Category: Sales Opinion

Analyzing the efficacy of cold calling in 2022

Posted on by vishal arora

If you are in sales, you probably have a love-hate relationship with cold calling. If it works for you, it boosts your confidence. However, if you dread dialing a stranger, it implies that you may have been burnt in the past.  And the irony is that even after being in sales, you might not like to be on the receiving end of unsolicited calls.

Due to the unpredictability of your prospect’s response and negative press associated with cold calling, its efficacy has often been questioned. In this blog, we will aim to settle this age-old debate and explore if cold calling is, in fact the right approach for you in 2022.

But first, let’s define cold calling.

What is cold calling?

Cold calling is your attempt to reach out to your prospective customers and convince them that your offering can add value to their business. Your call is deemed ‘cold’ because the prospect is not expecting your call and may or may not be aware of you/your company. 

It is almost impossible to predict your potential buyer’s initial response to your cold call. Hence it is only natural for you to shy away from attempting them.  Even if you did muster the courage to pick up the phone and dial a prospect, is cold calling still effective in today’s 24*7*365 digitally connected world? Let’s find out!

Does cold calling still work in 2022?

Cold calling might not seem ideal when selling to today’s well-informed buyers with unlimited choices at their fingertips. Moreover, research indicates that an average  B2B buyer consumes 13 pieces of content before making a purchase. As a salesperson, you would think that it would be best to engage your ICP and existing clients on social media instead of making random calls. 

Well, you are not entirely wrong! Salespeople now have several other less intimidating options to generate leads successfully. Moreover, substantial evidence makes these alternate options even more enticing.  Let’s look at some data.

  • According to LinkedIn, the conversion rates from cold calls are a meager 2%.
  • On average, it takes around 18 calls to get through to one potential buyer.
  • For 63% of salespeople, cold calling is the most disliked part of their job.
  • HubSpot data indicates that 84% of buyers are annoyed with sales reps who try to convince them over cold calls.

However, one wonders whether these numbers are primarily due to inadequate cold calling techniques. Hence, think again before you dismiss cold calling altogether. Here are some reasons why cold calls can still produce significant results.

Availability of supporting data

We have looked at stats that diminish your expectations from cold calling. But there is equally credible data available that supports its benefits. According to RAIN Group’s Top Performance in Sales Prospecting benchmark report, “Cold calling lives, and the phone still matters”. Here are some stats from this report.

RAIN group cold calling stats

Let’s look at some more favorable data from additional sources.

  • 41% of salespeople consider the phone as their most valuable tool for work, along with CRM, email, and prospecting via social media.
  • Another RAIN group study states that 51% of company owners prefer to hear from salespeople via phone than by email, drop-in visits, and other modes of communication.

Educates buyers who need help

There are still many business owners who just don’t have the time or resources to look for alternative suppliers. They might not be aware that switching vendors could probably save them a lot more time and money. You can help these prospects drive business growth by making your cold calls.

Guarantees immediate reaction

Unlike other methods, a cold call is bound to get a response from your potential buyer. Your prospect will either be interested, deny your services or attempt a vague answer that indicates their lack of interest. On the other hand, emails are easy to ignore, and  social media prospecting can take a long time to produce results.

cold calling_RAIN Group quote
Source

Now that you feel more optimistic about cold calls, go through the below strategies to strengthen your cold calling technique.

16 Tips to strengthen your cold calling game

Cold calling tips

Pre-call research is mandatory

This is the most apparent but extremely vital tip. Your prospect might not have any idea about you, your company, or what you are trying to sell. Nevertheless, it is your job to study your potential buyer and prepare before picking up that phone. It will make you stand out amongst numerous other cold calls and add an extra zing to your pitch. 

Before making cold calls, you can look up some basic information: company background, prospect profile, target audience/sector, company performance, pain points and how you can address them, etc.

Identify your targets

All of your strategic planning will be in vain if you are not speaking to the right person. Astonishingly, 88% of B2B buyers usually have nothing to do with cold callers.  Sometimes the person you need on the phone may be the decision-maker, and sometimes it can be the one who will use your solution. Pre-call research will come in handy here.

Get your timings right

Your cold calling timing is critical in getting a positive response or at least engaging your prospects for a few minutes on the phone. Here are a few tips to make a note of.

  • Most of your prospects will work 9 to 5, so save your calls for low workload times like early morning, lunchtime, or the end of the workday.
  • If your target audience belongs to the senior management category (like CXOs or VPs), they will be the busiest from 9 to 5, and assistants will probably screen their calls. Most of them reach the office early morning and also have more time to spare in the late evening. So you can try calling before 9 am or between 5 to 7 pm.
  • Mondays are not ideal for cold calls as most buyers will be busy with their weekly priorities.
  • Midweeks are usually your best shot as they would settle into their schedule and tackle their critical issues for the week by that time.

Follow a fixed schedule

You may have to tweak your cold call schedule depending on your industry, your target audience, and your role. So experiment with the timings suggested earlier and figure out your ideal calling windows. Then set your schedule and stick to it. Make your calls only during those times and execute your non-revenue generating tasks outside your calling hours.

