Many services companies still tend to sell their services in largely the same way that they always have. While they might use a range of modern digital marketing and advertising efforts to generate leads, once a prospect enters the sales funnel by contacting a salesperson, a long (and often disjointed) back and forth ensues.
The prospect outlines their needs, the provider explains their services, proposals and briefs are sent back and forth, and pricing is discussed, often all through multiple email threads with multiple points of contact. This method of communication then continues throughout the project or retainer lifecycle.
Sometimes, things are simple and straightforward enough. Other times, projects become complicated and both internal and external communication turns into a game of broken telephone. Or worse, when things go wrong, a ‘he said, she said’ blame game. (Unfortunately, we see this a lot between sales and delivery teams.)
A service marketplace removes the friction and confusion from your sales process.
Even as a services company, there are other ways to sell. An ecommerce-enabled service marketplace allows services companies to sell their services – and even the services of third-party partners – with minimal friction and no confusion.
Don’t just take my word for it, though. Here are three reasons why service companies will benefit from having an ecommerce-enabled service marketplace in place:
1. Modern customers want to self-serve.
Consumer behaviour is constantly evolving, and keeping on top of how modern customers prefer to buy is essential to effectively selling your services online. Before a prospect makes contact with you, chances are that they’ve already done ample research and know exactly what they need help with. They seldom need – or want – a long explanation from a salesperson.So, make it easy for them to self-serve by having ready-to-go services packages available through your service marketplace. Because all the details are already laid out, customers can simply add a service bundle to their cart, or send you an inquiry on something very specific if they need to.
Another way for customers to self-serve is through digital RFPs. A service marketplace can be set up to make it easy for your prospects and customers to send you a brief, allowing you to respond with a quote or proposal within a dedicated customer portal.
2. Service marketplaces make it easier for your customer-facing teams to upsell and cross-sell.
You’ve heard of the Pareto Principle: that 80% of your sales or revenue comes from 20% of your customer base. It’s no wonder, then, that every customer-facing team’s KPIs include a target related to growing their accounts. A service marketplace makes it easier for your customer-facing teams to meet their KPIs by making it easier to proactively cross-sell and upsell to existing clients, simply by providing links to ready-to-go complementary services packages or bundles. It’s also easier for customers to find additional services and products all on their own, simply by browsing your marketplace (once again hitting that self-serve sweet spot).
3. Real-time collaboration between your sales team and your customers makes for lightning-fast deals.
A private service marketplace not only makes it easier for customers to buy from you, it actually also makes the entire sales process easier and shorter. When a customer requests to buy your services through your ecommerce-enabled marketplace, your customer-facing teams can engage with the customer in real time. This inclusivity makes the customer feel like they’re being brought into the deal process. At any time, they can monitor where the deal is at, just as your sales team would do in their CRM. This removes friction from the sales process and, because everything happens in one centralized place, you’re able to close the deal faster.
Build your own private service marketplace using white-labelled ecommerce marketplace infrastructure.
Modernize the way you sell services online by using a service marketplace that allows customers to browse service packages, submit briefs, request proposals, track project progress, make payments, and rate and review work, all in one dedicated, centralized customer portal.
