Automated sales and marketing are a boon for sales forces, yet so many companies still haven’t upgraded their systems. Here’s what you need to know to get started and how to get the most out of it.
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Get Great Software
It all starts with great software. A good lead management software incorporates lead tracking but also lead capture services. Putting a web form up on your website, for example, is a great way to capture names and emails.
But what happens after that? Lead management software is needed to organize all of those names and create a sales funnel.
The lead management app should track leads from the beginning of the cycle all the way through the sale, providing you with constant reminders, tagging leads that are a high priority, allowing you to set appointments right in the app, and sending automatic reminders to both the lead and you about upcoming meetings.
Develop Your Marketing Team
Your marketing team is a vital part of your organization. The focus should be on qualifying leads so that only high-probability prospects end up in the sales department. Marketing should try to eliminate “dead weight” – leads with no money and no future sales cycle.
This conserves company resources and allows the sales team to be more effective. Everyone wins.
Use Real-Time Prospect Notifications
Real-time prospect notification is automation taken to the next level. Whenever your prospects are available to talk to you, you get a notification. This saves you time – you’re not making extra phone calls to people who can’t talk to you right at this moment.
And, you’re reducing the annoyance factor of interruption sales calls by letting the prospect control the initiation of the sales call.
Cater Your Sales Conversations To Your Prospect
When you send content to a prospect, know where they are in the sales cycle. Are they ready to buy now? Then don’t send them introductory information. Are they just getting to know you? Then, don’t hammer them with a hardcore sales pitch.
Your sales system and automation software should be intelligent enough to work out who just signed up to your company’s email list and who has been on it for years.
Additionally, there should be an easy way to move prospects into a client list to keep getting the same sales messages that a prospect would get.
Clients should be moved into “tiers,” separating them by interest and potential future sales opportunities.
Use Email
Do you know how your prospects engage with email? If you’re using automated tools like Salesforce, tracking might be easy. But, what if you’re using a platform like Gmail? Your 1:1 emails might not be getting through or opened.
You’ll want to know whether emails are being read, links are being clicked on, and which links and headlines work the best.
Google Analytics can be used to track outgoing email messages within Gmail. You get read notifications and see other important details about the messages you send.
Donald Christopher is a freelance software consultant. He has worked on many projects and likes to share his advice and opinions online. You can find other articles written by him on several business-orientated sites.
