The relationship held between both Sales and Marketing is one of constant evolution. With technology beginning to play a larger role in both departments, the integration of both Sales and Marketing teams is becoming a necessity within businesses of all sizes – but why? Digital is a new-age segment within marketing, and this style gives businesses greater access to lead and customer data, meaning more is known about potential customers or clients before they even reach a sales team.
Recently I undertook the 2 Day Sales Accelerator led by Charmaine Keegan of Smarter Selling, an engaging sales workshop catering for all levels of expertise. Here are three of the key takeaways from the perspective of a digital marketer.
Questions, questions and more questions. It’s vital that you are finding out as much about your customer as possible throughout the sales cycle.
Even before you are thinking “sales”, this can be applied within fields collected on your website to learn more about your prospect – what information do you need to discover to be able to provide a solution to the problem they’re facing? It’s important that you know what information you need to gather before being able to provide an effective, and timely solution to your potential client.
Sales and Marketing should work in conjunction to discover everything they need to know about a client to uncover and explore their problems and pain points, to be able to provide the perfectly tailored solution.
So now we’re exploring and asking all these questions, we’re learning about our potential customers or clients, and as learned from Charmaine of Smarter Selling, information is power.
Information allows you to tailor the experience specifically towards different prospects and understanding their pain and problem areas allow you to fit your solution perfectly towards these customers.
90% of the time during a conversation with a prospect should be them talking, and listening should be your main focus as a salesperson. The 10% of the time you are talking is when you are asking questions or providing a relevant solution. If the prospect is speaking for 90% of the time, you’re given the perfect opportunity to align to their specific needs.
When is the right time for business development? All the time. Business development should be your focus on a daily basis, with allocated time purely dedicated to business development activities. Whether this is following up, sending out new proposals, or getting in touch with people who may be interested in your products or services, business development should be the backbone of your businesses growth strategy. Being able to allocate a suitable amount of time to business development every week is vital to being able to expand.
Marketing and Sales align now more than ever, and being able to effectively collaborate makes all the difference to business growth. The customer/client journey should be streamlined and seamless, and being able to provide appropriate solutions and ask the right questions throughout the sales funnel is important in securing new leads and clients over time.
Smarter Selling’s Sales Accelerator is a unique approach to sales, and from a marketer’s perspective, the relationship between sales and marketing is something of even more importance, to ensure a great customer/client experience.
We highly recommend the Smarter Selling Sales Accelerator course for business owner’s who are looking to attract, retain and develop more business. To find out more information visit www.smarterselling.com.au
Matt
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