Selling Strategies Analysis
Identify some examples of how the Falcons employed the concepts of benefit selling & eduselling in their turnaround of the Falcons
Due to increased level of competition that is facing many industries in the modern business world, sales methodologies have significantly changed. These changes are directed towards the maximization of the total level of sales in organizations.
This is more so in the sport sales industry. One of organizations whose sales methodologies have significantly evolved is the Falcons. The organisation has managed to adapt effective sales techniques.
One of the concepts that Falcons has employed in its sales efforts are benefit selling and eduselling. Eduselling is the selling concept that involves an instructive process that facilitates perpetuated provision of information to the prospective sponsorship decision maker in an effort to promote product knowledge and a clear understanding of its benefits (Trehan and Trehan 58).
This process calls for continued communication between the sales staff and the consumers to maximize satisfaction. On the other hand, benefit selling is where an organisation provides the consumers with the benefits of a particular product.
Through the concept of the benefit selling, Falcon has managed to increase its sales significantly. For instance, through Home Depot, it was listening and giving instruction to the customers. This is one of aspects of eduselling. Eduselling is promoted through continued communication process with the customers and the organisation.
Through such interactions, Falcon’s customers were informed about the benefits of the company’s products and services. The Company has also employed benefit selling in its sales. For instance, Blank, who purchased the company in 2001, is determined to find out what the people in Atlanta wants so that it can win them.
By identifying the customer’s needs, the company will be able to list such benefits at the top in its benefit list. In order to better understand the needs of the customers, the organization has been conducting surveys in collection of the necessary information.
Using the personal-selling approach, if you were on the Falcons sales staff and had a meeting with a local company about purchasing season tickets, what key points would you make about the team?
Personal selling is another approach that can be beneficial in increasing Falcon’s sales. Although the company can use the other different methods of promotions like sales promotion, advertising and public relations, these methods suffer the fact that they are impersonal.
Positive peer pressure is achieved through direct marketing and thus it is an excellent advertising campaign that raises awareness for the company’s products and services.
The company will therefore attract a large number of customers by applying a more personal approach like personal selling. Other method does not provide adequate physical contact with the consumers. Therefore, it will be advisable for Falcons to consider personal selling in order to build a good relationship with its employees.
In order for Falcón’s team to conduct successful sales through personal selling, it must take some aspects into consideration. One of the most important is the company’s brand.
The sales team must not only be focusing on maximizing the ticket sales and winning more funs to buy tickets, they must consider building the company’s brand. Many customers tend to have the mentality that the sales people are greedy, arrogant, and aggressive. The team must be in a position to create a good image of the company to the public.
Another important aspect the team must consider is the customers’ needs. The sales team must be guided by the needs of the fans in carrying out personal selling activities. Another important aspect in personal selling is promoting dialogue with employees. This will promote a good relationship and will create a good picture for an organisation.
The team must also realize the interests of potential customers. For instance, most of the people around Atlanta are transplant, and did not grow with Falcon’s affinity (Masteralexis and Hums 334). The team must consider the affiliations of such people in order to convince them accordingly by convincing them about the importance of the brand.
By successfully applying personal selling in its operations, Falcons will be able to increase the strength of its brand especially in Atlanta where majority of the people have migrated from other areas and therefore were affiliated to other organizations.
Promotion guru Bill Veeck once said that “empty seats are the one thing you can never sell again.” How do the Falcons ticket-selling strategies support this notion? Can you think of any potential long-term consequences to the Falcons strategy of lowering ticket prices?
In the sports industry, the price of the tickets is very critical just like is the case with other products. Falcon has adopted various strategies in order to improve the satisfaction level of its fans. For instance, the company reduced its prices significantly, which is very rare in other sports organizations.
For instance, it changed the season pricing structure with a new set of prices; $ 370, $240, $190, and $100 for upper deck seats (Masteralexis and Hums 334). The organisation also increased the flexibility of the tickets.
Falcon’s strategy of lowering prices may have a significant long term effects to the organization. To begin with, the demand for its tickets will increase. This is because they will tend to be more attractive compared with other tickets. Assuming that customers will behave rationally, they will prefer the company’s cheaper tickets.
What strategies might you suggest to sell Falcons tickets given the fact that many Atlantans are transplanted from other parts of the country?
One of the major challenges facing Falcons is that most of the residents are transplants from other parts of the country. Marketing a product direct to the public is one of the great ways to advertise a new product. In this case, the company’s tickets will be like a new product because most of the people living in Atlanta are affiliated towards other organizations. A more personal selling will therefore be important for the organisation.
Sales promotion is another method that can be very effective for the company. One advantage of using sales promotion is that it can stimulate quick increases in sales by targeting promotional incentives on particular products. These can significantly help in improving the performance of the organization in the short run. Sales promotion also plays a significant role in creating consumer awareness.
In this case, the people who have moved from other parts of the country to Atlanta may not be aware of the brand. However, the organization can reach such people through sales promotions. Sales promotion will, therefore, play a significant role in informing potential customers of the company’s tickets.
The company can also consider applying various advertising slogans in order to sell its brand in the region. The use of advertisement slogans can help the company to attract a large number of customers to its products.
Falcon can also consider advertisement as a strategy to win more customers. Advertisement as a method of promotion is associated with a number of advantages. To start with, advertisement is effective in reaching a wide range of audience (Trehan and Trehan 35). This is because when advertisement is conducted through a media that covers a large number of people; it will reach them more easily.
The method will help in reaching a greater number of people compared to other methods like the sales promotion. This can therefore help Falcon advertise its tickets in Atlanta. Advertisement will also help the company to create brand awareness among the Atlantans. When the audience views a certain advert on television regularly, this increases their awareness of the presence of the product in the market.
This significantly helps the company to increase the level of tickets sales. Consequently, this will lead to a gradual increase in the market share for Falcons. Again, advertising helps in building customer trust through repetition of the main brand and product.
How might the Falcons integrate a kids program or other community-based program to drive incremental revenues, fan engagement, and brand awareness. Why is it important to have such programs?”
Other than the above proposed strategies, Falcons can also engage in kids programs and other community based programs for brand awareness, fan engagement, and incremental revenues. One of the ways through which Falcon can do this is by sponsoring children sports activities. Such programs will play a pivotal role in building the company’s brand.
The company can also consider organizing contests. Through such contests, it will be able to attract many fans hence creating its brand awareness in the process. The company can also promote fan activities like dancing. Such activities will help the company in promoting its brand awareness.
Works Cited
Masteralexis, Lisa, and Hums Mary. Principles and Practice of Sport Management. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2008. Print
Trehan, Mukesh, and Trehan Ranju. Advertising and Sales Management. New Delhi: FK Publications, 2009. Print