Securities Market Line

Initially, cold callers simply took an allotted list of consumers from a directory and started calling them. It did work when mobile phones had just started being extensively used. But it did not work well after everyone had a mobile phone and people spent hours on it. Most of the consumers disparaged cold calls as a desperate, disturbing and irritating effort to sell products. Cold calling did pace down because of its decreasing productivity, along with the negative impression generated about the company represented. Cold calling is not a job that just anyone can do, but it is a skill that has to be learned and adapted. Most of the cold callers don’t know how to manage and continue a cold call keeping the consumer intrigued and interested. Most of the callers end up turning off the customers, compelling them to hang up.

Also, because of recession the sales ratio of various companies had fallen down considerably. This has led to lowering the revenue trends. On top of this, the cost efficiency in making cold calls was also seeing a downfall. The cost involved in employing cold callers, paying for the telephone charges and maintaining a consumer report was increasing, compared to the productivity associated with it. This could be because, cold calling as a source of providing information about a product to a consumer has been replaced with Ads on websites, via emails, on social networking websites.

Current Trends Adapted
Cold calling has now adopted a new outlook. Cold callers no longer pick up a random calling list, and start calling. The calling list is now more sorted and more specific. First, data of the potential consumers is collected by the means of surveys, client inquiry, leads from other sources, etc. From this, a lot of information of the clients is extracted, like annual income, occupation type, number of family members, etc. As per the information collected, consumer’s financial status and needs are estimated and calls are then processed. If sufficient information about a consumer is not available, then calls are made, not just to inform the customer about a product but to take his details like an email address, or home address. Once these details are attained, another team works on sending emails or/and free samples to their residences. Marketing strategy of sending an email or free samples is a better option than just cold calling. This is because, in this method a customer gets to learn about the schemes at his own comfort. This way he also remains in the right state of mind to express his interest, and the company saves itself from attaining a negative impression. Read the rest of this entry »

Inform the Franchisor
The first person you need to inform about your decision to sell the franchise is the franchisor. Keeping the franchisor in the loop can also help getting in contact with prospective buyers in the area. Franchisors have a strong network and often have information about potential franchise buyers. Taking their help can get you a good deal and reduce your effort substantially. Secondly, as the franchisor will already be aware of the buyer’s details, it will result in a win-win situation for you as well as the franchisor.

Study the Market
It is very important to study the market before listing your business for sale. Market research will help you to identify the current market scenario and the kind of buyers you can expect for the business. It also helps in understanding whether the market is booming or is slowing down, which will help you to decide the selling price. A high selling price can be quoted if the market is good and vice-versa. A realistic selling price will attract potential buyers and increase the chances of settling the sales deal.

Decide the Sales Package
A sales package has to be prepared to inform the buyer about all the things that he will get the charge of like assets, employees, equipment, materials, etc., that are a part of the business. The package must also include the price of the franchise that is fixed after thorough market study. It is the duty of the owner to inform employees about the decision of selling the business.

Advertise the Franchise
Advertising is extremely necessary to attract potential buyers for the franchise. If efforts are not made to inform the buyers, there are very less chances of someone approaching you to buy the business even though, it may be one of the best business opportunities. To list the franchise in the market, you can place advertisements on business websites, local newspapers or contact franchise consultants who can get you in touch with potential buyers.

Prepare Sales Pitch
A perfect sales pitch is the key to strike the deal. Therefore, practice your sales pitch several times before actually facing potential buyers, as it will help you to prepare answers for questions that are most likely to be asked. Keeping yourself well-informed of the current market trends, profit history and future prospects of the business will help in instilling confidence within the buyer.