The sales toolkit: What instruments do you need?
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Business technology has been advancing so rapidly in the past years that it does sometimes look like selling is all about having the right tools. While a short while ago, everyone’s goal was to set up a reliable cloud-based CRM system, this doesn’t sound like a competitive advantage anymore. Rather, making use of cloud technology to host a robust database is considered essential. Today, business owners and sales reps are looking for even smarter solutions to help them further their cause. This article explores the vital toolkit of a salesperson bound for success.
A sales engagement platform
Sales engagement platforms have been the buzzword of sales for some time now, and for a good reason. The term refers to complex software solutions designed to integrate the sales tools effectively in place, eliminating tiresome manual data management and synchronization between different instruments.
A sales engagement platform is built on top of an existing CRM and ensures smooth integration with other important platforms such as Salesforce. What sales reps get is a Swiss army knife of software that hosts extensive and diverse functionality within a single product. Here is a list of integrations that you would normally expect from a sales engagement platform:
- CRM
- Salesforce or similar resources
- analytical instruments.
By introducing a sales engagement platform, you can streamline your sequences and build automated models based on your knowledge of what works best. Ideally, sales reps should be able to mix and match manual and automated activities as they find fit.
Automation tools
Saving time and human effort is a no-fail approach to improving performance. In today’s technological landscape, automation also has the potential to eliminate error and enhance accuracy. Revenue intelligence is arguably the most advanced automation tool that sales reps have at their disposal nowadays.
Revenue intelligence solutions
The ultimate purpose of revenue intelligence is to capture and synchronize complete and insightful customer data that can be used for automated analysis and forecasting. This approach enables building a single information platform that will act as a reliable foundation for all sales decisions. It is also an effective solution to common problems such as messy CRMs.
Marketing automation products
Nurturing social media posts and emails remain part and parcel of sales. By reducing the effort behind each message, you will bring your efficiency to a new level. As a bonus, automated marketing products often offer analytical services to polish your strategies.
Information is key
While technology keeps evolving at a pace so fast it can be confusing, the salesperson’s mantra remains essentially unchanged: it’s all about being in the know. Today’s software market offers a wide range of products that gather, manage, and make use of client data, including sales engagement platforms and automation tools. Combining these to ensure that your business decisions are information-driven is the foundation of successful sales.
Do you feel like your business might be missing one of these tools? Please share your observations in the comments section to promote learning.
