There’s no way around it- the face of business is rapidly changing. With technology evolving at an impressive rate and the level of competition steadily rising, there are some sales techniques that have gone from being simply recommended to being essential techniques for keeping up with competitors.
Sales techniques should be more comprehensive than ever, and your business need to have a constant presence in the public sphere in order maintain success. Here are 10 unavoidable factors for seeing sales succeed in 2013.
1. Mobile POS
A necessity for any business on-the-go; mobile POS systems allow you to make credit card sales using your mobile device or smartphone. This is critical to reaching your customers whenever, wherever. Don’t give them the opportunity to look elsewhere, take their payment right then and there.
Tip: Be sure everyone on your sales team has one whenever they’re out of the office.
2. Social Media
If you haven’t heard that incorporating social media is essential for a business’s success these days, you must have been off the grid. Having a social media presence has become the business norm for reaching out to customers instantly and on a much more personal level.
Tip: Find the social sites your customers are at, and focus on doing those well – you don’t need to be on every single site.
3. Easy Checkout
Ecommerce is booming- and in order to keep up with the online retail competition, be sure you offer a simple checkout process. Online shoppers get frustrated entering lengthy amounts of information in order to make a purchase, so consider simply asking for essential credit card information at the time of purchase.
Tip: Offer to take their information post purchase; pose it in a way that is beneficial to them, not just you: “Make your next order easier by storing your information now.”
4. Cloud Software
Cloud-based software is hosted on a third party server, and allows you to access your business information (everything from CRM to employee payroll) over the internet. Cloud software is quickly replacing bulky in-house servers and databases because it is more accessible, less expensive, and significantly faster.
Tip: Empower your sales reps with apps on their phone so they can access pertinent customer information in the middle of a meeting, whether they are in-house or out.
5. Mobile Compatibility
With 50% of US adults owning either a smartphone or tablet as of 2012 (Pew Research Center), if you don’t have a mobile website or one that is mobile-compatible, you could be missing out on a huge pool of potential customers.
Tip: Use responsive web design to ensure all mobile devices see the best version of your site.
6. Customer Reviews
With so many options available to consumers today, they need to be assured that your business is everything it claims to be, and one of the most effective ways of doing this is by providing positive customer reviews or testimonials.
Tip: Place these reviews on product pages to subtly push customers to purchase.
7. SEO
Though best practices change frequently, SEO is not as complicated as it seems- you can optimize your page for search engine results simply by improving your content as well as your site structure.
Tip: Outsource this – it’s important it’s done right.
8. Call Centers
Your business call center should be its main method of reaching out to customers. Keeping your call center functioning to its fullest potential is a crucial aspect of any business.
Tip: Have call center reps qualify leads and upsell, as well.
9. Collaboration
No business is an island. Collaboration is key when looking to increase your sales, especially in 2013. Your sales team and marketing team should no longer be working independent of one another.
Tip: All the teams to determine how they will best work together, to ensure a positive collaboration.
10. Analytics
According to Ventana Research, the top technology trend of 2012 sales was analytics. 2013 will be no different.
Tip: Get your analytics set up in Q1 so you can get a complete picture of the year.
In 2013, your business should be proactive in increasing your sales. In order to do this, you should embrace all of these technological trends in order to keep up with the competition. Maximizing your business’s potential is key for increasing sales in the new year.
by Kate Webster
http://www.eyesonsales.com/
Sales techniques should be more comprehensive than ever, and your business need to have a constant presence in the public sphere in order maintain success. Here are 10 unavoidable factors for seeing sales succeed in 2013.
1. Mobile POS
A necessity for any business on-the-go; mobile POS systems allow you to make credit card sales using your mobile device or smartphone. This is critical to reaching your customers whenever, wherever. Don’t give them the opportunity to look elsewhere, take their payment right then and there.
Tip: Be sure everyone on your sales team has one whenever they’re out of the office.
2. Social Media
If you haven’t heard that incorporating social media is essential for a business’s success these days, you must have been off the grid. Having a social media presence has become the business norm for reaching out to customers instantly and on a much more personal level.
Tip: Find the social sites your customers are at, and focus on doing those well – you don’t need to be on every single site.
3. Easy Checkout
Ecommerce is booming- and in order to keep up with the online retail competition, be sure you offer a simple checkout process. Online shoppers get frustrated entering lengthy amounts of information in order to make a purchase, so consider simply asking for essential credit card information at the time of purchase.
Tip: Offer to take their information post purchase; pose it in a way that is beneficial to them, not just you: “Make your next order easier by storing your information now.”
4. Cloud Software
Cloud-based software is hosted on a third party server, and allows you to access your business information (everything from CRM to employee payroll) over the internet. Cloud software is quickly replacing bulky in-house servers and databases because it is more accessible, less expensive, and significantly faster.
Tip: Empower your sales reps with apps on their phone so they can access pertinent customer information in the middle of a meeting, whether they are in-house or out.
5. Mobile Compatibility
With 50% of US adults owning either a smartphone or tablet as of 2012 (Pew Research Center), if you don’t have a mobile website or one that is mobile-compatible, you could be missing out on a huge pool of potential customers.
Tip: Use responsive web design to ensure all mobile devices see the best version of your site.
6. Customer Reviews
With so many options available to consumers today, they need to be assured that your business is everything it claims to be, and one of the most effective ways of doing this is by providing positive customer reviews or testimonials.
Tip: Place these reviews on product pages to subtly push customers to purchase.
7. SEO
Though best practices change frequently, SEO is not as complicated as it seems- you can optimize your page for search engine results simply by improving your content as well as your site structure.
Tip: Outsource this – it’s important it’s done right.
8. Call Centers
Your business call center should be its main method of reaching out to customers. Keeping your call center functioning to its fullest potential is a crucial aspect of any business.
Tip: Have call center reps qualify leads and upsell, as well.
9. Collaboration
No business is an island. Collaboration is key when looking to increase your sales, especially in 2013. Your sales team and marketing team should no longer be working independent of one another.
Tip: All the teams to determine how they will best work together, to ensure a positive collaboration.
10. Analytics
According to Ventana Research, the top technology trend of 2012 sales was analytics. 2013 will be no different.
Tip: Get your analytics set up in Q1 so you can get a complete picture of the year.
In 2013, your business should be proactive in increasing your sales. In order to do this, you should embrace all of these technological trends in order to keep up with the competition. Maximizing your business’s potential is key for increasing sales in the new year.
by Kate Webster
http://www.eyesonsales.com/
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