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3 Types of Tools that Help Improve Sales

Even though it appears that COVID-19 is slowing down, it does not change the fact that the virus has changed the world around it. Nobody saw a crisis of this magnitude happening, but it has opened our eyes to expose some of the flaws in the current ways we do things.

The economy will likely be dealing with the impacts of COVID-19 for years to come. The way in which business is conducted has changed right before our eyes, but is that a bad thing? While change is scary, it usually is necessary to grow. As businesses reopen, change must be made to accommodate the new world we live in. 

One of the main ways that businesses will be different in the post-COVID-19 world is that there will be an even larger emphasis on using technology in day-to-day operations. There are hundreds of business tech tools available, but not every tool will be helpful for every job. Knowing which tool to use and when can be tricky! Luckily for you, we put together this quick overview of some of the most popular tools to use in the sales space.

Customer Relationship Management Software

Customer relationship management (CRM) software is a must-own tool if you want to take your sales team to the next level. CRM helps manage all of your company’s interactions with any customer, or even potential customers. 

CRM tools allow you to document everything about a customer. From the first point of contact with a customer to when they leave, it will all be documented on a platform. The value of this information is immeasurable. After this data is collected, you can better understand a customer’s wants and needs.

Your sales team will benefit the most from CRM because of these key features;

  1. Document each and every interaction with a customer
  2. Allows teams to track leads improving conversion rates
  3. Email integration as well as email tracking
  4. Sales forecasting based on data analytics
  5. Completely remote platform with internal and external messaging capabilities 

A CRM program gives you a complete overview of all of your company-client interactions in one convenient location. The real value comes with what your company decides to do with this information. Say you realize that a large number of customers leave after two years, could there be a reason? Or is it just a coincidence? CRM software will help you answer these questions. 

If your company is not using a CRM tool already, we recommend Salesforce. Salesforce is an industry leader among CRM providers. Their platform is extremely powerful, yet simple and easily customizable to fit any sales team’s needs.  

An industry-leading platform will come with a hefty price-tag, however. Salesforce’s pricing scheme is dictated by how many features you want and by how many users will be on the platform. A company will need to pay per person using the platform, and prices can range from $25 each user a month to $300 each user a month. 

If you are interested in trying a CRM tool, but you are not sure if it is worth paying loads of money for, there are alternatives available.

Hubspot offers a free to use CRM tool. This tool is great for very small sales teams, or for sales teams who are on the fence about paying for a CRM tool at all. The free version of Hubspot’s tool is rather basic but will provide a good overview of using a CRM platform. As you use the platform, you can add on features, but for a cost. Depending on how many features you add, Hubspot can be just as powerful as Salesforce, but just as expensive, too.

Whatever choice you make, expensive, cost-effective, or somewhere in between, CRM software is a must for your sales team.

Prospecting Tools

While Salesforce and Hubspot are great at tracking leads, they are not used to discovering leads. Finding relevant leads can be the most time consuming and tedious process of a sales professional. There are tools today to help cut down on the time wasted qualifying leads, resulting in a more robust sales funnel.

Finding leads has never been easier with the advancement of technology. Almost any person’s title, email address, home address, and phone number can be found online. Most companies do their best to keep their employees’ information private; this is where prospecting tools are helpful.

Tools such as Zoominfo can optimize your team’s sales process by alleviating the time spent at building up the top of the sales funnel. Zoominfo will allow you to discover different B2B prospects based on a set of criteria. Sales teams can find companies based on their location, revenue, NAICS or SICS codes, employee count, and more. Once a list of companies is established, Zoominfo can pull specific employee contact information from each company.

If there are any issues people have with Zoominfo, it is that their pricing model is rather vague and non-transparent. Each company pays for a number of credits. One credit equates to one contact discovered. The thing is, each company is given a different price for a bulk amount of credits, so knowing an exact price is tough. It is agreed that one Zoominfo credit equals about $1.12. Depending on how many leads you need a month, Zoominfo can become quite costly.

There are alternatives to Zoominfo in the prospecting space, but Zoominfo is generally seen as the industry standard. If your company is looking for a cost-effective alternative to Zoominfo, we recommend hunter.io.

Hunter is a less-extensive version of Zoominfo that can be used for free. Just like Zoom, users can find a person’s contact information using Hunter, but the tool is less reliable. Hunter is a great introduction to prospecting tools as each user gets fifty free credits to use each month. Similar to Hubspot’s CRM tool, Hunter can be upgraded to be more efficient, but at a cost.

Building your sales funnel has never been easier than now with the invention of prospecting tools. 

Presentation Software

As remote work becomes more of a regularity in the workforce, sales pitches will need to evolve. In-person, PowerPoint, or Google Slides still suffice, but if you are going to be sending sales decks to prospects online, a more sophisticated software offering is recommended.

