Developing a streamlined sales process will help your business to stay on track and grow its sales clout over time. Your sales process should define how your organization approaches sales to ensure consistency across the board.
An easy way to streamline a sales process to get more done with fewer resources is to develop a sales toolkit.
We’ve done the research and found 8 of the best sales tools out there to improve your sales process.
1. HubSpot
HubSpot is a leader in the marketing and sales software space. The platform offers a suite of tools designed to improve the results of your inbound lead generation efforts. These tools span from high-performing customer relationship management software to content management software and digital marketing tools.
The platform offers you almost everything you need to structure and execute your sales process. In addition to their extensive Marketing Hub, the platform’s CRM and Sales Hub allows sales teams to develop deeper relationships with prospects.
2. LinkedIn
LinkedIn in a power tool in a sales team toolbox. This platform was built specifically to help professionals to connect, search the market for job opportunities, and keep a finger on the pulse of industry trends.
This business-first social media platform can be useful to your sales process in many ways. For example, using the LinkedIn Sales Navigator tool can be highly effective during the prospecting stage. You can also use the standard LinkedIn platform to keep in touch with current customers and keep track of their needs. Additionally, you can export leads from Sales Navigator to your CRM or sales outreach tools to further streamline your prospecting efforts and enhance your sales strategy.
3. Mailchimp
Mailchimp has been the go-to email marketing platform for marketers and sales professionals for years. Introducing this tool into your sales process will allow you to automate key communications, ensuring consistency, and saving time.
Email marketing platforms are excellent sales tools used to deliver relevant information For example, you may use Mailchimp to send a follow-up to connect with a sales representative after someone fills a form on your website.
It is important to remember that tools such as Mailchimp should not replace crucial 1-on-1 conversations in your sales process, but instead should be used to complement them.
4. Calendly
Ask any successful sales professional what their calendar looks like, and they will undoubtedly reply “full”. Great salespeople spend their time reaching out to new prospects and checking in with current customers to discover how they may be able to help them further.
Calendly is a brilliant platform that helps streamline a large part of the sales process. It works by allowing customers and prospects to easily book time with your sales representatives through a shared calendar system.
This drastically reduces any friction in booking sales meetings, limiting cumbersome back-and-forth and speeding up the whole sales process.
5. Zoom
Zoom has exploded in popularity recently. The video conferencing platform offers unrivaled quality and usability, making it the preferred choice for many sales professionals.
Video conferencing allows you to connect quickly and easily with customers. Although in no way a direct replacement, this can save time and money on in-person meetings or add a further dimension to regularly scheduled sales calls.
6. Docusign
Legal documents such as NDAs are a vital part of a safe sales process. Docusign offers seamless and secure sending, receiving, and signing of legal documents.
Introducing this tool to your sales team will allow you to increase the speed of the sales process and limit any risk of resistance due to slow movement. Also, the safety of legal documentation increases by removing the human element of collection and filing.
7. Drift
Drift is an industry-leading conversational marketing tool that plugs seamlessly into digital platforms, allowing you to automate the initial stages of the sales process with the introduction of a smart, AI-driven chatbot.
For example, you may integrate Drift onto your website to help visitors answer initial questions they have about your product or service. The same chatbot could then ask the visitor questions about their needs, position, and intent to buy.
When the chatbot passes on the potential customer to a physical sales professional, they are already qualified as a hot lead since they have a fundamental understanding of the product and how it may be able to help them.
8. Prezi
For a considerable number of businesses, the sales presentation is an essential part of the sales process. At this point, you will have already invested the time to convince the potential customer to hear you out. Now it is time to impress.
Many tools can deliver an engaging and informative presentation, but few do a better job than Prezi. This smart piece of software gives a more interactive and visual method for getting your point across.
9. Bonus Tool – Sales Process Consistency with TextExpander
Consistency is so important throughout the sales process.TextExpander is used by businesses to create a clear and consistent message across sales teams and departments and on any devices. It’s an efficient way to ensure consistency within and across departments.
Tools for a Better Sales Process
Spending time and investing resources to develop a strong sales process is a worthwhile pursuit. Employ some of the tools mentioned above, and you’ll increase efficiency and make more sales.
Get more tips on running a successful sales team here.