2025 is expected to bring a lot of challenges — from new tariffs to supply chain disruptions, distributors everywhere are gearing up for tighter profit margins. If you’re unprepared, this could have devastating effects on your business, but with the right strategy, there’s still a lot of opportunity for growth.
Why SMB Accounts Drive Growth
Keeping growth steady in 2025 will mean cutting reliance on at-risk revenue streams and maximizing your existing customer value.
Think of the saying, “80% of revenue usually comes from 20% of customers." Now, imagine the untapped potential within the remaining 80% of your customer base. Focusing on the rest is a great way to expand wallet share and create some revenue resilience.
Key Strategies for SMB Expansion:
- Document SMB Accounts: Identify top SMB customers, analyze their purchasing habits, and categorize them by stability and growth potential.
- Define Clear Goals: Set measurable targets such as total orders, revenue growth, product diversification, and SMB account acquisition.
- Collect Customer Data: Build a contact database with details like role, company, purchase history, and communication preferences to personalize engagement.
Strengthening Inside Sales for Sustainable Growth
Inside sales plays a crucial role in serving SMB customers efficiently. Proactive inside sales reps can reduce acquisition costs by 30-50% compared to field reps while increasing engagement through outbound efforts and relationship building.
Optimizing Inside Sales Efforts:
- Assign Dedicated Inside Sales Reps: Focus on SMB accounts for personalized support and growth.
- Leverage Customer Insights: Use data to create targeted offers and anticipate customer needs.
- Invest in Easy-to-Use Technology: Enable teams with tools that enhance communication and track sales performance.
- Proactively Engage Customers: Reach out first, provide order status updates, and suggest additional products based on buying trends.
The Power of Proactive Sales
Distributors that embrace proactive sales strategies experience significant business growth, including:
- 17% increase in daily sales per rep
- 30% higher order values through upselling and cross-selling
- 20% increase in close rates
Steps to Enhance Proactive Sales:
- Start Conversations: Check in with customers before they reach out to you.
- Offer Personalized Support: Use purchase history to suggest relevant products.
- Simplify Ordering: Provide seamless SMS ordering and real-time updates.
- Automate Communications: Use integrated ERP systems to send proactive alerts.
Leveraging SMS for Increased SMB Engagement
Many SMBs operate in the field and lack dedicated procurement teams, making SMS an essential tool for reaching them quickly and efficiently.
How to Use SMS to Drive Sales:
- Send Timely Promotions & Updates: Alert customers about limited-time deals and product availability.
- Segment Customer Outreach: Tailor messages based on industry and buying history.
- Drive E-Commerce Engagement: Include links to online purchasing platforms.
- Create Urgency: Use messaging like "Only a few left!" to encourage immediate action.
"Our Tuscaloosa store rolled out a text-only DEF fluid special through Prokeep. It’s a very low-cost item, but they sold several hundred within an hour of sending the text." - Truckworx
Want to build a more effective proactive sales strategy? Download our Sales Playbook today!
Partner with Growth Based Providers that Power Your Success
Prokeep is a relationship and revenue-growth engine built to facilitate sales by making reaching customers simple. With one centralized inbox connecting text, email, web chat, and fax, your team can mitigate any challenge and serve any customer with the press of a button.
Prokeep’s easy-to-use solutions for driving sales empower you to get the most out of your accounts and engage customers with ease.
