Are your sales team making the most of their time, or are they missing valuable opportunities, getting bogged down in paperwork or fruitlessly chasing dead-end leads? Here are 5 ways to boost the effectiveness and productivity of your sales force:
1. Outsource all administrative tasks
This one is simple – you don’t want the best-paid asset in the business, the one that brings in new clients and drives the business forward, doing admin. Delegate the paperwork to someone else and let your sales executives focus on what they do best.
2. Upgrade your CRM system
The key to an effective customer relationship management system is usability. You need a user-friendly system on which your lead generation and sales team can access the data they need within seconds. It will keep your sales force organised, focused and more productive, and enable you to track everything from how quickly leads are contacted to total sales.
If you don’t have this, it’s time to upgrade. If you outsource your lead generation, make sure you choose an agency that uses only the highest quality CRM system.
3. Qualify leads to make the very best use of time
So many firms take the wrong approach to telemarketing and sales, spreading the net so wide that their sales team rarely clinch a deal. You need to have a targeted approach, it is absolutely essential.
You need qualified leads that are more likely to convert into profitable sales, with your sales force targeting only prospects that fit your profile and are most likely to buy. Targeted lead generation is an art form, one that requires a lot of time and effort, so you really don’t want your sales force spending their days doing this. You need to set up or shape up a dedicated team, or you need to outsource to a specialist in lead generation for your industry.
4. Invest in lead nurturing
If leads aren’t ready to buy yet, your team shouldn’t be wasting time chasing them. In fact, you could put prospects off completely, all while missing out on more profitable and immediate opportunities elsewhere.
What you need to do is to carefully nurture leads, so that when they’re ready to buy, they’re still in touch and engaged with your company. But who has the time? You could set up a dedicated department for lead nurturing, but a far easier and cost-effective option is to outsource the work. This is the kind of job that requires an expert, who can keep leads interested while your team focuses on making more immediate sales.
5. Give your team the tools they need to work and collaborate on the move
With smartphone and tablet technology so ubiquitous, and geared for businesses, there’s no excuse not to kit out your field sales team with the tools they need to chase up leads, work on sales, collaborate with colleagues and carry out follow-up activity on the move. This eliminates wasted time travelling or commuting, making use of every single working minute.
We hope that our blog was informative for you. If you have any questions feel free to get in touch on 0330 058 0100 or you can head over to our contact page and fill in our online enquiry form.