Chose your opening wisely

To get the conversation started and going longer, correct your opening. Many salespeople begin the call with, “Is this a bad time?”. However, LinkedIn suggests that opening your cold call with this question makes you 40% less likely to book a meeting. Instead, start by checking in with your prospects. The data suggests that opening cold calls with sentences like “How have you been?” increases your success rate by 10.01%.

Have a defined outline

You need to create the maximum impact you can within the few minutes you get on a cold call. So it’s best to have an outline or a customizable script to tackle them with ease. It will help you keep the conversation on track. Here are a few key elements you can include in your introductory call.

Cold calling outline
Source

Also read: Cold calling scripts: 13 steps and 4 script templates to close more deals

State your reasons

Humans are generally curious about the ‘why’ of things. So always state the reason for your call. Research indicates that expressing your motive behind the call increases your success rate by 2.1x.

Connect first, pitch later

LinkedIn claims that longer calls have better chances at landing meetings. When your prospects pick up the phone,  try to sense their state of mind. Show your human side and do not hesitate to engage in a little small talk. Build rapport by offering something valuable free of cost like a business tip, industry information, or other useful resources. 

Remember, it’s about them and not you

No one likes to be interrupted on a workday with a self-promoting monologue. Your agenda behind the call, besides selling, should be building utility. Show interest in your prospect and their business to get them talking. Demonstrate what you know about them and how you can make their life easier.

Keep your questions open-ended

To keep your conversation engaging and interactive, do not lead with close questions. By asking questions that end with “Yes” or “No”, you are not giving them a chance to open up, or worse, giving them an easy out. Practicing active listening and asking open-ended questions increases your chances of scoring your next appointment.

Here are some questions you could ask.

cold calling open ended questions
Source

Use a compelling closing question

LinkedIn suggests that the best closing line to end cold calls is “Do you have a calendar handy?” It cancels out any excuses not to give you a meeting as you are not asking for it. You are just checking if they have a calendar handy. If the prospect says no, you have your answer right away.

Upgrade your voicemail 

Mastering strong voicemails is imperative to getting meetings as the chances of your cold calls not getting picked up are usually high. Here are a few tips for leaving an impactful voicemail.

  • Keep it short and sweet.
  • Sound energetic and friendly.
  • Use your full name, company name, and prospect’s name
  • Your goal is not to get a callback and not pitch over voicemail.
  • Quickly mention references or details on how you know them (if applicable).

Follow-up diligently

Consistent follow-ups might feel monotonous but are critical to sales success. Diligent and timely follow-ups are the catalysts for sales success.

Track your progress

You can not master your cold calls without measuring your progress. Look at the data, see what works best, and do more of it. Track metrics like the number of dials per hour, appointments set, leads generated, and conversation rate to gauge your performance.

Don’t be overwhelmed by knock-backs

Logically, you might be prepared for rejections, but it is still challenging to face recurrent denials. Try coping mechanisms like taking each rejection or win as a learning for the next call. Sharing unpleasant cold-calling experiences with colleagues or seniors will also lend a new perspective.

Be tenacious

W Stone quote
Source

Generally, a sales rep gives up after 2 attempts at cold calling to get a lead. Moreover, 92% of salespeople surrender after four “no”s. These stats clearly indicate that you need to be more resilient than the average salesperson to increase your odds at cold calling. Know that it takes time to earn your trust with a prospect.

What not to do on a cold call?

Now that you know how to enhance your cold calling performance, here’s a list cold calling mistakes to avoid.

Don’t scare off your prospects

When scheduling meeting time slots, don’t leave it open-ended, or worse, ask for durations longer than an hour. Seek somewhere between 25-30 mins to start with and see how it goes. That way, your prospect knows they can get out in half an hour if the meeting does not prove helpful to them.

It’s not a discovery call

Make this your motto – Cold calls are not discovery calls. Leave your discovery questions until later, when you have built a relationship. In fact, a study by revenue intelligence platform Gong confirms that the talk-to-listen ratio of successful cold calls is more than that of unsuccessful ones.

Gong cold calling stats
Source

Steer clear of these phrases

Sometimes, when you are in a hurry or anxious, using the wrong words or phrases might kill your sales pitch. Here are some terms to avoid, courtesy of LinkedIn.

Cold calling phrases to avoid

Also, replace the following words as demonstrated below.

Phrases to be replaced in cold calling

Alternative techniques to boost cold calling success rates

Cold calling alternatives

We have established that cold calling still has its own merits. The best approach would be an integrated one wherein you qualify your targets, engage with them beforehand and then call the ones that fit your ICP. Here are some tips to warm up your cold calls.

Upgrade your messaging

The way your ICP perceives your solution and their business needs has drastically changed post-Covid. The business world has gone remote and priorities have altered accordingly. Evaluate your messaging and the solutions you offer, analyze what worked and why to scrap the tactics that are no longer useful, and tailor your approach to stay relevant.

