan. By following a step-by-step guide, you can identify and overcome common obstacles in the sales process and increase your chances of success.
why is customer preparation important?
Customer preparation is important because it helps lay the foundation for a successful partnership between the partner and the customer. During onboarding, basic tasks must be completed to establish a good relationship and achieve the customer's goals. A good preparation plan includes gathering information about the customer, creating a timeline of tasks and scheduling an initial call with the customer to ensure alignment and establish clear next steps. This ensures transparency in the process and helps avoid mistakes and problems as you move through the onboarding process.
During the customer readiness stage, it is essential to lay the groundwork for future marketing, sales and service efforts. This includes gathering information about the customer, setting SMART objectives, defining the team according to the agreement, establishing service level agreements and reviewing the onboarding timeline. Doing so lays a solid foundation for a successful collaboration and creates a positive first impression with the customer.
Here are 3 recommended tasks to create a readiness plan:
- gather information about the client.
Gathering information about the client is essential to establish a solid foundation for the onboarding process. Without the right information about the client, you will not be able to complete the technical setup or launch the first campaign effectively. Furthermore, without this information, you will not be able to set SMART objectives or determine the right team for the deal. By gathering information about the client, you gain a clear understanding of their business, their needs and their goals, which allows for more effective collaboration and a better ability to achieve the client's objectives. It is important to ensure that you have all the necessary information before you begin the onboarding process.
- create a timeline that includes tasks for the onboarding period.
Creating a timeline is an important step in the client preparation process as it helps to maintain focus on essential tasks and avoid forgetting important steps. The timeline should include the tasks necessary to complete the onboarding, such as technical setup, creating marketing campaigns, making sales calls, implementing services, etc. It is important to share the timeline with the client to ensure both parties are aligned on tasks and timelines. If proper organisation is not maintained, it is easy to skip key steps and lose momentum, which can delay the onboarding process and make it difficult to achieve the client's goals.
- Schedule and execute a kick-off plan with your client.
Scheduling and conducting a kick-off call with the client is a crucial step in client preparation. This direct communication ensures alignment between both parties and ensures that all important details have been addressed before the onboarding process begins. During the call, it is important to address key topics such as introduction to the partner's points of contact, the client's SMART goals, team composition per the agreement, service level agreements and a review of the onboarding timeline. This helps ensure that all parties involved are aligned and that clear next steps are in place before the onboarding process begins.
how do you prepare for a new HubSpot customer?
Customer preparation is crucial to a partner's success in using HubSpot. One of the first tasks in the preparation process is to gather information about the customer. This information is necessary to complete the technical setup of the HubSpot portal and launch future marketing campaigns. It is important to gather information about social networks, DNS records and website hosting, as well as important business software such as CRM and mail provider.
The second task is to create an onboarding timeline. By defining a detailed timeline, you avoid forgetting important tasks, deliver value to the customer in a timely manner and have a clear plan for launching the first campaign. The timeline should include the technical setup of HubSpot, the scheduling of immediate benefits and the tasks that make up the first campaign. It is important to include the technical setup of the portal at the beginning of the timeline.
In addition, it is necessary to set up immediate benefits at the beginning of the timeline to show results from the start. It is also important to include the tasks required to execute the first marketing campaign. It is recommended to consult with a partner manager for further ideas and assistance in the customer preparation process.
In summary, it is essential to plan and prepare a solid strategy before starting the sales process in order to be successful. Gathering information about the products or services, potential customers and developing an effective sales plan are essential. In addition, it is important to be aware that preparation is crucial for sales success and to spare no effort in this. Sharing and receiving feedback will also help to improve and implement this strategy effectively. This ensures transparency in the process and helps to avoid mistakes and problems as the onboarding process progresses. It is important to have a clear understanding of the products or services being sold, know the potential customers and establish an effective sales plan.
