The goal of any given company - regardless of industry, size or the service they provide - is to bring down operational costs and increase profits. Both sales and marketing occupy a unique space within an organization; they are simultaneously a big cost center and revenue generator. It isn’t surprising that there is a whole suite of products that are built to support these functions. An efficient sales process does wonders for a company’s top line and bottom line, and the quickest way to get there is to cut down on redundant and time-consuming tasks with automation.
Now, as an SMB, it is important to critically evaluate the tools and solutions we purchase. To ensure you are spending in the right places, it is important to examine a typical sales cycle, identify areas of weakness, and proceed accordingly.
We have put together some tools that have the potential to add a high degree of efficiency to the sales process of any SMB:
Growbots
The efficiency of a sales process is heavily dependent on the top of the funnel - if you ensure the right people are targeted and do your prospecting well, you won’t end up wasting a lot of time on leads that are likely to drop off. Solutions such as Growbots come in very handy here, as manual prospecting consumes massive amounts of time. Growbots uses machine learning to generate prospects, gather contact details, and even manage communication and provide helpful insights on said prospects.
Close.io
Close.io is already a crowd-favorite CRM among smaller sales teams. Whether you are calling a client or emailing then, Close.io neatly gathers all important information in one place so that you can easily track and measure progress.
Rapportive
Good salespeople understand the power of personalization, and Rapportive is a simple but powerful way to customize all your interactions. This email plugin pops up in your inbox with details about the person you are getting in touch with - name, company, designation, photo, snippets from social media, etc. Do some digging on your business contacts, without actually lifting a finger!
Boomerang
A missed email or forgotten follow-up usually comes with a big price tag. Boomerang is a super handy email plugin that enables you to schedule emails and reminders while also tracking clicks and opens. Think of it as a power-pack for your inbox!
Calendly
Since a large chunk of a salesperson’s day revolves around meetings, a scheduling app is indispensable. We could all do with fewer emails, and that is where Calendly comes in, by allowing you to collaborate and set up meetings with clients without excessive back-and-forth.
IFTTT
If This Then That (IFTTT) is a truly future-forward solution: it gets all your apps to talk to each other! Get your scheduling app and CRM to figure out who to meet and at what time, for instance! Plus, it is free, so there’s no excuse not to check it out.
Signeasy
When you have a deal that’s nearing the finish line, it is very important not to take the eyes off the prize - after all, the deal isn’t done until the money is in the bank. To ensure there aren’t any last minute hitches, it is important to make closing the deal seamless for everyone involved. E-signature solutions like Signeasy do just that. With it’s clean UI and a range of all the necessary features at an affordable price point, Signeasy is great for SMBs.
Expensify
While this solution is not meant to be a part of the “sales process” itself, it definitely makes every salesperson more efficient. Expensify is a great way to keep track of expenses incurred while on the job, including travel, food, and accommodation. So instead of stuffing your receipts in a box and frantically filing towards the end of the month, you can focus on what you do best - sell!
