It is ultimately sales that provide the main revenue source for any type of company and this is no different in the FinTech industry. Cash-flow is often considered to be the life-blood of every business and the revenue generated by sales determines the ability of any business to continue with operations, cover expenses and find opportunities to grow. As such, the role of sales is an essential component of any operating business, without which it cannot survive.
Sales in the FinTech Industry
Within the FinTech industry, a common practice that is seen amongst many companies is the decision to prioritise product development over sales. Whilst this is a good strategy – as a FinTech business is only as good as its product – the importance of having an effective sales plan in place should never be undermined. Focusing too much on polishing and perfecting your FinTech product at the expense of generating sales could potentially kill your cash-flow, which is why a careful balance needs to be struck between both. This holds true for FinTech start-ups in particular as they are launching a brand new product and tend to prioritise perfecting it.
Successful FinTech businesses work on devising a strong sales strategy in advance. This includes clearly defining target segments, exploring why they need your product and raising any questions or potential challenges – in order to have solutions and answers ready to the questions that you will be asked.
Below are a few tips to keep in mind when reaching out to customers.
Sell to a Buyer’s Situation
A vast majority of purchasing decisions are made to address an existing problem. Therefore a good way to reach out to potential customers is to first identify what situation they are in, figure out what problems they are currently facing and how your product can help solve them. Keep in mind that all customers are not the same, with each of them having different wants and needs – which is why a blanket approach might not always work.
Introduce Unconsidered Needs
Unconsidered needs are situations and needs that your customers have not yet identified for themselves – essentially, a problem that they didn’t know they had. By highlighting such instances to customers, you are able to showcase how your FinTech product can address and solve a range of unforeseen problems.
Appeal to Emotions
In order to effectively connect to your customer, learn to appeal to their heart as much as their head. Focus on how using your product will make them feel, emphasize personal benefits and talk about success stories of other customers, highlighting how your product has helped them turn their lives around.
Do Not Challenge Customers
The golden rule of “the customer is always right” can also be applied to your sales strategy. When communicating with customers, listen carefully to what they have to say and try to understand their point of view – instead of trying to prove them wrong. This will help you connect with your customer better and earn their trust.
Be Aware of Your Competition
An important component of any sales strategy is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of your competition. This offers you an in-depth look at who exactly your competitors are and identifies their strengths and weakness in relation to yours. Doing so will help you figure out how to position yourself when reaching out to customers, by highlighting what makes you different from others.
Maintain Customer Profiles
It is difficult to sell without knowing who exactly you want to sell to. This is why it is a good idea to have a set of buyer personas – for market segmentation – and divide your customers into different groups. Customer personas can be created based on various demographics such as age, gender, income level, interests and behavioural patterns. Having personas help to identify and make modifications to your product offering, based on the unique traits and needs of each customer profile.
Educate Customers
In the FinTech space, there may be certain customer segments that possess low financial and tech literacy. In instances where you need to reach out to such segments, you need to adopt an approach to first educate them on these areas, prior to communicating how your product can add value to their lives. Having patience is extremely important and will pay-off in the long run.
Have an Effective Demo
Another great component of your sales plan is having a comprehensive product demo – which is essentially showing your customers how exactly your product works and how it benefits them. Providing visual support to connect with your customers convinces them further and secures a favourable attitude towards your product. Having a demo is specially important when introducing a brand new product or novel concept to the market – in order to help potential customers gain a better understanding of what you are selling and why it is useful.
Excellent Customer Service
Good customer service can do wonders for your sales! Keeping customers happy & satisfied is a great way to ensure customer retention and boost repeat sales. This can be simple as making sure you get back to customers instantly or even implementing some thoughtful gestures such as sending out birthday wishes.
Utilise Social Media
Create a memorable and personal experience with users who interact with your brand on social media. Studies have shown that a user’s overall experience with a brand is an essential factor when making purchase decisions. Ensure that all messages and comments are replied to in the best way possible, to create a lasting positive experience with your brand – which will no doubt be reflected in your sales.
Keep Developing Your Product
Even if you have the best sales strategy in the world, you would ultimately fail if your product is flawed. Continuous product development is crucial for FinTech success and can be done by learning from customer feedback and acting upon it – to keep improving your product offering.
