3 Reasons You Didn't Get That Last Sale

3 Reasons You Didn’t Get That Last Sale

Sales Acceleration

3_Reasons_You_Didnt_Get_That_Last_SaleFor a sales rep, few things in life are as frustrating as coming “this close” to closing the deal, only to see the sale slip away at the last minute. While it’s simply not possible to close every single sale, if you’re losing out on more sales than you used to, there could be a serious problem with your sales technology.

If your business is not keeping up with the latest sales technology, then you’re losing out on some of the best ways to streamline the sales process, eliminate busy work, and maximize your sales reps’ efficiency. That means your sales reps are poised to contact the right person at just the right moment when they’re ready to sign off on the big deal.

Below, we’ve listed three common sales technology mistakes – along with some easy solutions for your business.

1. You don’t use marketing automation software.

This one’s a real biggie, folks, and there’s a good reason for this. Marketing automation software is absolutely essential to streamlining the sales process and preventing leads from slipping through the cracks. Many businesses are surprised to learn exactly how much “lead leakage” actually exists within their organization – and you might be surprised, too!

B2B marketers spent an estimated $325m on marketing automation solutions in 2013, a 50% increase in marketing automation spending over the previous year. Sixty-eight percent of B2B respondents are either already using a marketing automation tool or considering the purchase of one, according to Televerde.

Why has marketing automation become the must-have sales technology overnight? It’s this simple: there’s always a constant stream of leads in the pipeline. In fact, marketing automation users report 45% better leads, according to research from Marketo. A steady stream of leads and increased productivity translates to higher revenue for sales reps.

2. You think your CRM system can do the job of marketing automation software.

Okay, so you think you understand that value of marketing automation software, but you’ve been reluctant to invest in any because you already have a robust CRM system in place. That’s just as good as marketing automation, right? You may want to think again!

CRM systems are great for storing customer and lead account information. But since CRM systems rely on ad hoc data for analysis, CRM systems are unable to provide full, integrated analysis of lead generation data. Fundamentally, CRM systems are a customer service tool; they were never designed to take the job of marketing automation software for robust lead generation.

3. Your marketing automation software is not integrated with your CRM system.

Great news! You’ve made the leap to marketing automation software and a CRM system… but you’re still failing to close the deal. What gives? Inbound lead generation works best when marketing automation software is fully integrated with your business’s existing CRM management platform. When selecting any new sales technology, it’s important that it connects with your current platforms.

For example, here at Ringio, we have a have a CRM-enabled PBX phone system that is designed to fit into a sales technology process anchored by CRMs like Salesforce, Zoho, SugarCRM, Highrise, Batchbook and Google Apps.

Our sales technology empowers sales reps by visually presenting all the relevant data about a specific customer or prospect on the sales rep’s screen. The sales rep knows exactly to whom he is speaking, which makes it easier to steer the conversation towards a positive outcome – thanks to full CRM integration.

Summary

Sales technology may not be a panacea for all sales-related woes, but the right technology can make a big difference when it comes to empowering your sales reps for success. Companies that use marketing automation software, for example, report a 22% increase in staff productivity when compared with companies that do not utilize this software. Furthermore, sales reps are able to focus on what they do best – closing the deal – rather than getting bogged down with busy work.

For companies with advanced sales technology, the sales staff spends 62% of their time actively selling, versus the sales reps at companies without sales technology who spend only 51% of their time actively selling, according to Marketo. When it comes to sales technology, think beyond CRM and invest in technologies that will automate the sales process!

0 thoughts on “3 Reasons You Didn’t Get That Last Sale”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

See Ring.io in Action. Start Your Free Trial

Install our Chrome extension to get started.