“Time is money” We all have heard about this phrase for a very long time now. And as a sales rep, you do not get paid for the number of hours you spend on sales activities, but you are paid based on your sales performance. It becomes very important for the sales manager to plan sales strategies for the sales team.
What are sales strategies?
A sales strategy is a stepwise approach by a company to sell products or services with the purpose of generating revenues. The sales strategies are regularly tested, evaluated and optimized according to the requirements of the sales process.
Some Key Steps to Build a Powerful Sales Strategy
- Set a Goal – You should first clearly define a sales goal or objective, of what you’re trying to achieve and why. With a goal defined, you will be clear about what success seems like and you can also build the plan to get there. It is not until you recognize what you want to achieve that you can simply begin to understand how to get there.
- Define Your Target Market – Once you’ve set your goal, you can turn your attention to your target market. Have a look at all your products and services that you have to sell, the areas of your company in which you want growth, then you can define which types of customers can help you get there. Not all want to do business with you, and you do not want to do business with everyone. So use your sales strategy to clearly focus on your team on who the right and best customers are, and those who most likely to support you to achieve your goal.
- Embrace Accountability – The key to the sales strategy is to embrace accountability and integrate it deep into your culture. You need to make sure that the sales strategy is being executed and the sales behaviors are being done on a daily basis. Accountability is also about helping people to gain the skills and knowledge to be more productive and successful. Accountability is the story of your sales strategy, helping you to understand what is working, what is not and giving you the information that you need to flex, change and move forward.
3 Time-saving strategies for Sales Reps
1. Utilize CRM for Effective Sales Management
During a typical sales cycle, a salesperson’s foremost attention is progressing through stages that result in successful deal closures. Such stages cover up prospecting, connecting with potential prospects, qualifying the potential leads, illustrating the presentations, acknowledging objections, and ultimately closing the deal.
Introducing a CRM software can considerably affect the sales performance of an organization, resulting in enhancing the business in revenue generation and gaining profitability. A powerful CRM system regulates the classification of qualified leads, stores the inquiries, and documents customer communication, gathering beneficial details of customer requisites. The best CRM software provides a range of benefits by granting the sales team members with all necessary information on a unified platform. Such reduces the requirement for manual record-keeping, as an online CRM application provides a thorough 360-degree view of leads, supporting in assessing complete sales performance and determining areas that may require attention.
Want to know how to manage a sales team using CRM software? Refer our blog – Managing Sales Team Using An Online CRM
Next-generation CRM systems leverage technology to deliver analytics, workflow management, and sales forecasting, adding towards the effortless operation of the sales cycle. Sales team members using CRM systems no longer come across obstacles in relation towards the time constraints or excessive workflow. Once the importance of CRM software for sales management is understood, sales team members will treasure the effortless processes and effectiveness it grants to their work.
Get the best Customer Relationship Management Software in SalesBabu CRM. Signup and take a Free Demo now!!
2. Prospect with a purpose
Prospecting is the most important sales stage. When prospecting is done right, it not only creates a sales pipeline for your customers but also creates an impression of a trusted advisor. Here are certain easy steps to follow during prospecting –
- Research about the prospect but do not spend excess time doing so.
- Determine if the prospect is workable.
- Qualify and prioritize prospects based on requirements.
- Identify opportunities to develop a connection with the prospects.
I did tell, what to do during prospecting but what about finding prospects or leads? How can sales reps find prospects? Here are ways how your sales reps can find prospects quickly and keep filling in the sales pipelines monthly –
- Job boards
The common job boards that will help you gain prospects are – Linkden, Glassdor, Monster, Indeed.
- Social media platforms
The popular social media platforms like whatsapp, twitter, instagram and facebook are the most common lead generating platforms.
- Blogs and forums
Blogging is not just to put some content on the platform but the main purpose is to provide information and knowledge to a vast group of people. These blogs helps to form a two way communication where the audience are able to respond.
- Quora
Quora is another most used application which is a Q&A platform. Following relevant channels to your industry can provide greater insight into other valuable channels to join.
- SalesBabu CRM Software
The SalesBabu CRM Software is a flexible tool that helps to convert leads into sales. The lead management software records various activities of visitors like demography history, referral information and visiting behaviours. Further this data is available for the sales team where the sales process begins. The lead tracking software allows the sales reps to follow-up leads and nurture them.
Read our blog – How to follow up sales leads smartly and how frequently?
3. Schedule daily sales activities
As we all know, sales reps are always loaded with sales tasks and challenges. Sales itself is a tricky field where they have to come across a lot of negativity, rejections and even success on a daily basis. With so much to do, how do they plan their tasks?
Make a list of the tasks according to your priorities and set clear expectations out of them. Do not keep your schedule too tight that you end up doing nothing perfectly. Search for information instantly with the help of technology. But how? Here you go – Keep Track of Sales Activities on A Single Click.
Take a pen and paper and start making your daily schedule but if you feel you need task management software, you can make use of it as well. The task management software helps you to schedule follow-ups, set reminders and alerts, prepare notes and get real time information.
Conclusion
Things have changed drastically in the present world and you have various sales strategies like automation, analytics, content and CRM etc which will help you to make the best use of time. Every sales strategy may not do wonders for you, but when you make the right use of certain strategies that suit your business process, you can surely succeed with enough time and effort.
You cannot become the best Sales rep or improve sales for your business, overnight. It takes time and patience as well. Just make sure you work smartly like a pro!!