Leverage social selling

If you want to impress intelligent buyers armed with in-depth information on their choices, you need to play your part.  Engaging your ICP digitally is no longer applicable to just your social media team.  Here are some top strategies to generate appointments from social media platforms.

  • Connect with and engage your potential clients via LinkedIn, Twitter, and maybe even Facebook. 
  • Start by building your network, and experiment with ways to engage them online with relevant content. 
  • Leverage your professional network to secure solid meetings.  

Want more tips on social selling? Read our comprehensive blog, The “whats”, “whys”, and “hows” of social selling.

Apply sales intelligence

For years, salespeople have been calling off static contact lists that select your potential customers based on generic filters like company size, revenue, number of employees, location, etc. But thriving in the digital economy with the increasing competition requires more than that.

Along with real-time and precise data offered by AI-based CRMs, you also need to harness the power of sales intelligence. These innovative tools will help you make informed decisions based on your ICP’s digital footprint, business goals, purchase records, current contracts, and many such relevant factors.

Pro tip: Read our blog, Unlock your B2B growth potential with sales intelligence

Focus on your strengths

Generating quality sales appointments in today’s day, and age is much more than picking up the phone and calling off a list that hasn’t been updated for months. To gain market monopoly, you need solid research skills and the resilience to try every trick in your arsenal. The best method when it comes to B2B prospecting is  to use a multi-faceted approach comprised of social networking, customized emails and targeted calling.

83 Sales motivational quotes that will fire up sales reps

Posted on by vishal arora

Sales is one of the most challenging jobs to do. It requires a lot of dedication and commitment to succeed in this field. Sales motivational quotes are a great way to inspire your sales team. With these quotes, you can ensure that your salesforce is on the right track and know what they need to do to close deals. 

Best general sales inspirational quotes

thomas edition quote

What to say to motivate salespeople? Check out the following potent quotes.

#1. “I cannot give up now because if I do, then there will be no point in starting at all.” – Author unknown

#2. “If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.” – Peter Drucker

#3. “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln

#4. “The only way to succeed is to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison

#5. “It’s not about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving.” –Rocky Balboa

#6. “Success is a journey, not a destination.” – Ben Sweetland

#7. “Success is not final, and failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

#8. “The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people say no to almost everything.” – Steve Jobs

#9. “It always seems impossible until it’s done” – Nelson Mandela.

#10. “A goal is a dream with a deadline.” – Napoleon Hill.

#11. “Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.” –Og Mandino

#12. “You must expect great things from yourself before you can do them.” – Michael Jordan

#13. “Success looks a lot like failure up until the moment you break through the finish line.” – Dan Waldschmidt

#14. “Excellence is not a skill. It’s an attitude.” – Ralph Marston.

#15. “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.” – Vince Lombardi

#16. “Be passionate and move forward with gusto every single hour of every single day until you reach your goal” –Ava DuVernay.

#17. “Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have the same number of hours per day that were given to Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Helen Keller, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

#18. “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph”- Thomas Paine.

#19. “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is” – Vince Lombard.

Best sales motivational quotes for prospecting

Ben friedman quote

Sales prospecting is the process of finding potential customers. It involves researching and identifying potential prospects and then contacting them to determine their interest in the offered product or service.

There are many challenges in sales prospecting. You may have to deal with rejection, not getting responses, and having to keep track of progress. These quotes can inspire you to keep going.

#20. “Prospecting – find the man with the problem.” – Ben Friedman

#21. “I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.” –Madam C.J. Walker

#22. “It’s not about having the right opportunities, but about handling the opportunities right.”- Mark Hunter

#23. “Don’t expect to be motivated every day to get out there and make things happen. You won’t be. Don’t count on motivation. Count on Discipline.” – Jocko Willink

#24. All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like, and trust.”– Bob Burg

#25. “Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others.”- Tom Peters

#26. “What differentiates sellers today is their ability to bring fresh ideas.”- Jill Konrath

#27. High expectations are the key to everything.”- Sam Walton

#28. “Today, the salesperson isn’t the sole conduit of information to the firms.  If the buyer has a poor experience with a seller, they’ll simply move onto the next channel.” – Mary Shea, Principal Analyst, Forrester Research.

#29. “If you want to make money, you have to help someone else make money.” –Russell Simmons

#30. “You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room. You don’t have to rely on luck or getting a better territory. You just have to plan your work and work your plan. It works every time it’s tried.” – Kelly Riggs, Founder & President, The Business LockerRoom

#31. “The first and foremost challenge of selling products is to convince the customer that the product is worth buying. The second challenge is to convince them that it will be worth their time and money.”

Best sales motivation quotes for selling products

Seth godin quote

The first and foremost challenge of selling products is to convince the customer that the product is worth buying. The second hurdle is to persuade them that it will be worth their time and money.

High prices, competition, and a lack of interest from buyers also challenge sellers. The following sales motivational quotes can keep you focused.

