In marketing products and services within the fleet industry, providers count on generating leads – ‘Sales Qualified Leads’ (SQL) and ‘Marketing Qualified Leads’ (MQL).
These distinctions help sales prioritize its efforts based on prospects’ readiness to buy, but real sales ‘sales opportunities’ can come from either camp – MQL or SQL.
From Leads to Sales Opportunities
Marketing qualified leads, like those generated by the in-house marketing team or an outside branding and marketing group like Fleet Management Weekly’s Brand Acceleration, result in compelling messaging, delivered through a medium that targets the right decision-makers, and reaches them at the right time. TIME is the sales opportunity revelator: a prospect must be ready to buy.
Sales qualified leads most often come from the marketing-qualified pool, but have been vetted by sales who deem the prospect ready for a deeper exploration of the sales opportunity, which can only be accomplished by sales and the sales support team.
At some point in TIME, it is possible that a prospect’s demonstrated buying intent leads to negotiations and a sale. The timing of each sales journey, however, is as distinct as the deal itself, so continuous marketing support to sales is critical.
How to Generate More Sales Opportunities
- Know your intended target customers – Fleet manager? Corporate buyer? Safety manager? HR director? CFO? CEO? What publications do they read? What digital resources do they count on as part of their jobs? What trade associations do they belong to? Where is their pain?
- Execute a campaign – Because TIME is the critical determinant of sales opportunity prioritization, plan and execute a campaign that builds brand and differentiates the company, its products, and services over an extended period of time. Yes, some tactics may be singular, or event driven, but a mix of tactics strategically delivered over a long period of time will convince more prospects to act at the right time, when they are ready to move ahead.
- Rely on an experienced, fleet-specific marketing team – You may have a talented marketing person or team, but the depth and breadth of an effective campaign requires industry knowledge and marketing know-how. Only with a deep understanding of the players, the trends, and the issues fleet decision-makers face at a moment in time, can a company quickly and effectively differentiate itself from the competition and cut through the clutter from all quarters of the fleet industry.
Brand Acceleration Can Get Your Started Right Away
Fleet Management Weekly’s fleet industry experts know the fleet market. Combined with our fleet-experienced marketing team, we can connect any company with more sales opportunities. Not just leads, but targeted sales opportunities.
We have a proven plan with a multi-channel approach that increases brand awareness and positive perceptions. We then analyze the tune of the mix as the fleet industry changes, and as new opportunities arise.
If you are attending the AFLA conference, October 2nd-5th, look for Janice Sutton, Ted Roberts, or Ed Pierce to obtain your first cache of FleetLeads (available to FMW clients) and to learn more about our Brand Acceleration marketing program. We’ll get you started on the road to more effective fleet industry marketing right away!
