Sales intelligence software helps sales professionals to close
more deals, faster. In todays multi-channel digital world a sales
person’s job is far from simple. They are often lost in a sea of social
media data, Google search results, and online directories, trying
desperately to find the names and email addresses of appropriate
prospects. Then they are left wondering where to begin when it’s time to
make that sales call.
New research is proving that when managers invest in sales
intelligence software, salespeople can keep their pipelines full of the
right leads, better serve prospects and bolster sales effectiveness.
What is Sales Intelligence Software?
While the term ‘sales intelligence’ simply means any information that
can be useful to improve sales effectiveness, sales intelligence
software usually refers to online solutions with deep insights and
social data on companies along with prospects so that your sales team’s
funnel is always full of quality leads with organized details on each
lead to give your team a full picture of who they are selling to. Armed
with relevant and organized data, sales people can better lead nurture,
social sell and have meaningful conversations with only your most
relevant prospects. This way, sales people can concentrate on what they
do best – selling.
Approaching potential customers should only happen once sales people have a fair knowledge of:
- The prospect’s business and industry
- General information about the prospect through their social media profiles.
- Pain points the prospect is facing
- What unique solution you can offer in contrast to your competitors
- How effective this solution might turn in the favor of your prospects business.
providing value to the potential customer beyond what was promised
is Sales Intelligence. Software and other sales intelligence tools make
the process of collecting data faster and of better quality.
The Problem with Not Using Sales Intelligence Software Today…
Salespeople who do not rely on sales intelligence subsequently spend
on average 200 hours a year not selling because they are tied up with
finding the right prospect data and figuring out how to make an initial
pitch. Researching a prospect in today’s digital world can be tedious
and take up an unnecessary amount of a sales person’s time. Time that
could be spent on the phones selling. In sales, time is the most precious commodity.
A report by CSO Insights revealed that only 9.7% of businesses equip
their reps with sales intelligence programs whereas 90.3% admitted that
there’s a level of effort required on the sales peoples part in order to
have access to sales intelligence.
It is “shocking” how few companies truly help their salespeople
prepare to have meaningful conversations, says CSO Insights authors Jim
Dickie and Barry Trailer. “We may want them to do it. We may even demand
they do it. But precious few of us give salespeople access to the sales
intelligence to actually do it.” The number of companies that don’t
support salespeople in terms of preparing to create and strike up
meaningful conversations with prospects is appalling. The most common
situation is that sales managers expect their reps to be at their best
when they call out, they even require and make them do it. However,
there is often not enough information available to the reps to make this
happen.
Therefore, sales teams are forced to waste a lot of their time
sifting through endless unorganized internet data to come up with their
own sales intelligence. Given the pressure to sell to large numbers,
sales people have a limited amount of time to generate their own sales
intelligence. Consequently, they rush into prospect interactions usually
with basic information and less confidence in their approach.
Sales Intelligence Software Solves this Issue
Sales intelligence software ultimately puts sales teams in the best
position to succeed. According to an Aberdeen Group report, 62% of B2B
salespeople using sales intelligence software reported improved lead
quality and quantity to maximize selling time.
Finding relevant prospects for your business is the first step
towards building an effective sales process. Sales Intelligence software
like ‘Connectors Marketplace Managed Service’ will identify the most
influential prospects who are most likely to buy from your company. For
your sales team, this spares time and vitality of searching for
prospects everywhere throughout the web, whilst also simplifying the
sales process.
Not only does Connectors Marketplace continuously provide your reps
with a comprehensive list of relevant prospects, their phone numbers,
and email, they also give you the latest news about the current company
your prospect works for, as well as a link to their LinkedIn, Twitter,
and Google+ account. With easy access to their social media, social
selling and lead nurturing becomes a lot easier. It also allows your
team to learn more about the person or engage with them online to
establish a stronger relationship.
“Chance favors the prepared mind”
The best way to maximize a seller’s ability to close a deal is tofollow the advice of Louis Pasteur: “Chance favors the prepared mind.”
There is nothing more impressive to prospects then when sales
professionals have done their homework. Knowledge is power and when it
comes to sales reps, it drives revenue. Top performing sales departments
rely on quality sales intelligence before meeting with potential
buyers. Every buyer is different and although strategies can be broad,
tactics must be customized and humanized to make a strong differentiated
connection.
Learning about prospects’ needs, wants, and concerns upfront, can help improve client acquisition because it builds confidence. Many organizations spend money on motivating sales teams when in fact, they need more confidence.
Sales intelligence can give sales team a drastic edge over the
competition. This is all about building your team’s persona as trusted
advisors, rather than as commission-hungry salespeople. And given the
endless information available to today’s buyers — they can easily
educate themselves about your products and pricing without you — it is
vital to add human value to sales conversations.
The value of sales intelligence software is undeniable. Your sales
people perform at their best when they can cut through the information
challenges, maximize their sales potential and cut back on the
obstacles. You don’t want your sales team to just work harder, you want
them to work smarter. This is done with sales intelligence software.
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