5 Game-Changing Tools and Tactics to Boost Sales Performance

Sales has changed dramatically over just the past five years. Technology, COVID and the way people buy has transformed what had been primarily a person-to-person effort into something that is hardly recognizable now.

Today, people don’t want to talk with sales folks. In fact, most of us will go out of our way to NOT have to talk with a salesperson. This has put a huge burden on marketing to carry the conversation and nurture prospects up to the point where they must talk with a salesperson.

But eventually, most B2B companies still need sales to pick up the conversation and help prospects make the final purchase decision.

This means adjusting your sales process, sales technology platform and sales team to take advantage of all these changes.

Over the years, we’ve been part of this evolution and have found these five tools and tactics to be transformative for sales teams, helping them exceed their quotas and smash their revenue goals.

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the sales landscape and providing sales teams with the tools needed to hit their quotas. One way AI is helping salespeople is by analyzing customer data to identify patterns and predict buying behavior. By leveraging machine-learning algorithms, sales teams gain insights into:

• Customer preferences
• Purchase history
• Decision-making criteria

AI-powered chatbots are also helping sales teams engage with potential customers and provide instant support. Chatbots can handle routine tasks like answering FAQs and scheduling appointments, freeing up sales reps to focus on higher-value activities like lead generation and closing deals. Chatbots can also collect data on customer interactions, enabling sales teams to identify areas for improvement and personalize their approach based on individual customer needs.

AI-powered sales automation software is another tool that is helping sales teams hit their quotas. Sales automation software like HubSpot now handles routine tasks including data entry, lead nurturing and follow-up emails, freeing up sales reps to focus on more strategic tasks. HubSpot also analyzes customer data to identify patterns and suggest the next-best actions, allowing sales reps to work more efficiently and effectively.

Finally, AI-powered sales coaching and training helps sales reps improve their skills and meet their quotas. Sales coaching and training programs are becoming more personalized and data-driven, leveraging AI algorithms to analyze performance metrics and provide targeted feedback and training to individual sales reps. This helps sales reps identify areas for improvement and develop the skills to meet and exceed their quotas, resulting in higher sales performance and more satisfied customers.

2. Sales Enablement Technology

Sales enablement technology is a set of tools and processes that help sales teams sell more effectively and efficiently. By providing reps with the right content, data and tools, sales enablement technology helps salespeople hit their quotas and drive revenue growth.

Here are some of the ways that sales enablement technology is helping salespeople hit their quotas.

Content management systems (CMS) are an essential component of sales enablement technology. CMS allows sales reps to easily access and share marketing collateral, case studies, whitepapers and other content that helps them close deals. With the right content at their fingertips, sales reps quickly and confidently address customer questions and concerns.

This is called delivering content in context to the sales conversations reps are having with prospects, and it goes a long way in helping prospects get educated and feel safe working with your company.

Sales automation software is another important tool in the sales enablement toolkit. It helps sales reps prioritize their activities and automate routine tasks like lead nurturing, follow-up emails and appointment scheduling.

By streamlining these processes, sales automation software frees up sales reps to focus on higher-value prospects, bigger deals and closing deals. This also means you might be able to achieve the same revenue with fewer reps or even grow revenue with the same number of reps. Gone are the days when you needed more reps to grow.

Customer relationship management (CRM) systems are also a key component of sales enablement technology. They allow sales reps to manage customer data, track sales performance and analyze customer behavior to identify trends and opportunities. By leveraging these insights, sales reps develop more effective sales strategies and tailor their approach to each customer. The more personalized the experience, the more likely the prospect is to close and the more likely the rep is to hit their quota.

Sales analytics tools are becoming increasingly important in the sales enablement toolkit. Sales analytics tools use data and algorithms to analyze sales performance, identify trends and provide sales reps with actionable insights. By leveraging these insights, sales reps can identify areas for improvement, optimize their sales strategies and make data-driven decisions.

3. Video

COVID turned video from a nice-to-have into a must-have for sales teams. But video has more applications for sales than just moving a phone call to Zoom or Microsoft Teams.

Video should be used in sales prospecting to help sales reps stand out and capture the attention of potential customers. Most people prefer to watch, so sending a written email isn’t going to be as effective as sending a video.

Sales reps should be creating personalized videos for each prospect, introducing themselves, explaining their value proposition, and demonstrating how their product or service can solve the customer’s specific needs.

These personalized videos help sales reps establish a connection with potential customers and increase their chances of securing a meeting or demo.

Video should be used in sales presentations to help sales reps communicate complex ideas more effectively. Don’t just send over the presentation deck, include a video with the presentation. By using video, sales reps create a more immersive and impactful experience for customers, which can help them close deals more quickly.

In many cases, who you’re selling to has to sell the project up the org chart anyway, and a video allows your sales team to present to those higher-ups. Instead of letting your contact carry the story, now your sales team can do it directly.

Video should also be used in sales follow-up to help sales reps stay top of mind and re-engage customers who may be hesitating. Sales reps can create short, personalized videos that thank customers for their time, recap the key points of the conversation and provide additional value-added content that is tailored to the customer’s specific needs.

These follow-up videos can help sales reps establish themselves as trusted advisors and build stronger relationships with customers, leading to more sales and higher revenue growth.

4. Social Media Platforms

Sales reps should focus on building relationships with potential customers on social media. Instead of using social media as a platform to pitch their product or service, reps should engage with potential customers, share relevant content and establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry.

In short, reps can build their own personal brand as an authority and an expert on the appropriate social media platform. Just like influencers build an audience and then monetize it, sales reps should be running a similar playbook.

By building trust and credibility on social media, sales reps can create a pipeline of potential customers who are more likely to be receptive to their sales pitch when the time is right.

Sales reps should leverage social media to research potential customers and identify new sales opportunities. By monitoring social media conversations, sales reps gain insights into customer needs, pain points and interests. This information can be used to tailor their sales approach and create personalized outreach that resonates with each individual customer.

Overall, sales reps should view social media as a tool for building relationships and gathering insights rather than as a platform for spamming potential customers with sales pitches. By focusing on adding value and establishing themselves as trusted advisors in their industry, sales reps create a steady stream of potential customers who are more likely to reach out proactively.

5. Predictive Analytics and Lead Scoring

Lead scoring is a methodology sales teams use to prioritize leads based on their likelihood to convert into a customer. By assigning scores to each lead based on factors such as demographics, behavior and engagement, sales reps can focus their efforts on the leads that are most likely to result in a sale.

Lead scoring helps sales reps identify high-quality leads and prioritize their outreach accordingly. This allows them to work more efficiently and effectively.

It also helps sales reps tailor their outreach and messaging to each individual lead. By analyzing the behaviors and interests of each lead, sales reps create personalized outreach that speaks directly to a prospect’s needs and pain points. This personalized approach increases the likelihood of converting the lead into a customer.

These five tools and techniques, if deployed properly, will contribute to more consistently achieving your sales goals. When paired with effective marketing, you get a revenue generation machine that can be systematized to produce month-over-month revenue growth.