Sales Process and Strategy for 47 year old start-up
We want you to investigate our sales funnel to help us understand why prospects are falling off and what changes we should make to increase sales. You will have access to our Sales Manager for information and we will provide all current sales collateral for review. You will also be provided high level data, but not individual account information. Our product is unique- and we have been operating for 47 years, but we have operated as a start up, with no sales strategy or analysis of how we sell our product.
Trade Show Demo- remote control truck with sensor
The main goal of this project is to design something our company can take to trade shows to do live demonstrations. Our company, Global Sensor Systems, manufactures the only automatic reverse braking system for commercial vehicles. We use sensor technology to detect objects in the pathway of a reversing vehicle that, when activated, trigger the truck's air brake system, ultimately stopping the vehicle before a potential collision. We want to create an imitation system for a remote control truck. This can be determined by the students. Whether we do similar technology to our own or imitate the technology- maybe by shutting off the power of the truck when a sensor detects an object behind it (imitating it by applying the brakes)
Global Market Research
The problem: Global Sensor Systems (GSS) is innovating their product. We deal directly with distributors and fleet managers, but we want to get feedback from the end users: THE DRIVERS. The solution: We need to do market research to better understand what drivers want in a system like ours. The outcome: We have hundreds of systems out there- we have been doing this for 45 years! Do some primary market research and collect feedback from the drivers using our systems!
Global Leadership Plan
The problem: Global Sensor Systems (GSS) is a 45 year old start-up. Family owned and operated, was left neglected for 30 years and run entirely by a single person. That person has retired, and the owner and his daughter (me!) have jumped back in to rejuvenate the company. But we have a lot of catching up to do: innovate our product, grow our team, design departments and processes, get online! I have hired 3 people, so our team has already grown. But I want to learn how to manage them. The solution: My dad is a serial entrepreneur with TONS of success, but no theory or background in how to manage a team. I am stepping into that leadership role, but my background is in outdoor adventure leadership and not corporate office leadership. I want to learn how to manage a team so that we can continue to run and grow our business. The outcome: Advise me on our company's strengths and areas of improvement. What can I do better?
Next Gen Automatic Reverse Braking System
We have a reliable product that has been on the market for 45 years. Global's automatic reverse braking system was ahead of its time. Now that technology has caught up, it's we are ready to innovate it. We have a conceptual design, surface level cost of supply chain parts, a wish list of objectives, and an estimate of project costs. Based on our current users and their activities, we know we need to leverage the latest technology to gain an advantage in our market. We would like to collaborate with students to apply the latest technology and techniques to our dataset to gather new and exciting insights that our organization can leverage. This may involve: Conduct background research on our existing product and the dataset. Conduct research into the latest AI and ML techniques and how they could be applied to our data. Developing a model which provides some sort of unique outcomes or insights into our data such as recommendation algorithms, predictive analytics, 4G or 5G OR 6G? Rasperry Pi.
Research & blog media content creation
The problem: Global Sensor Systems, Inc. (GSS) is transitioning from B2C to B2B with distributors who build commercial vehicles and sell truck parts and accessories as our new focus. We will continue to sell directly to major cities like the City of Toronto (B2C), but want to focus our resources on supporting our new distributor network and creating brand awareness. Companies and drivers think the solution to preventing backing accidents and backovers is by adding more cameras- but it's not. Even though the number of cameras has increased both inside and outside the vehicles since 2016, the decline of backing accidents has only decreased by 8%. That's because cameras don't compensate for distracted driving and driver reaction time. We need to get the word out, and we need your help! Ultimately, we need students to provide us fresh insight into the market and create writing that impresses and aligns with our brand's values.
Global Marketing Plan
The problem: Global Sensor Systems (GSS) is going B2B with distributors who build commercial vehicles and sell truck parts and accessories. We will continue to sell directly to major cities like the City of Toronto (B2C), but want to focus our resources on creating a trusted distributor network- but who are they, how do we get their attention and what's the plan? The solution: We need to do market research to better understand industry trends so we can market our product with confidence! The outcome: Develop a marketing strategy for the business, which might include recommendations in terms of pricing, product, distribution (sales force, distributors), and marketing communications (including digital marketing) strategy
Global Sales Strategy
The problem: Global Sensor Systems (GSS) is going B2B with distributors who build commercial vehicles and sell truck parts and accessories. We will continue to sell directly to major cities like the City of Toronto (B2C), but want to focus our resources on creating a trusted distributor network. We are great at collecting leads, but don't know what to do with them! The solution: We need a sales strategy to help our small team manage our leads collected from trade shows and market research. Recommend sales scripts and Email templates Develop an outbound sales strategy Analyze our current process and recommend/implement what we need for customer retention Define our customer journey Advise metrics so we can monitor onboarding and product knowledge adoption Social media strategies for sales support Outbound strategies as we are about to launch a new product
Global Business Strategy
The problem: Global Sensor Systems (GSS) is going B2B with distributors who build commercial vehicles and sell truck parts and accessories. We will continue to sell directly to major cities like the City of Toronto (B2C), but want to focus our resources on creating a trusted distributor network- but where? The solution: We need to do research to better understand the US market so we can penetrate it with confidence! - Channel Partners Competitive Landscape Intellectual property challenges Entry mode Strategy Location choice (Short term goal, to target 5 states with the most distributors/fleets/backing accidents. Long term goal, to have one distributor in almost every state. Future of the company is to one day have a US headquarters). Sourcing of Suppliers The outcome: To have a strategy and plan to follow with clear timelines and SMART goals.
Sales Package Design
The problem: Global Sensor Systems (GSS) is going B2B with distributors who build commercial vehicles and sell truck parts and accessories. We will continue to sell directly to major cities like the City of Toronto (B2C), but want to focus our resources on supporting our new distributor network. The solution: Develop a sales package that includes the following: - Distributor Kit (a promotional package about our product/our business that we can send to businesses interested in joining our trusted network of distributors OR, businesses we approach.) - Sales package (resources to help our distributor’s sales team SELL our product and REPRESENT OUR BRAND, like a sales script, brochure of our products, pre-designed social media material, a short promo video) - Trade Show Kit (pamphlets! Info postcards! Promotional aids!) The outcome: To have a whole arsenal of resources to support our distributors that encompass control of our brand and message throughout each business. Print and digital.