Summary
- Effective sales tactics start with identifying and prioritizing qualified leads that fit your solution and have real buying potential.
- Timely follow-ups, active listening, and storytelling help sales reps understand needs, build relationships, and communicate value.
- Respecting competitors and requesting referrals at the right moment help build trust and generate new business.
- A consistent sales process and lead management tool help teams apply these tactics and convert more leads into customers.
In this day and age, there is no pulling the wool over your lead’s eyes—not that you’d want to anyway. Customers are more clued up about products and already have an idea of what they want from a product or service. As a sales manager, you need to be a chameleon and adapt to the ever-changing consumer behavior patterns. It’s vital that you keep your team up to date with the latest sales tactics, abandoning outdated ones in the process. How does a company know which sales tactics are the best for their setup, though? There is no set path to success, but implementing tried and tested ones across your sales team and testing which ones work best for you will see your business heading in the right direction. We’ve put together some sales tactics that are known to succeed, along with strategies straight from noCRM.io users, who have a wealth of experience when it comes to selling.
Sales Tactic #1 Know Which Leads to Chase
In an ideal world, everyone who comes into contact with your organization would be a customer. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, which is why sales professionals need to have a strategic plan in place to find the most qualified leads. The first thing to decipher is whether or not your product fits their business needs. If the fit isn’t right, there is little point in pursuing a deal. Affordability also comes into play, as someone might show interest in your product but not have the budget. Swiftly finding the answers to these questions is vital for saving time and focusing on the best leads. That way you cut through the noise and get to the good stuff, instead of wasting valuable time on dead ends.
Learn how to spot a good lead
Sales Tactic #2 Know When and How to Follow Up
80 percent of sales transactions require several interactions after the first contact with a customer. That means your reps need to excel at building relationships with their leads and timing their follow-ups correctly. The key is to nurture viable leads with outreach methods that keep your company in their thoughts. Reps should demonstrate how the solution solves pain points and organize demos and trials that provide the full benefits of a product or service. They then need to arrange a meeting to demonstrate how the product or service works. At this point, the lead might decide to buy on the spot. However, it’s more likely they will need some time to think, which is why following up and keeping communication going is such an essential tactic for winning business.
Sales Tactics from a CTO
“Identifying the size of leads as soon as they come in is vital. We place them in two brackets—smaller leads below a certain threshold go straight to quoting with periodic follow-ups and less detailed interaction with our reps, while larger ones go through an evaluation by the team with strategy discussions, prospect engagement, proposal development and internal reviews before quoting.Quickly identifying the size of a lead and appropriately acting means our reps can work on closing deals at a faster rate”, Dileep Agnihotri, Chief Technology Officer at Water Surplus.
Sales Tactic #3 Open Your Ears
Who would've thought that listening would be a bona fide sales tactic? But if you don’t actively pay attention to what your clients and leads want, how can you provide solutions? Potential customers have almost unlimited access to pages of information on the internet, which means there is every chance they are well clued up before talking to your reps. Sales professionals might be tempted to continuously talk if they are speaking with a well-versed customer, as if to validate their own know-how of the product. Doing so would be a mistake, however. Avoid a knowledge power struggle and listen to what they have to say. If your reps listen more than they talk, then their words will be more powerful when they do speak. Hearing what leads has to say means reps can respond with questions that will relate to their needs and create a feeling of respect throughout the sales process.
Sales Tactic #4 Master the Art of Storytelling
According to research, only five percent of people remember statistics after a presentation, but 63 percent remember the story. Sometimes it can be easier for people to buy into the ideal just as much as concrete evidence. It’s important to have all the stats and facts when presenting to a potential customer. But that data should be communicated in a way that is exciting and compelling, which is why mastering the art of telling a story is key. You don’t need to give an Oscar-winning performance, but try getting the customer excited with stories about relevant experiences of other people that have used the product or service. Your reps need to help leads to visualize themselves using your product or engaging with your service.
Sales Tactic #5 Be Respectful of Your Competition
Avoid bad-mouthing competitors as it reveals pettiness and will likely make you come across as disrespectful. There is no need to use derogatory terms and unprofessional remarks if you believe in the quality of your product. If you’re going to use the competition in your sales pitch, be honest and explain the advantages and disadvantages. Doing so will show authenticity and confidence in your selling. Leads will value your honesty if you’re willing to be upfront about some areas where your solution is maybe not as proficient. Believe it or not, this won’t always be a dealbreaker, especially if you’re selling a service. Leads can overlook certain aspects if they get a good feel for the company. Showing honesty and respect is an excellent way to start building trust.
Sales Tactics from a Project Manager
After the first contact with a client, we separate those that we believe are the perfect fit for our service from those that don't have as a high a chance of conversion. It doesn't mean that we forget about the ones with less chance, but having two separate lists allows us to better plan our outreach methods to convert leads into customers. We also have two separate pipelines, one for sales and another for upselling. Doing so helps us maintain a clear customer base and stops leads getting mixed up with customers. Paulo Ingrevallo, Project Manager at Opinae, a noCRM.io official partner.
Sales Tactic #6 Get Referrals But Don’t Rush Them
Despite the many ways in which people can build business, word of mouth is still one of the most important methods to get people on side. Referrals work because people trust people, with 74 percent of people saying they trust word of mouth, according to Ogilvy. If potential new customers see that you have a significant amount of positive reviews or are referred to you by a trusted peer, they are more likely to buy into your product or service. Which is why it’s vital to have a plan of action for getting referrals from previous customers. However, it’s important not to ask too soon. Instead, make contact within a few weeks of them using the product/service and ask them how things are going. If the response is positive, ask them if they would like to leave a review on one of the many online review platforms about their experience and to spread the word to their network.
Tactical Insights for a Better Sales Process
There are many aspects involved with obtaining new business, from prospecting to sending emails and cold calling to demos and closing a deal. Your sales team needs to have access to an arsenal of sales tactics and a consistent sales process that will help them get one step ahead in busy markets.The above tips, combined with an effective sales tool to manage leads, afford reps the best chance to make an impact and convert leads into customers.
