2016 was all about collecting data and capturing lead intelligence that sales teams can use. As we turn the corner to the new year we now want to use that data in a smart way, but how? By understanding how your lead is researching your companies services, and knowing where they are in the buying cycle, your sales team becomes efficient in connecting at the right time to close them as a new customer. So, what tools and trends can we expect to see emerge as the new year approaches? HubSpot's Inbound 2016 conference highlighted a few must have's for sales and marketing teams to see business growth.
1. Growth Stack Solution: Brian Halligan explained at Inbound 2016 in his Keynote the need for business' to put a growth stack solution system in place (read full post HERE). Due to the ever evolving ways leads find products and business solutions; sales and marketing teams have had to evolve and adjust as well. Having software and sales tools that integrate and are user friendly will save time for team members. This will lead to maximum return on your investments in the long run. If you don't have systems in place for each division, then there will be gaps in your sales process-and that will lead to stalled out revenue growth.
2. Put a CRM in place: A client relationship management system, or CRM for short, is a great home-base for any business database. There is sometimes a discussion of the "cart before the horse" with a CRM as some can be very costly to maintain depending on the size of your database and amount of sales reps and executives using the product (cost per seat per person can be high). If you don't have new leads coming in-then what is there really to manage? HubSpot's FREE CRM is a great way to start to get organized without breaking the bank. Being able to keep track of when you communicate with leads and clients can start to show trends for length of sales cycle, type of content that prompts engagement, best practices for email drip campaigns, and more. It will also allow you to track pipeline revenue in real time that is not labor intensive for sales or executives to keep updated. The CRM will also allow you to track the efforts of your lead generation campaigns. Are they working? What's not in the campaign? You can then adjust as you go vs. wasting time until the campaign is over to see results.
3. Customer Appreciation: Instead of always asking what they can do for you, flip the question and turn it into what YOU can do to help them grow. By adding value to the partnership overtime it will turn those clients into referral streams for your business. What better way to close new customers than through a warm introduction from an exisiting client? So, how do you accomplish this? Have quarterly, and yearly incentives in place. Invest in a good referral program that offers services, training, or other tangible resources to clients that will help them grow. Spend time finding out what they love about your product, and what can be improved so they use more of your services; figure out how to be a better resource to your customers, and train your account management staff to do the same. It takes a lot to win that piece of new business, so it should take just as much, if not more to keep it and grow the relationship for years to come.
With the right tools and processes in place, you can hit the ground running in 2017 on your growth plan. Do you need help with a marketing or sales strategy; or finding the right mix of tools for your company to be more efficient? We can help! Set up a time to talk today about what your needs are. CLICK HERE to schedule your complimentary 2017 sales and marketing analysis. Make 2017 your best revenue and client happiness year yet!
