Leading a company sales department is one of the most difficult parts of managing a business. If your company’s been suffering from poor sales over the last few quarters, finding ways to jumpstart your sales is essential if you want your company to start seeing growth and an increase in revenue. There are tons of ways to jumpstart your company’s sales. Here is a collection of techniques and tools for generating more sales at a faster rate.
1. Use a CRM Software
Customer relationship management (CRM) software can help you manage customer relationships with ease. It can also help you determine where a customer is in the buyer’s journey as well as analyze customer interactions and data throughout the course of the customer lifecycle. It’s important to have a good CRM in place to make sure the various aspects of your business are aligned and can communicate effectively because if your departments can’t communicate effectively, you lose productivity, and subsequently, sales.
Companies use CRM software to improve customer service relationships and drive sales. A good CRM software gathers all pertinent customer data and combines it into one place, including interactions across multiple channels of communication (such as phone, email, live chat, social media, and SMS/text). A CRM software can provide your agents with a wealth of information about customers and prospects that helps them make important sales decisions. You can see things like purchase history, personal information, concerns, and buying preferences. Additional features like marketing automation, contact center automation, and sales force automation make this software even more attractive to small and growing businesses.
2. Use Content and Social Media Marketing
Content marketing and social media marketing are increasingly being used to connect with customers and prospects online. Content marketing means creating a plan for distributing relevant, engaging content online to get potential customers familiar with your brand and online identity. A robust content marketing and social media marketing plan can catapult your business into the next growth phase if implemented correctly.
Craft a content strategy based on your target audience and a social media marketing plan based on which platforms they use most. If your target audience is on Facebook, create a plan to get people engaged and talking about your business. Don’t worry about selling at this point. The idea is to start building some type of relationship with your customers and prospects so that they begin to trust and like you. Continue to nurture these relationships until the customer reaches the purchasing stage in the buyer’s journey.
3. Advertise More
If you want your company to be seen more, you’ve got to put yourself out there. If content marketing and social media marketing aren’t quite garnering the results you want (or you just want to try everything), you can always stick with traditional marketing and place ads. You can even combine marketing methods and advertise using social media and your other content marketing channels. Figure out the best way to say what you want to say to your target audience and find the best ways to reach them, whether it’s via social media, blog sites, or online forums. You could also consider taking a few pointers from a local ad agency or PR firm to get tips on how best to utilize your marketing tools.
4. Create a Contest, Event or Promotion
If your sales have been suffering, creating an event or promotion can help boost sales by getting customers to engage with your brand online. If people know they can potentially win something or get a discount on something they really need, they’ll be much more willing to part with their money or engage with your brand online. You can choose to host a contest around a holiday or you can create your own special event. You could also host a promotion that donates a portion of your proceeds to a charity of your choice. This way you bring awareness to the charity/cause and you also bring your company into the spotlight. Win-win.
Jumpstarting your sales isn’t going to happen overnight, but it is doable. With the above tips in mind, you can begin to think about exactly what technique is right for your company and start employing them as soon as possible. Once you have a solid strategy in place, you can look forward to a boost in revenue and increased customer engagement. Now you have all that you need to be more successful next quarter as long as you understand the importance of tracking sales no matter what.
