By Shannan Hearne, Summit Technologies Marketing Specialist
Sales professionals are facing increasingly challenging times as they try to hit targets in a world that is more competitive and resource-constrained than ever before. To add to the frustration, so many of these things are not within our control causing us to feel like we are at the mercy of forces working against us.
Supply chain issues, inflation, shifting regulations, and worldwide political instability are all contributing to a sense of uncertainty that is making buyers (both B2B and B2C) more cautious. It's no surprise, then, that companies are looking for ways to improve productivity and efficiency to drive predictable revenue.
To support these efforts, sales leaders are focusing on tactics that are within their control. One of the most important is improving alignment between departments and breaking down communication and information silos that can slow down business. Other key tactics include evolving operations to meet the increasing demand for hybrid or virtual selling, for omnichannel accessibility, and ensuring that company data and tools are up to the task.
Summit Technologies LLC and the Salesforce ecosystem customize and provide platforms and tools that encourage departmental collaboration and alignment. The Salesforce Customer Data Platform gives a complete 360 degree view of the customer that is accessible to every member of the sales and marketing teams and pulls in data from every interaction with the customer.
Another success maximizing key change that companies are making is to engage with customers across multiple channels, whether that's through email, social media, or emerging platforms. Nearly one-third of deals are now closed completely virtually, and top-performing sales organizations are more likely to use online portals to offer self-service options that free up sellers to focus on strategic accounts, new customer acquisition, and current customer satisfaction.
Salesforce marketing platforms, including Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (formerly known as Pardot) implemented by a Salesforce Success Partner like Summit Technologies give you the power to bring omnichannel communication to your martech tool kit and engage with customers when they want, where they want, how they want.
To succeed in this new environment, sales reps need to be more than just product pitchmen. They need to act as trusted advisors, with insights and guidance on which products offer the best value to customers. This requires access to the right technology and tools, as well as training and other organizational support. It also requires collaboration with other teams across the company, including marketing, customer service, and sales operations. In fact, 83% of buyers say they are more loyal to companies that provide consistency across departments.
The Salesforce CPQ Product Configurator assists sales reps with configuring, pricing and quoting the right products and services. Salesforce CPQ handles billing, contract amendments, renewals and more all configured by your Salesforce implementation partner to interface with your existing billing and payment gateways. The Salesforce ecosystem of products is designed to implement quickly and scale and grow with your company as you grow. There is less technical debt, no additional on premise hardware to manage, and your Salesforce implementation partner can assist you with ongoing managed services to reduce in house manpower requirements.
As companies focus on building long-term relationships with customers, the role of sales operations is growing in importance. In 2020, 65% of sales leaders said that sales operations were key to defining strategy, up from 54% the previous year. These teams are responsible for analyzing data, optimizing processes, and providing support to sales reps, all of which can help to drive efficiency and improve outcomes.
Armed with tools like Salesforce, the number one CRM platform, your business can focus on business and staff up sales teams while letting the platform take on much of the heavy lifting using automations and workflows.
Ultimately, the goal of these efforts is to forge long term customer loyalty that leads to recurring sales and predictable revenue. To achieve this, sales reps are using techniques like value-based communication, which focuses on solving buyer problems rather than leading with product pitches. They are also actively listening to customers and staying in touch regularly to ensure that customers know they have a reliable point of contact.
In these uncertain times, the key to success in sales is to focus on what you can control and to continuously adapt and improve. By maximizing impact and building strong, trusting relationships with customers, sales teams can continue to drive revenue and achieve their targets.
Schedule a consultation with Summit Technologies today and we will analyze your company and advise on the best Salesforce tools for your tool box.
Summit Technologies is a Columbus, Ohio based Salesforce Consulting Partner consisting of a talented and creative team of Salesforce certified Consultants, Developers, Analysts and Project Managers. We specialize in building innovative solutions for our clients within the Salesforce family of products including Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, CPQ, Experience Cloud, Nonprofit Cloud, Education Cloud, Pardot, Field Services and Salesforce Communities. Summit Technologies strategic services solutions bring custom Salesforce technology to work for your business.