The advancing of technology has led organisations to use data in every aspect of the business. Data is collected, measured and analysed to help businesses make strategic decisions that lead to profitability. Sales is one such aspect where sales team can use data to prospect rather than the traditional method of relying simply on gut feeling. Data- driven sales strategy is an approach where sales teams gather data and utilise it to inform every decision they make. Businesses need to make informed sales decisions keeping in mind the changing market, competitors and customer preferences. Hence, relying on intuitions is not enough and data is imperative.
Sales reps can use sales enablement to improve productivity. It can save them time and energy pursuing prospects. A data-driven sales approach can make a business profitable. But how to build your data-driven sales team in order to ensure successful use of sales data? Here are some ways how you can effectively use data-driven sales approach, whether you are new to this or already using this approach.
Getting everyone on board
It is important that all executives understand the importance of data for decision-making. You can demonstrate this to the team by using the data that you already have access to. Evaluating data from CRM, marketing automation platforms and sales enablement tools you can draw educated results about how this data can impact sales processes.
Align goals and mission
It is important for the entire team to be aligned in all day-to-day tasks. An ideal data-driven sales team would be on the same page and in sync with one another. This responsibility should be taken by the sales manager. Communication in between team is important. The sales team should be given a common objective. The entire team should be in the loop to discuss and execute the fulfilment of these objectives.
Following sales process
Data-driven sales team follows a specific sales process. These are repeated actions the team does to procure new customers. This sales process allows you to evaluate the aspects of your process that are working and not working. By repeating the same process, you can also track new sales data and KPI’s. If you want to update or make any changes in the sales process, make sure to incorporate them slowly so that the entire team gets a hang of these changes. This will also allow you to analyse if the new changes are useful or not.
Using existing data
A successful data-driven sales team not only uses new data but also the data they have already collected. This existing data can have valuable insights and new ideas that have not been explored. It is important to take a look at the existing data before coming up with new data tools. This can give you information about prospects or buyers. Your entire sales team should discuss this existing data and come up with new strategies.
Using CRM
A data-driven sales team uses Customer Relationship Management tools in order to get valuable results. CRM database can replace lengthy spreadsheets and generate useful sales reports. It can keep track of all prospects and customer related activities. It will also help automate certain tasks such as email follow-ups. It will keep the entire sales team in synch and make data accessible to all executives.
Engaging with quality leads and prospects
Data-driven sales team should focus on leads and prospects that qualify for ideal customers. This can be told by using proper data. Sales data can save the sales team time and energy by filtering out customers that are profitable. In order to do this the team must look at data they collect. The next step should be to pick leads that are a good fit. The sales team should know which data to look at in order to understand whether to engage a prospect or not.
Sharing information
The sales team should share the best processes with each other. If one of the sales reps has learned a new method to make a certain process easy and less time consuming, they should share it with other team members to improve overall team performance. The sales team should always communicate with one another. The information can be shared in meetings or one-on-one conversations between reps and manger.
Taking these measures can help the sales team make educated decisions rather than relying on intuition. This data-driven sales approach can help your business save time, energy and money. It can also help your team communicate better and work more efficiently to increase revenue.
