0Sales feat. Tech
GetResponse warns you about the email automation traps you can easily fall into when you rely too much on technology. Avoid acting like a bot and losing human touch and misusing the time saved by automation by sending more emails just because you can. Automation tools can help you keep track of your success even faster and easier than before.
HubSpot gives us a list of 10 best networking apps for any sales professional out there. In case you’re wondering which one of them are free, it’s Calendly and Feedly (the Basic plan), Shapr, Quora, Evernote Scannable and HubSpot CRM.
HubSpot also writes about using sales intelligence to your advantage. Most sales software is able to gather information from different resources (media, social networks, etc.) to signal the best time for contacting a certain company. These tools help you unify all your accounts into one and have all information available in real time.
SalesHacker wonders what sales people really think about sales intelligence. Research showed that 88% of sales professionals believe AI will make their jobs easier, while only 6% felt that AI will make their jobs harder or redundant.
Direct Sales Are Everything
HubSpot believes that face-to-face meetings are more effective in sales. You can see other people’s feelings and moods, you can talk as much as you like and you’re more likely to keep other person’s attention. For an effective meeting, you will have to prepare, pay attention to your appearance and first impression, posture and eye contact.
SalesLoft blog advises you on how to make a good first impression in sales. Not paying attention to how you talk, carry and dress can have a really negative impact on your success in sales because the prospect starts wondering whether or not your company is suitable for their business. Which makes sense, especially in B2B sales, where large amounts of money are at play and people can’t risk to do business with someone who doesn’t leave a good impression. Also, avoid using „crutch words“ such as „like, um, basically“ because they make you seem less confident and maybe even immature. You can’t afford to start a meeting with a prospect unprepared. Check your facts before you dial that number and make sure you have an answer to every prospect’s question.
HubSpot believes non-verbal communication in sales is more significant than the verbal one. Not only is your own body language as a salesperson important, but prospect’s body language should tell you a lot as well. Maintain eye contact 70% of the time and try to ease nervousness of the prospect which can show through moving away or frequent face touching. Positive signs are smiling and nodding, while negative ones usually include raised eyebrows or wincing.
There are several types of meetings with your prospects according to HubSpot – dinner, live event and office visit. Put your prospect’s needs first, but make them feel at ease. When it comes to live events, make sure you are one of the first to reach out to them, either through social media or email, and arrange a meeting. When your prospect is visiting your office, try to be a good host by making their visit memorable. Serve them fresh pastry and coffee, give them a tour around the office and introduce them to people who will be/are working on their account.
New Sales Methods – Consultative Selling and Sales Cadence
Consultative selling includes investigative approach into what it is that your customers need by helping them identify their own pain points. By being empathetic and helpful, you will guide them into making the decision. By asking and listening more than speaking you are increasing the chances for the deal to be closed.
Carlos Monteiro explains in his HubSpot blog how Sales Cadence, usually used by bigger sales teams, helped him as an individual to grow sales in a new unknown market. Not only did he grow sales, but he scheduled 11 meetings with big eCommerce companies. Sales cadence can help you structure your effort so you know where you are at all times. This is especially valuable for those selling to five or more clients.
Writing Emails That Always Get Opened
Close.io gives you a checklist of things not to do when writing an email. You should never refer to generic salutations (such as “To whom it may concern“) and always personalize an email by using the name of a person you’re contacting. Be sure to follow recent major events inside the company (eg. losses and gains) and mention it in your email, but as long as it suits your message and your offer.
Sujan Patel in his Sales Hacker blog advises you how to write better opening sentences in your sales emails. His main point is never to start by presenting yourself and your company, but instead, leave that part for the later in your email and to jump right to the (pain) point.
He also believes you will achieve even more success with your emails by using emotions. There are a few core emotions guiding sales success like greed, fear, envy, pride and shame.
Not to be confused with emoticons, though. HubSpot researched what happens when you put an emoji in an email. Apparently, your wish to seem nice and approachable is usually translated as incompetence. In general, smileys in an email should be avoided at all times, except when writing to a close co-worker or a friend.
HubSpot gives you advice on how to end your sales emails. There are 16 alternatives to most used phrase “Thank you in advance”, that have similar meaning, but make your email more original and creative.
Ultimate Guides On CRM, Hiring And Sales Tools
HubSpot gives any sales newbie or veteran who is just starting with CRM an extensive guide on what using a CRM actually means and how it can benefit you and your team. You will become more organized, you will be able to track your prospects’ place in the sales funnel and you can even keep useful notes about your prospects that will help you and any new sales rep catch up quickly. Most importantly, you will have valuable data about your sales efforts and be able to adjust them accordingly in the future.
Another HubSpot ultimate guide is about sales hiring. You should first think of a hiring profile, then come up with questions that will additionally qualify your candidates, write a detailed but realistic job description, build your employee pipeline so you get the best quality and, finally, measure and tweak. Discover which methods of hiring works and which don’t and implement them the next time you’re on the hunt for the sales rep or manager.
Reply.io offers the ultimate guide to sales automation tools. Here you will find the likes of Grammarly, UberConference, Attach, Time Zone Converter and even their own Reply tool. There are tools which can help you with lead generation, email verification and content, as well as few helpful extras.
Becoming Sales Director in Five Years
Michael Pici writes in his HubSpot blog how he went from Sales Executive to Sales Director in only five years. He started with lead generation by using his own money to buy leads, however, he was skeptic about their quality and decided to do lead generation on his own. He started building his own HubSpot website aimed at new customers that could buy the new HubSpot software and he did it in the evening and on weekends. Michael believes that success is not just in doing your job the best you can, but also in finding where your company can grow and identifying how to serve the needs of that business.
Month In Sales – Wrap Up
We hope you liked our monthly recap of best sales articles on the web. Stay tuned for our October edition and take a look at our own blogs in the meantime.
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