How Productivity Tools Can Supercharge Your Sales Teams
Brought to you by WBR Insights
Digital technology is helping people working in all fields become more productive and efficient in their roles. However, it's important to have a solid understanding of which tools are right for each job and make sure you're only selecting the ones which are relevant.
The nature of sales is changing, with multiple touchpoints and digital channels necessitating fresh thinking when it comes to how best to connect with your audience. With so many different plates to keep spinning, any tools which can be deployed to help avoid missed business opportunities and free up time to dedicate to closing those all-important deals will be worth it.
With that in mind, here are three different types of tools your business can deploy to make sure your sales teams stay on top of their task and acquire more customers than ever before.
#1 Sales Acceleration Tools
This type of sales tool is dedicated to helping your teams shorten the deal cycle and increase the velocity at which sales pass through your funnel.
Automation software helps sort leads which are more likely to result in sales from those which aren't. This saves sales teams the time and effort of chasing leads which aren't likely to lead anywhere - something traditionally achieved through trial and error.
These tools can also automate parts of the sales process itself, such as initiating first contact with the prospect and beginning the conversation - though it's important that the human touch is not lost in the process.
Email software can help generate huge amounts of actionable data, such as discovering which emails are being opened quickly and who is leaving them to wallow in the junk folder - again, helping sales teams quickly identify interested parties.
Many of these tools can connect with other business platforms such as LinkedIn to autofill and generate lists of contact information, which helps your sales team approach clients with more information about them than would have traditionally been available - facilitating more meaningful connections from the word go.
#2 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tools
There are few businesses these days which don't employ some form of CRM technology, but, for the uninitiated, it refers to any tool which helps your business connect with and maintain engagement with customers - both present and prospective.
Effective CRM software comes with a range of features which can help with this - from simple contact tools to sophisticated technology which can develop leads, track and nurture prospects, and even forecast revenue. CRM systems can help you deliver personalized content to your prospects and assess the effectiveness of different touchpoints and strategies.
CRM systems can also help you schedule emails blasts, social media engagement, and respond to your audience across all your different contact channels. By having all your communications run through a single platform, it helps avoid repeated contacts and wasted time, so your brand's messaging is consistent across the board.
#3 Sales Intelligence Tools
This category of sales tool is dedicated to making sure all your sales and customer data is unified and available for use in the most effective and efficient manner possible.
Once, one of the more frustrating elements of traditional communication methods was having to switch between several different tabs and programs to find customer contact information before entering it into an email. Sales intelligence tools can automatically pull all this information into your email client and make sure the right details are always to hand.
Sales intelligence platforms can also help you manage your active deals at all stages of the pipeline. You can easily acquire a shared view of contacts and quickly identify the key shareholders in a deal. Quality sales intelligence tools seamlessly integrate with your CRM system and synchronize data in real-time, making sure your teams always have access to the most up to date information available.
Finally, sales intelligence tools can create a shared database of all the contacts and customer information throughout your organization, so your teams can use it to build stronger connections. In being able to quickly see the different connections members of your organization have with prospects, your salespeople can determine possible ways to facilitate introductions to new prospects.
Final Thoughts
Sales productivity tools can help your teams become better at their jobs across all parts of the role. From more effective communications and lead nurturing to the intelligent use of data, there is almost no aspect of the sales function which can't be boosted by these great digital tools.
Digital tools for sales productivity are set to be a hot topic at Future Pharma 2019, taking place this September at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf, MA.
Download the agenda today for more information and insights.