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Robert Gonye
Sales has traditionally been an intuition-driven profession. What does this mean? Well, salespeople conduct research on potential customers and then engage the best-fit prospects in conversation. This allows reps to feel out each prospect’s interest and determine whether or not they’re an ideal customer.
Not so long ago, sales data and technology has changed the way that sales teams think and feel — no longer does gut feel or intuition sit in the driver’s seat. Sales data has taken the wheel, and for a good reason.
Today’s businesses need to make sales decisions in response to market changes, competitor activity, customer preferences, and company-wide campaigns. Furthermore, as the cost of acquiring new customers continues to rise, sales teams need to focus on targeted efforts to preserve resources. In achieving the desired results, certain variables need to be mentioned as our key focus for the benefit of the sales rep.
Sales data
Data is an indispensable component of serious successful sales teams. Sales data can help representatives avoid pursuing bad-fit customers, and it can inform new opportunities that sales teams wouldn’t detect otherwise.
However, data on its own can be intimidating, especially for teams who are getting used to such an analytical culture. Moreover, sales teams don’t need to make use of every single metric. What is critical is to understand how to approach sales data so it benefits your teams and company goals then lastly an appreciation of the types of sales data your team should track.
How to approach sales data
First, set your business objectives. (This step isn’t about what data can do for you; it’s about the goals within your business. So, focus on what you want for your sales team to do which can be anything as random as reduce time-line in a sales buying process, to how will it benefit the team and amount of money saved from such an engagement).
Finally, identify which sales metrics are needed to answer these questions.
Knowing which specific sales metrics to leverage is a good attribute for the sales teams in order to drive objectives. Over time, as your objectives change, you then become data-driven sales.
Data-driven sales is a sales approach that involves collecting and using specific metrics to in-form sales decisions, from lead prospecting to people management to churn reduction and pricing.
The use of data then helps your representatives improve productivity. It can also save them precious time and energy pursuing customers who. Implementing a data-driven sales approach can also make your business more profitable up to 6 percent more lucrative than their competitors.
What a typical data- driven sales approach should look like
(1) A team that aligns on goals and mission statements.
A data-driven sales team is aligned on everything — from big objectives to day-to-day goals. This alignment is the responsibility of sales managers to communicate and execute. It’s also good practice to develop those objectives and goals with your entire sales team, so loop them in on any planning or goal-setting meetings.
(2) They build and follow a sales process.
A data-driven sales team follows a distinct sales process. A repeatable set of actions your team does to close a new customer. A sales process allows you to see which parts of your sales approach are working and which parts aren’t. By repeating the same actions across your team, you can make a note of where you can incorporate and track new KPIs and sales data.
When making changes or updates to your sales process, do so slowly and with one change at a time. This lets your team get used to the change and allows you to clearly see if that change is benefiting or hurting your overall sales process.
(3) They use existing data to inform strategy.
A data-driven sales team doesn’t only use new data; they also use any data they’ve already been collecting (even if it’s never been put to use). Existing data can be a goldmine of insights and untapped ideas — just take a look at.
Before diving into a new data tool, do some analysis on any existing sales data, such as information about past buyers and prospects.
(4) They track all prospect interactions to learn what works and what doesn’t.
A data-driven sales team treats every prospect interaction with equal importance. Whether a prospect never responds or becomes a customer, every interaction can give your sales team valuable data and insight into what’s working.
Prospect interactions can tell you a few important things:
- Where the prospect came from.
- Why your sales rep reached out in the first place.
- How your sales rep made contact and what form of communication they used.
From initial contact, you can also track either the sales cycle for the specific prospect, or which competitor you lost the prospect to. You can also gather demographic and psychographic information from each prospect that becomes a customer to further build out on buyer behaviours.
(6) They only engage with leads and prospects that fit certain criteria.
A data-driven sales team only pursues leads and prospects that prove to be good-fit customers — something that proper data can tell them. To do this, your team must make use of the data it collects. Once you qualify good-fit leads, your team should know what data to look at to understand whether they should engage a new prospect. Perhaps you’ve defined a good-fit lead as a customer with a certain monthly revenue as well as a certain minimum of marketing team members. You then want to drive the team to focus their energy on prospects that fall into this category.
(7) They communicate about best practices and approaches that don’t work.
A data-driven sales team is constantly sharing best practices with one another. Perhaps one of your sales reps has learned a new way to use their sales data. Perhaps another has found a new approach that almost always guarantees a prospect response. Regardless, your sales team should always be chatting about their best practices and approaches that don’t quite work.
Sales data helps you grow better
In conclusion no longer does intuition lead the charge on your sales team; sales data is the new kid on the block. A data-driven sales team can save your organisation time, energy, and money — resources that your company likely doesn’t have to waste. Data in sales can also align your sales team and streamline your sales process in a way that maximises revenue and business impact.
“The views given herein are intended solely for information purposes; They are guidelines and suggestions but are in no way guaranteed.’
Robert Gonye is a Business Growth Expert and Influencer. He writes in his personal capacity. Comments and views: [email protected]
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