SMEs Need Fresh Approach to New Business Success

A new survey highlights the need for better qualification of new business leads if SMEís are to reap the rewards

Owners of Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are failing to effectively qualify new business leads, resulting in wasted time, money and lost profit according to a new survey out today.

The survey, conducted for online marketing specialist TheSeed.com, questioned nearly 200 SMEs across the UK on their approaches to winning new business. Despite the sales focus on winning new clients, 70% of respondents said that two thirds of meetings fail to turn into real business.

The reasons behind this were highlighted as a failure to qualify and prepare effectively, with 58% having attended new business pitches without fully qualifying the prospect, while 40% said they ëoftení attend new business meetings without understanding the budgets the potential client is working to.

As a result, over a third of SMEs said they had failed to win business because they were unable to meet on budgets, with other reasons including the inability to fulfil all of the requirements and a failure to understand the initial enquiry properly.

Keir McConomy, managing director of The Seed, commented: ìIn the current market SMEs have a range of techniques available to them for winning new business ñ everything from networking to pay per lead marketing solutions. The secret for all of them is to qualify the prospect properly and prepare a pitch that meets the brief. This will not only increase the chances of winning the business, but will save on time, money and effort in terms of attending the pitch.î

With 75% of SMEs spending up to 500 per month attending new business meetings, conversion levels are increasingly important to cover costs and grow the business. Despite this, the majority of respondents said that they spend less than one day preparing for a new business pitch, and 35% of owners said they always attend new business meetings when a junior member could attend instead, adding to the cost implication of pitches.

In terms of attracting new business enquiries, one third of SMEs highlighted their online marketing presence as the most important element to maximise the growth of their business, with over 55% stating web marketing as the technique that works best in terms of generating new business.

The survey also asked about where the majority of new business currently comes from, with 47% of SMEs highlighting national business as the majority of their wins, followed by regional business (within a 50 mile radius) and then local business (within 20 miles). Just 8.5% of current new business comes from the international market, underlining the potential for SMEs to expand into overseas markets.

ìFor many SMEs it can be a tough market, but the growth of the Internet is helping them to access new markets and opportunities,î added McConomy. ìBy targeting new business opportunities more carefully and investing in detailed qualification and preparation, there is huge potential to grow business in a controlled, manageable way.î