#32. “When reps take the role of a curious student rather than an informed expert, buyers are much more inclined to engage.” – Jeff Hoffman

#33. “Most people think ‘selling’ is the same as ‘talking.’ But the most effective salespeople know that listening is the most important part of their job.” – Roy Bartell

#34. “Approach each customer with the idea of helping him or her to solve a problem or achieve a goal, not selling a product or service.” – Brian Tracy

#35.  “Sellers who listen to buyers carefully and then give them the missing ingredients – those are the ones who stand out.” – Deb Calvert

#36. “Selling is really about having conversations with people and helping improve their company or their life. If you look at it like that, selling is a very admirable thing to do.” – Lori Richardson.

#37. “Don’t find customers for your products; find products for your customers.” – Seth Godin

#38. “Value The Relationship More Than The Quota.” – Jeff Gitomer

#39. “If you don’t believe in what you’re selling, neither will your prospect.” – Frank Bettger

#40. “Make a customer, not a sale.”-Katherine Barchetti

#41. “How you sell is more important than what you sell.” – Andy Paul, author, speaker, and strategist, Zero-Time Selling

#42. “Don’t become a wandering generality. Be a meaningful specific.” – Zig Ziglar, legendary sales author and speaker.

#43. “Ninety percent of selling is conviction, and 10 percent is persuasion.” – Shiv Khera

#44. “To be seen as a credible and trusted advisor, every touch you have with a customer should provide added value.” – Sharon Gillenwater, Co-Founder, and Editor-in-Chief, Boardroom Insiders

#45  “Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman, not the attitude of the prospect.”- William Clement Stone

#46. “The best way to sell a product is to make people want the product.” – Ted Nicholas

#47. “Successful selling is not so much what you say, but what you prove.” – David Ogilvy

#48.  “You don’t need to be a great salesperson. You just need to be better than the other guy.” – Jeff Bezos

#49. “Selling is not about convincing people that your product is flawless; it’s about making them believe that your product will solve their problem.” – Geoffrey James

Best sales inspirational quotes for closing

Alice Heiman quote

The process of closing a sale is not just limited to the salesperson; it’s a joint effort from both sides. The customer also needs persuasion to buy the product or service. Check out the following quotes to motivate you.

#50.“There is no magic to closing. There are no magic phrases. Closing the deal is completely dependent on the situation.” – Alice Heiman.

#51.  “Customers don’t care at all whether you close the deal or not. They care about improving their business. It’s easy to forget this in the heat of a sales cycle.” – Aaron Ross.

#52. “It’s no longer about interrupting, pitching, and closing. It is about listening, diagnosing and prescribing.” – Mark Roberge.

#53.  “Great sellers go into a meeting with multiple next-steps; this allows them to respond if a plan does not unfold as planned proactively.” – Tibor Shanto, Chief Sales Officer, Renbor Sales Solutions

#54. Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.” – Zig Ziglar

#55. “To build a long-term, successful enterprise, when you don’t close a sale, open a relationship.”

#56. “Don’t try to do everything by yourself, but try to connect with people and resources. Having that discipline and perseverance is really important.” –Chieu Cao.

#57. “Customers don’t care at all whether you close the deal or not. They care about improving their business. It’s easy to forget this in the heat of a sales cycle.” – Aaron Ross.

#58. “You don’t need a big close, as many sales reps believe. You risk losing your customers when you save all the good stuff for the end. Keep the customer actively involved throughout the presentation, and watch your results improve.” – Harvey MacKay.

Related: 11 Super easy steps to hitting your sales quota

Motivational quotes with a twist

Winston churchill quote

#59. “If you are not willing to risk everything, then you are not willing to have anything.”-Author unknown

#60. “If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.”-Nora Roberts.

#61. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”–Wayne Gretzky 

#62. “Don’t let your dreams be dreams.”- Shia LaBeouf

#63. “The only way to get started is by stopping talking about it.”-  Walt Disney, Co-Founder Of The Walt Disney Company

#64. “You don’t need someone else’s permission before you can live your life.” – Author unknown

#65. “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” – Alan Kay

#66. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

#67. “You can’t sell what you don’t have.” – Author Unknown

#68. “It’s not the will to win that matters–everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.” – Bobby Knight

#69.  “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve trusted to take the game-winning shot and miss. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeeded.” – Michael Jordan

#70. “I’m not a salesman. I’m a salesman’s son.”- Author unknown

#71.  “If you’re not willing to risk everything, then you’re never going to do anything great.” – Author unknown

#72. “The first step in selling is sincerity, and the second step is sincerity.”- Author unknown

#73. “There are three things that can happen in a sales call: they say yes, they say no, they say maybe. The only way to get a yes is by asking the right questions.” – Author unknown

 #74. “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” –Winston Churchill

Top inspirational quotes on sales strategy

Zig Ziglar quote

#75. “If you’re not a little bit scared, then you’re not challenging yourself.”-Author unknown

#76. “You have to believe in yourself when no one else does, or no one else will.” -Author unknown

#77. “I always tell people that the most important thing is to never give up on your dreams because dreams do come true.” – Author unknown

#78. “The best way to get what you want is to help other people get what they want.” –Zig Ziglar

#79. “Don’t let someone tell you that something can’t be done.”- Author unknown

#80.  “You need both a plan and the willingness to change it.” –Author unknown

#81. “Successful salespeople know how to make things happen for their customers.” – Author unknown

#82. “The sale is not over until the customer says yes!” –Author unknown

#83. “You will attract way more buyers if you are offering to teach them something of value to them than you will ever attract by simply trying to sell them your product or service.” – Chet Holmes

Over to you

Sales reps are often the most overlooked members of an organization. They’re the ones out there in the world, talking to people and closing deals. To be successful at their job, they need to have a lot of motivation.

