It’s no secret that the sales sector is one of the areas that’s benefited the most from the rise of digital technologies. For years, sales professionals worldwide spent a great deal of time scheduling, tracking prospective clients in spreadsheets, and entering data. 
To put this into perspective, 2019 statistics show that sales agents spent only approximately 34 percent of their time doing the actual selling. The remaining percentage of their time was spent on the tasks mentioned above.
Thankfully, the invention of sales technologies, like automated calls using Drop Cowboy Ringless Voicemail, has brought a plethora of changes. Unsurprisingly, many of these sales technology tools have benefited the sales sector immensely.
Consequently, this has allowed salespeople to focus on their primary duty: to sell. Nonetheless, having a clear understanding of sales technology and its benefits will give you an edge as a sales professional.
On the other hand, the various tools made possible by technological innovations have simplified and automated numerous tasks. For instance, you don’t have to spend time dialing your prospects’ numbers and calling them. Nowadays, you can use technologies like the Power Dialer that automate the process and supercharge your outbound calls.
This article provides a detailed step-to-step guide on implementing sales technology. Keep reading to learn more.
What Is Sales Technology?
Sales technology is the digital tools or software that improve sales teams’ conversions and productivity, leading to increased sales. The main goal of these tools is to automate or simplify administrative functions. These tasks include data entry, emails, call scheduling, prospecting, reporting, tracking proposals, and lead enrichment.
Here’s a guide to the different sales technology tools you can use to optimize your operations.
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
CRM is the most common sales technology software. Its primary function is to organize communication and interactions with clients and associated data. Some examples of this data include chats, agent notes, emails, calls, purchases, and so on.
Besides its storage functions, a CRM tool also allows your sales agents to track the complete sales cycle of a customer. This means your sales rep can view their interactions with clients, starting when they were leads and ending with the most recent interaction.
Moreover, a CRM provides customer insights, sales forecasting, and sales analysis reports. Besides its ability to automate administrative functions, a CRM is suitable for your business because it’s a one-stop shop for all your customer information needs.
- Lead Enrichment Tools
Lead enrichment involves searching for and including information about potential leads in your CRM. This enables you to keep your leads updated and accurate. The information required for lead enrichment includes contact information, job title, company size, industry, and even funding history.
Meanwhile, manually carrying out lead enrichment can be tiresome, not to mention the high costs incurred because no sales are being made. That’s where lead enrichment tools come in. These tools crawl the web to gather and structure the data described above. This helps to recognize key decision makers and increases lead conversions since the data collected is accurate.
- Call Tracking And Analytics
As the name suggests, this sales technology tool helps you track and analyze sales-related calls. Specifically, this tool evaluates your calls regarding sales channels, marketing sources, and campaigns. It also facilitates a call transcript that allows you to identify vital keywords, recognize trends, and flag comments.
Besides tracking and analyzing past call data, the tool can also help you plan. You can use call tracking and analytics to prioritize future calls for better conversion. This tool notably allows you to use call data in preparing sales reports.
- Use Emailing/Outreach Tools
The main goal of sales technology tools is to automate sales processes and increase sales. This tool has two functions: automating emailing and providing data and insights to help you make informed decisions.
Gone are the days when sales agents did email scheduling and follow-ups manually. Technological advancements have automated these tasks and many more outreach processes. Additionally, outreach platforms enable sales reps to track click-through, rejection, and open rates.
All these are important when creating future sales strategies for two reasons. First, data obtained from successful campaigns can be replicated in the future to drive sales. Secondly, records from unsuccessful campaigns can help you identify your mistakes and improve on them.
- Scheduling Tools
Constantly calling or emailing a prospect can be tedious, especially if your schedules keep clashing. Scheduling tools are designed to make client engagements easier and more efficient. They enable you to communicate your availability to your prospect. In turn, the prospect can adjust their schedule to align with your availability.
Besides promoting efficiency, lead conversion can be boosted by using scheduling tools since leads are less likely to feel rushed into making decisions. Instead, this tool allows them to warm up to the product or service at their pace.
- Screen-Sharing And Video Chat Tools
Most customers prefer face-to-face interactions because they feel connected to the brand. These sales technology tools can be utilized when the prospective client is miles away; hence, an in-person meeting isn’t possible.
An alternative way of interacting face-to-face is using video chat tools. These tools may foster trust between brands and consumers, consequently increasing sales. On the other hand, some video chat tools have screen sharing as an option. This is beneficial, especially when you’re making a presentation to a prospect. This feature can also help boost your sales.
Reasons You Should Utilize Sales Technology
Depending on the tasks you want to simplify or automate, the above sales technology tools will help you achieve utmost efficiency. Further, leveraging these tools will keep you accountable and help you focus on increasing sales.
For example, automated scheduling provides you with ample time to prepare a winning sales pitch. Consequently, this can increase your lead conversion rate and sales.
