4 Key Ways to Help Companies Improve Their Sales

To improve sales, companies need to boost visibility, provide software support, and ensure the sales team isn’t siloed in the business. Here’s how to make that happen.

Key takeaways

• Companies can support their sales efforts by first understanding the importance of context.
• It’s best to avoid sales team silos and instead take a holistic approach to growth.
• Salespeople aren’t always tech people, so look for solutions that can easily assist their efforts.
• You can support sales with software solutions and partners that help everything run smoothly.

The sales team is the lifeblood of any business. Salespeople are first and foremost experts in persuasion and customer communication, and they’re also directly related to your company’s bottom line. It can thus be challenging to identify what’s going wrong if leadership is not seeing the results it wants. 

Fixing such a problem starts with greater organizational visibility, from the very top of upper leadership all the way to the sales team. Each department needs to be in communication, and conversations and problems should be recorded where everyone can access and learn from them. You may also want to consider adopting new solutions that can streamline your processes. Technologies like CRM software can help automate key steps and record information in one place, for example.

Let’s dive into a few ways to help companies improve sales and give their teams the extra support they need to grow the business.

1. Know the importance of context

It’s vital that your sales team feels supported and integrated into the business – especially if they work off commission. They need to have full context into what’s going on in the company and any details related to the products they’re selling. Communication between marketing and sales has to be strong since both are closely connected to prospects and leads. Potential customers must hear the same messages from marketing that they’ll get when hopping on a call with the sales team, for example.

The truth is that too many companies don’t have enough visibility into what, exactly, the sales team is doing, and that ends up hurting the business. Whichever team members deliver on purchased services need insights into what the sales has promised the customers. This team also needs to be able to get feedback from customers about what’s working and what isn’t, then share that information with the rest of the company. The marketing, sales, and service teams must communicate with one another to meet objectives and solve customers’ problems. 

2. Avoid sales team silos

The sales team delivers a very important business function: They’re having conversations with prospects and customers. They’re pitching services, identifying problems, and trying to solve issues for the target audience. They’re convincing prospects why your product or service is the answer to their pain points. In essence, sales team members are on the front lines of the business, and they can’t live in a silo if they want to remain as effective as possible.

Your sales team needs to tell marketing which messages are working and which aren’t, for example. Otherwise, it’s difficult to know which kinds of content people respond to and which messages turn leads into conversions. Service and production should be brought in during the beginning stages, too, so they fully understand each customer’s expectations. Everything must be consistent for a positive brand interaction, and breaking down those silos is the first step toward a more cohesive experience.

3. Recognize that salespeople aren’t always tech people

Salespeople are expert persuaders. They communicate well, listen to customers’ concerns, and know how to address problems head-on. Salespeople are not always the most tech-savvy, though. They’re focused on making interpersonal connections more than understanding the ins and outs of the technologies they use. They may not have needed to rely on much technology in the past to do their jobs well, after all – especially compared to modern marketers who now have to be digital-focused.

Companies need to make sure they’re supporting their sales teams with all the technical help they need. Salespeople may require assistance in using a new technology to ensure they’re interacting with customers most efficiently, for example. They should also know exactly how to share insights they gather with the rest of the business for optimal visibility.

4. Support sales with software solutions

Your sales team may feel like they have the biggest spotlight on them from the external world, or like everything is on the line based on what they do or don’t do. This could easily turn into a fight-or-flight situation. They can clearly see the connection of a sale to increased revenue, and they could be feeling the heat from leadership since they’re such a big revenue driver.

This means salespeople need support. Recognition is key, but so is implementing the right technologies to help them do their jobs. Software solutions like HubSpot help teams stay integrated with other departments. Using a software that is shared and relies on automated processes can really help increase transparency while ensuring accuracy and efficiency.

For instance, the customer then gets passed to operations after the sales team scores a win. What if your business could have all the details of that interaction captured for the next team to use? A software solution makes it easy to communicate information like this so the customer has a consistent experience across all departments. Client expectations are better maintained with the right software.

Get help from the experts

At Bolles Media, our experience in the digital realm has shown us just how much the right software can improve a business from marketing to sales to service. We deliver customized solutions to meet your business’s unique needs and can work with you to increase visibility for a healthier bottom line. We only recommend the tools we’ve used ourselves, so we know they work.

The Bolles Media team is here to help with more than product recommendations, too. We assist with custom websites, brand consulting, digital marketing strategy, SEO, advertising, and integration with tools like HubSpot CRM. Contact us today to set up a free consultation with our experts.