Motivational sales quotes can be helpful to inspire salespeople. Also, they can provide a boost in productivity and help them stay positive.

Quotes are not the only way to motivate sellers. The best way is to show them that your company appreciates and respects their efforts. A little thank you can go a long way for the sales team. Also, you can include one or two sales motivational quotes in an email to inspire your salesforce.

Related: 9 Incredibly useful tips on sales incentive programs

The compelling impact of artificial intelligence in sales

Posted on by vishal arora

As stated by the legendary science fiction writer, Chen Qiufan in AI 2041, “humans’ search for artificial intelligence has persisted throughout world history, long before computer science existed as a field or the term AI entered the lexicon”. Over the last few years, AI has made insurmountable breakthroughs and essentially become a core driver for the fourth industrial revolution. 

But, how do we define AI? Artificial intelligence is an amalgamation of several unique smart technologies like NLP (Natural Language Processing), ML (Machine Learning), Computer vision, Deep learning, etc. Hence, it becomes an arduous task to come up with a fitting definition. 

Source

Like most business functions, AI has also gained prominence in the world of sales. According to Mckinsey’s State of AI surveys from 2020 and 2021, Sales and Marketing is one of the three business functions where AI adoption is most common. But what exactly can artificial intelligence do for sales? Is artificial intelligence the future of sales? This blog will shed light on AI’s predominant role in your sales career.

What is artificial intelligence in sales?

Our blog on social selling outlines that sales is an organic human activity fostered by person-to-person interactions. However, the rapidly developing capability of AI in mimicking human intelligence has proved to be an essential component in enhancing sales processes, decoding complex sales challenges, and elevating sales teams’ performance. AI in sales means utilizing this marvelous technology not only for everyday sales operational tasks but also for the cognitive ones, making you stand out as an outstanding salesperson.

How can artificial intelligence boost sales?

how can AI boost sales

Artificial intelligence has transformed conventional human-centric sales by automating various sales process stages. For instance, AI technology like ML can recommend the right targets and predict your sales numbers. By constantly assessing its own performance, it can give you the tools to increase your sales exponentially.

Let’s look at some of the benefits of AI in sales.

Demand generation

This is probably the most time-consuming part of the sales cycle. AI drastically cuts down manual effort by-

  •  Helping you pinpoint new prospect markets from known characteristics of known segments. 
  • Optimizing target territory based on geographic account and product data.
  • Offering relationship intelligence by identifying and suggesting relevant contacts within your social network

Lead qualification

You usually undergo the grueling exercise of scouting the right prospects and then manually qualifying each lead. Also, most of this work is often speculative, based on previous success stories.

Source

Artificial intelligence takes the guesswork out of lead qualification as it can compile and coordinate data across several platforms, like procuring your client’s historical information from social media and even records of your client interactions from emails, messages, etc. By analyzing this data, AI can make intelligent connections and help you find the best prospective customer.

Deciding sales trajectory

Artificial intelligence uses optimization techniques to anticipate your best course of action when a given situation requires tradeoffs between objectives and constraints. This may be determining the optimal pricing for every deal or using ML to suggest upselling and cross-selling opportunities.  

Nurturing customer relationships

Artificial intelligence can assist you in building long-term client relationships in the following ways-

  •  By using ML algorithms, AI recommends personalized tools and content to share with your clients. Based on the current news feed, it also offers curated information about your clients.
  • AI models can provide you with relevant content to manage customer requests, better and faster.
  • NLP helps in customer sentiment analysis which can guide you in client conversations.
  • AI tech analyzes customer lifetime value by reviewing customer health scores for churn rate, upselling, etc. 

Increasing productivity

Although your end goal as a salesperson is to bring in more customers; you also need to power through several operational tasks throughout your workday.   According to Mckinsey, “B2B sales teams willing to shake up their sales models and embrace next-gen capabilities are growing revenue at twice the rate of GDP”. Here are some ways in which artificial intelligence can remove the redundancy from your daily schedule and leave you bandwidth for what matters most, i.e., closing more sales.