Here are other reasons to integrate sales technology into your business:
- Cost-Effective
Technology is cost-effective, so it makes sense for sales technology to follow suit. Appropriate technology helps streamline business processes. For example, sales technology tools can automate some administrative tasks. This gives sales reps less time on administrative tasks but more time to engage with their prospects and clients.
Additionally, adopting suitable sales technology can reduce hiring costs, which helps an organization minimize its expenditure. More notably, while to err is human, some errors can cost businesses a fortune. Nonetheless, technology reduces the probability of errors and increases accuracy, consequently saving costs for the company.
- Saves Time
Most sales-related organizational tasks, like sending emails and scheduling calls, are done regularly, making them repetitive. Yet, sales professionals spent extended periods doing these tasks at the expense of driving sales. The invention of sales technology tools enabled the automation of these tasks, allowing sales reps to create more value with their time.
Additionally, manually fulfilling management functions can be tedious for sales reps as they have to countercheck details to ensure accuracy. However, that’s no longer the case considering that sales technology involves using analytics software, which significantly minimizes errors.
- Improves Customer Experience, Engagement, And Satisfaction
Sales technology tools can enhance customer experience and improve customer engagement and satisfaction. Customer experience involves the impression your brand leaves on a prospective client.
Meanwhile, customer engagement entails creating a bond with consumers to promote brand loyalty and retain them, consequently driving sales. On the other hand, customer satisfaction is about successfully meeting the expectations of the customer.
One way of improving customer experience and engagement is by adding a human touch to your brand. A common strategy used by sales professionals to achieve that is by using video tools. These tools are efficient sales techniques that can drive lead conversions because they prioritize the customer’s involvement with the brand.
- Increases Lead Generation
Lead generation is critical to the sales sector. It involves identifying potential clients for your company’s products and services and converting them into buyers. Sales technology tools greatly increase lead generation by providing you with customer insights.
For example, you can use social media trends to evaluate the factors influencing your target market’s decision-making. Consequently, you can use this information to make informed decisions and to create a foolproof sales strategy that guarantees increased sales.
- Optimizes Sales Productivity
The ultimate goal of using sales technology is to drive sales. Hence, each tool is designed to make that possible. Streamlining complex processes, it leaves the sales rep with one main task—to make more sales.
For example, scheduling tools make it easier for your sales reps to meet prospects when both are available. Also, these tools allow the sales agent to prepare an effective sales pitch that can convert the prospect into a customer. The more prospects a sales rep persuades, the higher the sales.
Similarly, combining lead enrichment tools with outreach tools, video chat, and screen-sharing platforms yields increased sales. Manual lead enrichment is a complex process. However, with lead enrichment tools, sales agents can focus on reaching out to their prospects using a tailored outreach strategy.
Tips To Maximize Sales Technology
- Never Stop Experimenting
The beauty of using technology is experimenting. It’s also the quickest way to learn what works for you and what doesn’t. More importantly, you’ll never know how beneficial a tool is if you don’t put it to the test.
It’s worth noting that most sales technology tools aren’t free. However, don’t let that stop you. Remember that you have to spend money to make money—or in this case—spend money to increase sales.
- Do Your Research
In this digital age, you can find anything at the click of a button. That includes information about the best sales technology tools in the market. You can use search engines and social networks to give you a good understanding of sales technology. In turn, you’ll be able to make informed decisions regarding the most efficient tools and where to use them.
Once you decide which tools to invest in, you can still learn how to use them by researching online. For example, YouTube has numerous tutorials on various subjects, including technology. Similarly, posting questions on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Quora will help either as a guide or provide a link to a source.
- Learn From Top Performers In The Industry
Finding top performers in the sales sector is quite easy, owing to the availability of numerous social platforms. The first place to start your search for these high-achievers is on LinkedIn because of its diverse professional network.
However, other platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube are still as effective. It’s important to consider multiple perspectives before you decide to ensure it’s the most appropriate tool for your business.
- Keep The Consumer In Mind
The primary goal of investing in sales technology is to increase sales. Every step of your sales process requires you to keep the consumer in mind. For instance, if you’re investing in a video chat platform, you need to pick a popular one among your consumers. Similarly, when choosing emailing or outreach tools, you can also look into one that other businesses consider to be the best.
- Be Flexible
Don’t restrict yourself to specific sales technology for every need. There will always be better tools than the ones you have invested in. It’s up to you to remain open-minded.
For example, if you invested in an emailing tool that’s no longer boosting your sales, you’re allowed to reconsider. Similarly, if you feel you want to try out other tools at the same time, then, by all means, you shouldn’t limit yourself.
Summary
Successfully implementing sales technology requires you to understand it and everything it entails. Simply put, sales technology involves digital tools designed with one goal in mind: to boost sales. Realizing this goal requires adopting certain tools such as CRM software, lead enrichment tools, scheduling tools, call tracking and analytics tools, and so on.
There are also benefits to implementing sales technology, including increased lead generation and enhanced customer experience, engagement and satisfaction. Most importantly, a company hoping to gain from sales technology should be consumer-focused, willing to experiment, open to learning, and flexible.
