The sales process is the backbone of any sales operation. Without it, sales reps would be flying blind and sales managers would find reporting and forecasting near impossible.
But with an array of new sales technology, it may be time to rethink your sales process. New tech is quickly replacing the old and so are new sales tactics. What worked one year ago is not necessarily the most relevant in today’s selling world.
To stay competitive, sales leaders must be quick to adapt to the rapidly evolving market. With the sales tech at our disposal today, let’s take a look at how sales leaders can mature their sales process to operate with confidence in 2021.
High performing GTM teams are constantly evaluating their sales process
It’s critical for GTM leadership to continually evaluate their sales process to remain competitive and nimble enough to adapt to changing markets. There’s no such thing as universal best practices - it all depends on your goals and target market.
One way to evaluate your sales process is to look at your buyers’ sentiment.
Buyer sentiment refers to a buyer’s emotional response to a sales engagement (e.g. was the reaction positive, an objection, a referral, or an unsubscribe)?
These responses make it easier for sales reps and leaders to gauge the likelihood of the sales process trekking ahead or potential next steps to take.
Having these insights is crucial to maturing your sales process and keeping customer needs at the center of your sales motion.
A mature sales process begins with access to the right data
The foundation of a mature sales process is data. Not just any data, but actionable data and insights into your current process that clearly explains what’s working, and what’s not.
For teams who rely on cold emailing as part of their prospecting strategy, utilizing data and analytics is critical to measuring performance and more importantly, converting prospects into true sales opportunities.
Up until this year, that meant relying on traditional metrics such as reply and open rates to measure the success of your prospecting sequences. Historically speaking, a high reply rate to a sequence generally meant it was a success…
But what if a good portion of those replies were negative in nature? This makes judging the true performance of your sequences far more challenging.
With new technology such as Buyer Sentiment Analysis, sales reps and managers now have access to a wider range of data and intel into reply sentiment. For sales reps, this means putting your prospects first and ultimately, closing more deals. For sales leaders, you will obtain greater insight into team performance and be able to coach your team more effectively.
Lead by example by using data to refine your approach
Anyone in a leadership position knows the importance of leading by example and in sales, this couldn’t ring more true.
If you want your team to drive excellence and continuous improvement, then start by showing them how.
The right data can be used in a variety of ways; from analyzing the performance metrics for each individual rep to using sentiment analysis to determine if reps are being responsive enough with their prospects.
Using buyer sentiment, leaders are equipped to better coach their teams and mature their sales process for a truly ironclad strategy.
Ready to discover the top five tips to build an ironclad sales process and how you can coach your team with clarity using buyer sentiment? Check out this ebook.
