|
flevyblog
The Flevy Blog covers Business Strategies, Business Theories, & Business Stories.
|
Editor's Note: Take a look at our featured best practice, Key Account Management 101 - Best Practices (47-slide PowerPoint presentation). Having a robust and streamlined Key Account Management (KAM) Program is critical, because it helps organizations build strong and long-lasting relationships with their most important clients. This PowerPoint presentation provides a step-by-step, detailed approach to designing a Key Account [read more]
* * * *
Sales engagement platforms are the new kids on the block, thanks to their invaluable help dealing with prospective customers. Companies use this tool to interact with prospective clients. This application streamlines communication via live chat, text, email, or phone calls for efficiency.
If you’ve been thinking of upgrading your sales game using this tool, here’s a guide to help you figure out how it works.
Before investing in sales engagement software, you should check for particular attributes essential to your success. Here are the must-have characteristics of a good sales engagement platform.
Multiple Channels
A reliable sales engagement platform should encompass several communication options. Sales reps need as many available to make communication with prospective clients much easier. At the bare minimum, an engagement software should have web conferencing, video, dialers, text, emailers, and chat options.
Generates Leads
Lead generation and tracking are a significant part of any sales process. A reliable engagement sales software should offer lead generation to help the team find the clients most likely to buy. While sales engagement software won’t offer an elaborate lead generation tool, they offer a sales funnel software that gathers and nurtures leads.
Consequently, it’s easy for representatives to offer perspectives valuable intel to engage and nudge them toward buying.
Centralized Communication Option
Whether you want to communicate with a client or liaise with other team members, a sales engagement platform should avail this option. It should allow you to store and share information with necessary parties in real-time. It gives instant access to every notable person, allowing fast communication and data dispensation, saving time.
It should also set the available communication options in one place for quick transition from one variable to the next at all times.
Sales Content Creation
Every sales team has standard content they use to sell. This software enables the team to create and manage the intel for the utmost benefit. Sales managers use this channel to ensure the representatives have access to these details and are using it appropriately.
Aside from availing this intel, the content creation feature should have a seamless way of updating information uploaded on the software and ascertaining that everyone has access to the latest intel version.
Automation Tools
Automation of simple or challenging tasks makes it easier for you to reach and convince clients faster. Therefore, finding software that automatically uploads data, schedules meetings, and follows up on meetings is crucial.
Instead of following up on every lead manually, you can set the automation tool to send personalized emails to new leads. The same applies to follow-up messages and emails. Configuring the application to do these tasks automatically gives you space to do other things rather than busy yourself with data entry and other repetitive tasks.
Performance Analytics
Sales managers are entitled to know how their teams are performing all-around. Every sales representative must achieve goals, and the managing team must be abreast with their progress.
Rather than ask each person to send you information on their progress, you can quickly check how they are doing using the performance analytics tool. Using this feature, you can check how each account user performs and narrow it down to individual response rates.
This move lets you understand where each member thrives and what areas require support and guidance. Analytics also comes with a sales pipeline tool that allows sales representatives to plan their performance journey. Once each activity is off the checklist, sales managers can get real-time insight into tasks and notifications.
This tool gives them insight into each lead, their responsiveness, and what the rep needs to do to persuade the lead to buy.
Voice Assistance
Typing is a tedious task that takes away valuable time from sales representatives. Instead of becoming a keyboard warrior, you can effortlessly use the voice-to-text tool that allows you to command the software to try out what you say.
Calendar Synchrony
The perfect sales engagement platform should sync details on your work calendar to the platform for easier management. This allows you to have a seamless routine and avoid double-booking dates.
The most reliable and up-to-date platforms can sync particular types of details on your calendar depending on what settings you activate. It also schedules meetings, follow-ups, calls, and every necessary activity that can slip from your fingers.
Sales engagement tools should offer the most reliable services to the user. Automation, synchrony, voice assistance, and a centralized communication platform are what you get when you sign up for this deal. These platforms offer lead generation and nurturing insights that allow sales reps to instantly jump on the next promising lead and capitalize on time to achieve the highest success rates. Most importantly, a sales engagement platform should integrate performance tools like CRM software for better results.
You can download in-depth presentations on Sales and 100s of management topics from the FlevyPro Library. FlevyPro is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives.
For even more best practices available on Flevy, have a look at our top 100 lists:
These best practices are of the same as those leveraged by top-tier management consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and Accenture. Improve the growth and efficiency of your organization by utilizing these best practice frameworks, templates, and tools. Most were developed by seasoned executives and consultants with over 20+ years of experience.