  • AI can streamline and automate your routine customer conversations.  AI assistants or chatbots use conversational NLP to interact with inbound leads. It addresses customer queries by scanning multiple complex documents faster than humans. 
  • AI technology can compose basic emails similar to human interactions and are also far more accurate.
  • It assists in maneuvering your day-to-day tasks like managing your calendar, scheduling meetings, analyzing your sales pipeline, etc.
  • By leveraging SPA (Smart Process Automation) and ML, you can automate higher-order tasks that require much more complex reasoning to process.

Sales forecasting

By identifying the factors that influence a given outcome, AI uses predictive modeling to project various sales outcomes. Some of them are –

  • Determining your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)
  • Predicting win probabilities by sale stages, and identifying the leads with maximum closing potential
  • Forecasting your/sale team’s performance based on factual data and seasonalities

Sales training

Artificial intelligence has revolutionized the sales training industry. AI-guided selling can help you augment your product/industry knowledge, identify your activities that drive deals, and also help you focus on honing the skills that need more work. Rather than basic sales skills, AI-based sales training focuses more on critical thinking, primarily in data literacy. To keep up with current developments in AI, sales training models will need to incorporate the usage of AI/ML sales tools in daily sales operations.

Related: Turn your sales coaching into a high-performing machine

3 Practical tips for integrating AI into your current sales process

Integrating AI in sales process

Build a solid foundation

Though the advantages of using AI for sales are exemplary, do not adopt technology just for the sake of it. Using any form of tech requires you to understand the basic functionality to maximize its potential. Do your research and get a general sense of the key terminologies. 

Experiment with AI

Identify the sales activities and high-priority outcomes unique to your business. Map out areas where you might have inefficiencies and spend some time evaluating suitable options. Most AI vendors offer free trials, which help you get acquainted and decide the best course of action to address any gaps in your sales process.

Evaluate consistently

After you have onboarded a new AI system and used it for some time, do not forget to assess your decision. We live in a dynamic world where technology or business requirement keeps changing. Determine if your tech is still adding value and look for replacements if you feel otherwise.

Best AI sales assistant tools

AI sales assistant tools

Now that you have understood how to incorporate AI into your sales process, here’s a list of some of the best AI tools for the sales function, in no particular order.

Conversica– Its automated AI sales assistant pre-qualifies a lead before you move it down your sales funnel. It saves you a lot of time and ensures you interact with only the leads genuinely interested in your offering.

Drift – Drift helps companies engage in real-time, personalized conversations with the right customers at the right time. Its revenue acceleration platform is  built on the foundation of conversational marketing and conversational sales.

Exceed.ai – Its AI assistant engages qualified leads with human-like two-way conversations over email, website chat, and SMS. Once these leads are ready to talk to sales, the assistant will loop you in to book a meeting or demo.

Troops – Troops is a revenue communications platform designed with humans in mind. It alerts sales teams with real-time revenue signals allowing them to take rapid action, share intelligence and decide better.

Crayon – Crayon’s competitive intelligence software offers you competitive analysis by tracking millions of data sources. It provides data based on real-time and historical insights to identify trends and opportunities.

Dialpad Sell –  Its AI-powered sales dialler provides intelligence and helps sales reps close more deals. Dialpad uses voice intelligence technology and CRM integration in a best-of-breed communications solution.

People.ai – People.ai is an enterprise revenue platform that helps uncover revenue opportunities from your customers. It automates data entry, boosts productivity, and provides actionable intelligence across all management tools.

Salesforce Einstein – Salesforce’s AI tech Einstein is a sales assistant that empowers you to empathize with customers, increases your productivity, and supersede customer experience. It offers customer insights based on past interactions that help prioritize leads, cases, and campaigns

Circumventing the gray areas in artificial intelligence

gray areas in AI

The challenges in using artificial intelligence for sales are often due to the inability to understand the tech and setting unrealistic expectations. As stated by Gartner, steer clear of these common oversights while integrating AI into your sales process.

  • Without giving in to the hype develop a clear understanding of the capabilities of the technology you choose. This will help you set realistic expectations.
  • Conduct an extensive review of potential use cases by assessing how and to what extent artificial intelligence can enhance target sales outcomes for your company’s distinctive needs.
  • Focus on a specific set of clearly defined use cases, improve the quality of your data used by AI tools and prioritize your technical upskilling.

Is artificial intelligence the future of sales?

By now, you would have realized that AI is no longer part of sci-fi lingo and has real-world use cases in the sales domain.  Gartner predicts that 75% of B2B companies will utilize AI-guided selling solutions by 2025. Moreover, according to its 2021 CSO Priorities Pulse Survey, CSOs (Chief Sales Officers) have already invested or are considering investing in AI tools. 

From helping you study your target market, identifying your potential customers, optimizing your pricing options, forecasting your revenue, and enhancing post-sales interactions with real-time customer intel, you can apply to every stage of the sales process. Although we are yet to explore the full potential of artificial intelligence in the sales function, the future of selling would be primarily about automating the mundane and helping you prioritize the human aspect of sales. 

