The clock’s running out and your project has a strict deadline. You managed your time right, double-checked your work, and at the last second, your computer starts to glitch. Then there is that moment when you “crack the code” to the underlying problem, feel an initial sense of relief, and then wish you would have known how to fix it the whole time.
We all know what it’s like to deal with buggy technology that acts up right when we need it. Often, salespeople experience this same frustration with buyer engagement. Many struggle to find the right tactic to interest buyers and wish they had a secret code to keep them interested throughout the buying journey. By implementing a few key approaches, creating and retaining buyer engagement can become much less stressful. To break it down, here are three simple steps that sales reps can take to inspire more powerful interactions with buyers through the sales process.
1.) Prepare Your Sellers to Communicate Value First
What happens when sales reps use the wrong value proposition from the start? Buyers zone out, become frustrated, and are less likely to commit even if a practical solution is offered in the end. That’s why top-performing sellers meticulously plan early-stage interactions to create solid foundations for their relationships with buyers. First impressions can make or break a sale, so it’s important to capture buyers’ attention from the start to retain their interest in the future. With the right tools and training, sellers have the ability to quickly address any situation, uncover what buyers are looking for, and inspire engagement in the sales process by providing direct, worthwhile information.
It’s important for sellers to be ready to provide insight and value right off the bat. They should know their buyer, carefully listen to their needs, and quickly deliver the right information. More often than not, buyers have done their research and already have an understanding of an organization’s solution. They expect the sales rep to promptly provide them with the specific insights they need to make a purchasing decision. Preparing your sellers with the appropriate resources with a sales enablement solution is critical to ensure that your reps successfully engage their buyer. Engaging content that can be easily accessed and personalized will equip your sales reps for a successful first interaction. A Salesforce study found that more than 80% of sales reps in high-performing teams say their companies are aligned on giving them the tools and content they need to engage with prospects. Whether it’s slide decks, email templates, or other sales collateral, each item should have the ability to be personalized at a moment’s notice so that the right information, tailored to the buyer’s needs and scenario, is ready exactly when it is needed. It is up to the sellers to stay one step ahead of the customer and meet them with the most valuable information upfront. Modern business is chaotic and fast-paced, so sellers must get to the point and get it right!
2.) The Omnichannel Approach Is A Must
As technology becomes more and more integrated into buyers’ everyday routines, sellers must take advantage of every opportunity to reach prospects and boost awareness. Sales reps have to make the extra effort to communicate with buyers everywhere and in every way or they risk losing them to the competition.
Using various channels of communication is an easy-to-implement way to keep selling practices dynamic and to leave a memorable impression with buyers. It is also a necessary action to keep buyers tuned in to what sellers have to say. Decision-makers today are bombarded through traditional communication channels such as email and phone, and your sellers must participate in other forms of communication to ensure they stand out.
Meeting buyers across communication channels means:
- Producing intriguing social posts via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
- Sending personalized direct mails
- Utilizing text messaging appropriately to send personalized reminders
- Capitalizing on every opportunity for face-to-face interaction
Each of these communication approaches should be applied throughout every stage of the selling process so that your organization stays at the front of your buyers’ minds.
3.) Measure Engagement, Good and Bad
Once sellers are applying techniques aimed at producing higher engagement, how do you know if it’s working? Ensuring you can measure both the good and the bad engagements is key to understanding best practices and fine-tuning your reps’ approach.
Reps need to see in real-time when buyers engage with content and what communications perform best in order to strategically plan for the most effective follow-up. With the right sales enablement technology, sellers can engage buyers in a way they know will work. What does this look like? As an example, let’s say a rep using a sales enablement platform sends a buyer a whitepaper. The rep then receives insight that the buyer spent a significant amount of time reading through a certain section. The rep then follows up with additional information on that specific topic. Using engagement analytics, this rep gained insights that enabled them to send personalized outreach to their buyer and make a good impression before their next meeting.
With analytics, sellers can over time identify the combinations of content and channels that work well for them and drive higher quality engagements. Organizations that develop data-driven strategies and turn analytics into insight will gain a competitive advantage in buyer engagement by personalizing every prospect’s experience.
Conclusion
The truth is that selling is becoming more and more difficult in our modern landscape, and people are yearning for new practices to sell more successfully. Buyers expect sales reps to provide valuable information that guides them through evaluation and purchasing processes. Pressure is on for sellers to earn customer trust, loyalty, and reference ability in order to win a sale, so every engagement counts. Help your organization crack the code to customer engagement and outperform your competitors by integrating sales enablement to empower your sellers with valuable content that can be consistently communicated across various channels and quantitatively measured for engagement success. Utilizing a sales enablement tool not only hits all of those points, but also empowers sellers to feel confident in building more personal, lasting relationships. Take your organization to the next level by mastering the art of engagement and driving overall sales success.
Author Bio
Talia Vestal writes for Highspot, the industry’s most advanced sales enablement solution. You can follow Highspot on Twitter @Highspot.