Social Selling
The concept of social selling has been here for a few years now, but in 2023 it is crucial to be aware that there are multiple contact moments needed before you have an actual prospect meeting. A good social media strategy is important as it might do more harm than good, if done wrong. Building trust is key. Next to this, a well visible trend is that agendas are back-to-back fully scheduled from 9 to 5. So you are forced to find another way to get yourself known to your prospect.
Shorten Sales Cycles
Sometimes an image says more than a hundred words. Using a short sales video in your sales cycle is one trend to start with already, if you don’t have one yet! The video shortens sales cycles and saves your sales team much time, which is much appreciated in this tight labor market where smaller sales teams must achieve the same (or even higher) goals as they used to with more colleagues.
Optimize Customer Experience
Customers are more demanding than ever. They can find every piece of information about you and your competitors online. You should stand out in one way or another. Proactively help your customers with problems they might be facing, because otherwise they might exchange you for a ‘better’ solution. A positive customer experience is key, not only to keep your current client but also to win over trust of new clients. In a multi-channel sales organization, it is important to ensure consistency of customer experience through each channel.
Collaboration of Sales and Marketing
Sales is not just the sales team. The customer journey has so many touch points at which conversion can be influenced. A close cooperation between Customer Support, IT, Marketing and Sales is key for success and can increase efficiency and conversion significantly. Plan regular meetings and make sure all departments are up-to-date and on the same page.
Rely on Data
In the current economic situation it is even more critical to justify your sales strategies by hard data. AI-powered software helps sales teams to analyze their activities more quickly and more accurately. If a project will not give you the expected return on investment, don’t do it. Sometimes you have to sell ‘no’. On the other hand, these analyses will give you more insights on projects that are most profitable. Work as effective as possible and invest in strategies that work for you.