The “whats”, “whys”, and “hows” of social selling

Posted on by vishal arora

Buying and selling have always been inherently social activities. In the early days, the barter system was a process of exchanging resources between various social communities. For business owners, word-of-mouth is and has always been an organic method of lead generation. For instance, you visit your neighbor’s home and like their interior, you ask for their designer’s contact. Eventually, the birth of social media gave social selling a digital makeover. 

Are you tired of making dead-end cold calls? Do you struggle to build rapport with prospects over the phone?  63% of sales executives feel that cold calls are the most disliked part of their role. Enter, social selling!   

What is social selling?

To put it simply, social selling is the art of selling or promoting your business on social media. It helps you leverage your social media platforms and connect directly with your ICP (Ideal customer profile) past the gatekeepers. Selling on social media is a way of humanizing your sales approach.

What is social selling index?

In 2014, LinkedIn came up with the SSI (Social Selling Index), which is basically an effective method to measure your social selling success. It is scored on a scale of 0-100 and is based on four crucial elements.

  1. Building your professional brand by creating a relevant profile that targets your ICP.
  2. Discovering the right prospects by using filters such as role, function, or industry. 
  3. Actively engaging with your social community by creating applicable content and commenting on industry news, articles, polls, etc.
  4. Strengthening your social network by connecting and building trust with key decision-makers.

To measure your social selling index, sign in to your LinkedIn account and visit their Social Selling Index page.

LinkedIn social selling index page

social selling index
Source

Why should you engage in social media selling?

benefits of social selling

It is less invasive

According to HubSpot, 84% of buyers are annoyed with sales reps who try to convince them over cold calls. Instead, warm up your leads by interacting with them over social media and build a meaningful connection before promoting your product/service.

B2B customers are becoming social media savvy

Research suggests that social media impacts buying decisions of 75%  B2B customers and 85% CXOs. Additionally, an average B2B buyer consumes 13 pieces of content before making a purchase. These facts indicate that today’s B2B decision-makers are increasingly embracing social media. By engaging with your customers on digital platforms, you make them feel in control of the buying process.

Social media selling has a wider reach

According to TOPO (Gartner), it takes 18 dials to reach a potential customer. When you post pertinent content on social media which addresses your customer’s pain points, it has the potential to get shared and reshared multiple times. Hence you are able to reach your entire network and even beyond that.

Social selling strategies for 3 major business platforms

social selling strategies

While devising your social selling strategy, you will need to optimize your social media profiles, especially for the key business platforms- LinkedIn, Twitter, and  Facebook. Each of these platforms have their own USPs. Your choice of preferred platform will be based on what you offer and who to sell to. Let’s find out.

LinkedIn

When it comes to B2B social selling, LinkedIn would probably top the charts. 50% of B2B buyers prefer LinkedIn for making purchasing decisions. It is the perfect business platform to connect with your peers, engage with your audience and also track your competition. Here are a few ways you can utilize your LinkedIn network to increase revenue.

Your profile

Instead of treating your LinkedIn profile as your virtual resume, make sure it resonates with your audience. Update the bare essentials listed below-

  • A current high-resolution professional photograph   
  • A catchy headline that explains your value proposition
  • A concise summary of what you have to offer and how you can make your prospect’s life easier
  • Your professional experience

Your skills

While building your profile, remember to add skills that attract prospective clients. Your skills should reflect what you can bring to the table. LinkedIn endorsements and recommendations are a great way to build credibility with your audience. So, if you have a happy client, do not hesitate to request an endorsement or a glowing recommendation.

Your network

When using LinkedIn as a social selling platform, your network should reflect your potential customer profiles. The platform provides a user-friendly search interface where you can discover prospects based on filters like job role, skills, industry, company name, location, etc. Find the right profiles and build your professional network.

You can also join LinkedIn groups and follow hashtags relevant to your domain. It will help you keep up with industry updates and offer possible prospecting opportunities.

Your SSI score

Leverage your SSI score and use it as a benchmark to enhance your professional brand. This score will show you where you stand against your peers/competitors in the industry and track your social selling performance.

Microsoft social selling index
Source

Twitter

Twitter is your ideal social listening platform. It provides an amazing interface to build organic interactions with your audience, respond to customer queries and build long-term relationships. There are a few things you can do to optimize your Twitter account for social sales.

  • Similar to LinkedIn, use a high-resolution professional photo and a concise but sharp bio that highlights your value-add.
  • Incorporate hashtags that are most followed by your ICP.
  • Actively engage in industry chats.
  • Utilize twitter lists to track content from diverse groups. To ramp up your social selling game on Twitter, create and track lists of your potential customers, your existing customers, and also your competitors.
  • Monitor keywords that signify buying signals. These can be keywords your customers might use, those that portray your target’s business challenges, etc.

Facebook

Facebook is often deemed as a personal networking platform rather than a professional selling tool. It’s mostly because of the way it started and its diverse user base. However, selling happens between people, and your customers will be willing to buy from someone with a strong personal brand. Try the below ideas to utilize Facebook for business.