Most people probably do not even realize that there are other presentation software options available to them. For years, people have just used PowerPoint and thought nothing of it. Today, there are other platforms that offer more features than the software that comes already installed on your computer.

Online presentation software, such as Digideck, are capable of creating beautiful presentations that deliver meaningful immersive experiences. Digideck allows users to create presentations that are media-heavy and just stand-out amongst the crowd.

Besides being great to look at, Digideck presentations come loaded with back-end features that are useful for the presenter. Once the deck has been presented, or once it is sent, Digideck will track how the prospect digests the information. If the viewer spends more time on one slide over another, or if they keep reopening the deck, the presenter will be able to see. This data can be helpful when pitching a similar presentation, or when trying to close a deal.

Digideck will be the product with the steepest learning curve. To truly harness the power of online presentation software, the user must be well versed in technology as a whole, but more specifically; graphic design, video production, have a basic understanding of UX/UI and be a great public speaker.

If you are more interested in seeing what Digideck can do for your sales team, request a demo today.

Final Words

Just keep in mind that these tools are costly and that your business may not have the money available to purchase each tool you want right now. If there is a tool that you need, but cannot afford today, an online-based business loan may be worth exploring. An online loan can be used the same way as a regular business loan, but applicants typically receive their money much faster than a traditional loan.

Remember, the software offerings and tech tools do not stop there! There are so many more tools and resources available to take your sales team to the next level. Always keep improving your business and you will be able to handle anything thrown your way.

If you want to learn more about any of the resources mentioned in this article, or if you want to continue to explore other resources available, check out the company lookup tool over at Crunchbase.com.

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Why Every Salesperson Should Blog and How to Start from Scratch

Maybe you’re unaware of this fact, but working as a salesperson ranks among the most common professions in the world. 

More than 21 million people worldwide qualify to be known as a “salesperson,” according to a report by the professional networking website, LinkedIn. Understandably, the designations may vary according to the company and your location.

Across these 21 million people, half are women and a small percentage are also underage or minors, depending on labor laws of the country.

What This Means?

The sheer number of salespeople around the world clearly points to one thing: that almost every business on this planet requires people to promote and sell their products or services. As more companies emerge across the globe, especially startups with innovative products and services, the number of salespeople will rise exponentially – to about 25 million – by 2025, say industry experts.

This means hiring a salesperson is extremely vital to every business that’s serious about staying in business. And thanks to the internet, salespeople are no longer required to physically call upon potential and existing customers. Instead, they can work online by sending emails nurturing business and chat online with potential leads, all while and performing other functions at the same time.

Therefore, making an online presence is becoming increasingly important for every salesperson.  If you’re a salesperson that’s serious about your career, it is high time you also craft an excellent online presence that aligns with your personal and professional goals.

One of the best ways to create an online presence as a salesperson is by starting your own blog, and here are some of the undeniable reasons why:

Why Should Every Salesperson Have A Blog?

Some may consider sales a profession that doesn’t require or merit blogging, so you may be wondering why I’m suggesting it.

In fact, blogging is essential for every salesperson, whether they are working for a neighborhood brick-and-mortar or selling online for a large multinational company with global presence. 

Here’s why:

Blogging Makes You Popular

As a salesperson, you’ll be familiar with this scenario: some people will buy from you regardless of anything. And some people just won’t convert as customers despite your best efforts and excellent service. This is part of human psychology; nobody can predict why a person trusts someone while distrusting the other, though both are perfectly honest.

However, it’s common knowledge that people will always approach a popular person when they wish to buy something. This flock-mentality, as we call it, leads people to believe that a person is popular due to their honesty, integrity and skills.

Blogging helps you to develop this trust factor among customers and potential leads. They’re curious about what you’re offering and would like to try working with you. 

Honesty Breeds Loyalty

Understandably, not everything that your employer sells in the market will match customer expectations.

Blogging provides you excellent opportunities to write honest reviews about products or services you’re selling, and with some good writing skills, you can present pros and cons of whatever you’re selling in a very positive light that doesn’t harm your employer or customer.

When you’re honest about what you’re selling as salesperson through a blog, it’s natural that customers and potential leads will be drawn to you. They’ll be interested in knowing more about a product or service, as well as about you as an individual. Because your honest blogposts and reviews are a clear indicator that you’re there to serve the customer’s interest too it makes it easy for them to pinpoint you as a potential resource.

Interaction with Customers & Leads

Frequent, healthy interactions with existing customers and potential leads is the secret behind the success of every salesperson. Blogging increases the reach of potential leads you can work with more than just cold calling and emailing alone. People interested in your products will ask questions before they buy. When you respond to their queries honestly and resolve every doubt, there’re excellent chances of converting these lead as customers.

