The Sales Strategy designs the Sales Team and the Sales Process to best take the product to the chosen market segment.

• Customer Profile with supporting Market Analysis and Customer Buying Process
• Value Proposition
• Sales Process Design
• A Go-To Market Strategy

• Sales Team Design
• Targets (Revenues, Margin, Market Share, Customers & Cost)
• Hurdles to be Overcome

The target customer profile considers specific customer segments that require similar offerings and have similar buying processes. This will drive a sales process that will add value and will best serve this customer segment which will in turn drive a go-to-market model and sales-force structure and size.

The "mainstream market" is one that is defined by buyers in middle of the product adoption cycle. They comprise the largest part of the market (68%).It is normally where most of the profits for the product are derived

These buyers are willing to take increasingly less risks for the reward that a new product will bring and require exacting references. They also require a "whole product" that delivers a whole solution. They are interested in a solution to a specific organizational pain that they have clearly identified and can quantify the expected return and measure it. There are two market segments within the mainstream market:

• The Early Majority ("Pragmatist") segment (34% of the total market).
• The Late Majority ("Conservative") segment (34% of the total market).

• Proposition:- Predictable % business improvement.
• Product Status:- Whole solution
• Message:- Business Solution

• Leads:- Networking. Vertical industry events & media.
• Might Say:- "I like buying from (potential) market leaders."

• Proposition:- Simple, low cost, no risk business solutions.
• Product Status:- Whole Solution.
• Message:- Bundled business solution, discounted price.

• Leads:- Specialist low cost distribution, general media, events.
• Might Say:- "If it's not broke don't fix it."

Contents

The target customer profile will drive a strategy that includes a value proposition, sales process, a go-to-market model and a sales team design.

• The Customer Profile will be an addressable market segment with common needs and buying process.
• Create a value proposition and sales process to address this customer segment.
• Create a Go-To-Market strategy to best use sales and marketing resources and channels to efficiently address the sales process by product, by territory and achieve market segment coverage.
• Design the Sales Team including structure, size, roles, responsibilities and territories assigned.
• Build Market Share, Revenue, Margin and Sales Cost targets.

Mainstream Market Sales Team

For the Mainstream Market, create a high performance solution Sales Team to stimulate demand, identify, create and sell opportunities. This sales force will work closely with senior management to ensure that that hurdles can successfully be overcome. Communicate technical differentiators. This will include of trade shows, seminars and direct advertising in technical journals. Develop existing customers into Positive References. Recognise gaps and work around. New Accounts need to be qualified well to ensure to ensure that resources do not become overstretched. Build position in chosen Target Segment within the Early Majority segment. With careful targeting and effective communications the breakthrough accounts will enable domination of this segment. Use as base to enter enter other segments within the Early Majority segment. Then selectively enter the Late Majority segment.

More details the relevant sections outlined in More Information.

The mainstream market is significantly different from the early market. The customers require the whole product, they require exacting references and are only interested in business solutions to pains or issues in their organizations which the sales force will have work to get admitted. This leads to the following hurdles:-

• Sales Team:- Develop solution selling capability. This requires a deeper understanding of the pain that the product will resolve and the ROI on using the product as a solution.

• Customer:- Overcome lack of references. Find Target customers that admit pain and have a compelling reason to buy.
• Product:- Use partners to create whole product to address full customer solution.
• Distribution:- Partners will be used to provide simple product re-orders and commodity products.