  • Join Facebook groups that are relevant to your industry.  In Jan 2017, Facebook started putting increased focus on groups with a range of features that would attract businesses, especially on its  Group Insights tool. High activity groups can act as a lucrative opportunity for brands to access data on sector-specific topics, influencer outreach, etc.
  • For business advertising purposes, it is important to have a Facebook business account that you can use to share industry information and engage with your followers.

10 Handy tips to sell on social media

Apart from the platform-specific strategies mentioned above, below is a list of crucial tips that will elevate your social sales across all social mediums.

social selling tips

1. Content is king

We have touched upon the importance of creating targeted content earlier in this blog. And rightly so! According to LinkedIn, 62% of buyers respond to professionals who approach them with suitable insights. Contrary to the traditional lead generation methods, social selling is all about fostering trust with your audience. Selling comes a bit later.

2. Follow the 80/20 social media engagement rule

Based on platform algorithms, user behavior and intent, industry experts came up with the social media 80/20 rule. According to this formula-

  • 80% of your content should be about providing industry insights and addressing customer pain points. It demonstrates your subject matter expertise and highlights brand altruism.
  • The remaining 20% can be used to promote your offerings. It will educate your customers and alert them about new updates and promotions.
  • This rule works wonders for Facebook and Twitter. It can also be applied to LinkedIn with a more flexible approach towards the ratio.

3. Customize your approach

Instead of sending out generic connection requests, personalize it based on your prospect’s company, industry, business needs, and shared interests. Check out this linked connection request template that can be tailored based on your requirement. Do note the messages sent with connection requests have a character limit of 300.

LinkedIn invite

4. Hone your listening prowess

Be alert and observe your potential customers, peers, and competitors. Ensure you don’t miss out on important events, conversations, product mentions, etc. by setting up notification alerts like google alerts or other listening tools. Tracking these activities might offer you the sales opening you were looking for.

5. Don’t ignore the comments section

Once you have built a strong prospecting network and set up the right notifications, monitor the comments section of posts with high activity. 

  • It might help you to understand what your prospect is looking for and the best way to service their requirement.
  • You may also come across customer grievances within these comments. Use this as an opportunity to alert the support/marketing team and to prepare yourself for facing future sales objections.

6. Celebrate your success stories on social media

Testimonials are the best way to build credibility in your social circle and influence your potential clients. A prospect who comes across a success story highlighting a happy customer from a similar industry is most likely to have confidence in your brand.

7. Incorporate social selling in your daily routine

Analyze your schedule and set aside time for your social selling activities. For example, if you schedule an hour a day for social media sales, set aside 20 minutes for catching up on industry news, 15- 20 mins ideating, drafting, and publishing your post for the day, and the remaining few minutes to reach out to your prospects with targeted messages.

8. Marketing and sales go hand-in-hand

When it comes to social media selling, it is paramount to stay abreast of your marketing team’s developments. Check in with marketing regularly for updates on new collateral or campaigns and brainstorm ways to promote them to your prospects.

9. Create real-life connections from your digital network

Building digital connections is vital to warm up your leads, however your end goal should be to nurture these leads into long-term relationships. Know when to get offline, set up a phone call, or invite them for a coffee meeting via DM.

10. Leverage social selling tools

To maximize the potential of these social selling tips, leverage tools that automate your social sales and increase your odds of scoring new customers. Below is a list of a few such tools that you may find helpful.

  • LinkedIn sales navigator – One of the best disruptive social selling tools that helps you to track the right people, understand key insights, and engage them with customized outreach.
  • Hootsuite –  A comprehensive tool to share and manage content across all platforms, and also to track your customer activity.
  • Nimble – A CRM that organizes your leads and customers along with tracking your social media interactions.
  • Meltwater – A platform with a  host of social media content that helps streamline your social media strategy.
  • UpContent –  A tool that allows you to discover, collaborate and distribute fitting third-party content for sharing on social media.

Social selling challenges and how to overcome them

Even though selling on social media seems like the perfect way to nurture potential customers, it is not without challenges. Here are the two major roadblocks you may face during your social selling journey and suggestions to master them.

It is not a quick fix

Unfortunately, you can not expect to see immediate gains with social selling. Have patience and focus on delivering quality content. Slowly but surely, your efforts will yield significant results.

Avoid over-automation

Sometimes, companies automate their social posts to the extent that the communication almost seems robotic. Be mindful of not posting the same generalized template used by your co-workers. In order to sound authentic and build trust, you need to demonstrate your expertise and passion for the community at a humane level.

Consistency is key

We live in a dynamic business environment that requires you to upscale your selling methods. The tried-and-true techniques like cold calling, negotiating, etc., might not always produce significant results in convincing prospects. Today’s 24*7*365 digitally connected customers are willing to interact with brands online before making buying decisions. 

Social selling essentially allows us the opportunity to get to know our prospects before bombarding them with cold calls or emails. However, building a solid foundation in the world of social sales will need remarkable resilience. Be consistent and offer your customers a story they can relate to. It may take time but will produce exponential results.

What are your views on social selling? Are there any additional pointers that you have  found to be helpful? Do share in the comments section below.