You can also make discreet special offers to convert a lead into a client. And that works wonders for your career. That’s exactly what happens when you blog as salesperson. Customers can post questions and comments about the product or service you’re promoting. Responding to concerns immediately by taking proper measures instead of allowing an issue to magnify will make your life easier as a salesperson and you will be thankful.

Starting Blog from Scratch as Salesperson

If you recognize how these three advantages can help your career as a saleperson, you might now be wondering where to start if you need to make one from scratch.

Here are some basic tips on how to get started:

Read or Watch an Excellent Tutorial

I’ll start by assuring you that starting a blog from a scratch isn’t difficult. Obviously, you’ll have to exert some extra efforts. There’re several outstanding tutorials online about how to start blogging. Read a good article written by any successful blogger.  Most successful bloggers also have their own YouTube channels. Subscribe to this channel to learn a lot about creating blogs that cater to large audiences.

YouTube Videos on Blogging

Usually, every successful blogger shares their knowledge with people like us through their own YouTube channels. Look for these video tutorials from any excellent, celebrity blogger from any country. Subscribe to their YouTube channel to get updates on what’s going on in the world of blogging and keep an eye out for trends in content or styling that can help you stay ahead of the curve.

Learn Basic Digital Marketing

Digital marketing consists of various processes that enable you to reach a broader audience that’s looking for something specific such as your product or service. Nowadays, excellent digital marketing courses are very affordable and available online. As salesperson, understanding digital marketing will help you be successful in marketing yourself as well as the business you are representing.

Invest In a Paid Website

You can open a free blog or invest a little money on a paid website. Nowadays, you can get a domain name and hosting for as low as $99 per year using websites like Squarespace or Wix, which is fairly affordable for every salesperson to start a blog from scratch. We recommend you opt for a WordPress website since updating it frequently and performing digital marketing processes are much easier on this hosting platform. There are also free options like Medium.

Use Social Media

No salesperson can afford to ignore the importance and relevance of social media. Maybe your employer already has an excellent social media page on Facebook, a Twitter account and some presence on YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and other platforms, but you can and should too. Promoting your personal blog by leveraging social media to get more followers that eventually translate into leads and sales is probably one of the easiest methods of reaching a largest audience.

In Conclusion

Now that you know how to start a blog from scratch, we suggest you get started right now. Blogging also gives you the potential to make money through online resources such as Google AdSense, sponsored posting and affiliate marketing. Add to the success you aim to achieve as a salesperson by taking advantage of the many benefits of starting a blog. Good luck!

If you’re a salesperson looking to jump start your career or make the next big move, Rainmakers can help connect you with companies seeking a skilled sales rep just like you. To join our career market place, visit www.Rainmakers.co

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How ‘Girls In Tech’ Empowers More Women To Enter the Tech World

This week Rainmakers sat down for a conversation with Hannah and Isabella from Girls In Tech, a global non-profit founded in 2007 that works to put an end to gender inequality in high-tech industries and startups while empowering women in tech and entrepreneurship.

Girls in Tech is our partner for the upcoming “Perfecting the Tech Sales Interview” event on January 23rd in San Francisco, CA.

We wanted to find out how exactly Girls In Tech can benefit women who are interested in sales jobs in the tech industry, and how we can help their mission.

Hannah, who is a Partnerships Manager for Girls In Tech, explains how often there is a large discrepancy between the number of men and women on a sales force and how that can affect the perception of what is seen as the right “sales person type.” Girls In Tech provides a place for women to develop their sales skills and practice within the realm of their sessions to ultimately become more competitive in the sales workforce. Isabella also stated the importance of networking and community within the 10,000 members of Girls In Tech, with each part of the organization there to support the dreams and ambitions of women in tech sales.

In addition to offering a wide range of services like boot camps, voting courses, hackathons, and professional development workshops, Girls in Tech also organizes events like the upcoming “Perfecting the Tech Sales Interview” event on January 23rd in San Francisco, CA.

More info on the event is below. If you’re interested in attending, you can REGISTER HERE.

Event Agenda:

6:00 pm – 6:30pm: Arrivals/Networking
6:30pm – 8:00pm: Speed Interviewing and Resume Editing
8:00 – 9:00: Happy Hour and Networking

Companies In Attendance:

Verkada makes enterprise physical security systems for the Internet of Things (IoT) era.
Crunchbase is the leading destination for company insights from early-stage startups to the Fortune 1000.
VoiceOps uncovers critical coaching opportunities in your calls. Optimized for high-volume sales teams.
Rippling makes it unbelievably easy to manage your team’s payroll, benefits, computers, and apps — all in one, modern platform.

Our full conversation with Girls In Tech is below if you’re interested in hearing more about ways they empower more women to join the tech world and how you can get involved:

For women who are interested in making a move into the world of tech sales and are looking for help landing their dream job, check out Girls In Tech and consider attending or volunteering at their upcoming event on January 23rd.

For more information on Rainmakers visit Rainmakers.co

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