Success doesn’t come so easy but several steps can be taken to ensure that you don’t fail. In the case of business, several tools can be used to ensure success. One of the basic requirements for a high number of sales is good advertising and promotion.
That is why a lot of money is being spent on promotion because the promotion can create brand recognition which will further create brand loyalty and bring a high number of customers.
Other than advertising, constantly updating your method of work, digitizing, and training are some of the things that can be done as well. Here, we will list the 15 most important tools that can be used by every sales manager.
So, What Are The Tools to Use?
Well, many tools are present out there and with the explosion of the internet, even more, can be found. 2018 is the era of the internet, literally, everything can be found online. From online shopping for clothes – it is possible to shop for groceries online also. Therefore, it’s crucial to consider the following tools which we have listed below:
1. Social media
Social channels are a very important and easy tool to be used for marketing and sales purposes. All you have to do is create an account, continuously post new and interesting content and be reachable to people when they ask questions. These people can be potential customers. The social media platforms most used are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube.
2. Email marketing
Another marketing strategy is using email marketing as a way to build up loyal clients and to update them on new products. Too many emails must not be sent because it might be very annoying. That is why it is better to send one in a week or a few in a month.
3. Email signature
Putting an email signature is quite important because that will create a sense of trust and loyalty among customers. Along with trust, an email signature at the end of the message may help to authorize the email, creating an image that this email is not spam. As well an email signature can be created using an online email signature generator.
4. Quarterly training
Every sales manager has a team working with him but the team must also be updated and that requires constant training. Quarterly training is a good idea to freshen up minds and to talk about new ideas, to train their minds for high-quality work and become more efficient.
5. Create plans beforehand
It’s important to create plans before starting a business or initiating a new plan. A budget plan is important to be followed, also it can help to make future predictions of profit. If it is not going how you want, some things could be changed.
6. Blogging
Blogging is a good method of promotion and to let people know that your company exists. Nowadays, people are a lot more into reading blogs because it is informative and fun at the same time.
Consequently, writing about your products in a fun way, using pictures and videos are a good way of promotion. Remember to write good quality content and educational videos as these will help in creating brand awareness.
7. Podcasting
Podcast interviews are the new thing nowadays. Many companies are giving podcast interviews and once you are featured in a podcast then it is similar to being featured on an established company’s website.
8. Sales dashboard
In your team, there are many people and in order to use them to their full potential, competition is necessary. One of the best ways is having a sales dashboard in which users can see who will become featured and rewarded. Having small offers for “Salesman of the week/month” is important to improve their morale and competition.
9. Hire tech people
Yes, that is the new most wanted priority. People who are educated in the field of technology and know more about software should be hired. Their talent must be utilized in creating a highly optimized website or other similar apps, or designs.
10. E-commerce platforms
You may use e-commerce platforms like Shopify or others to digitize your business. This will help to get more clients who are more into the digital world. Shopify, for example, helps to create advertisements, good descriptions for products and improve sales by almost double.
11. Know your competitors
It is important to study your competitors and to know their strategies. Although you might not get everything at least you will understand the way they work some of the things.
12. Time management
The key to success is managing time well and dividing the time equally. Also, it is important to enjoy your free time along with working hard during your working hours.
13. Forecasting
As already told before having a budget plan before is important but forecasting it is crucial. Whatever your plan is, use forecasting specialists to predict how much will be returns from the investment you did and how much profit you will make. By forecasting, it is possible to make changes in case the returns are not enough.
14. Analysis
Also, analyzing the sales numbers is important because it tells us if the products are of good quality. Such analysis clearly proves if there is some change in the products needed.
15. Have sales history
Having a sales history and going through them from time to time is a good way to review changes. Going through the sales history and reviewing mistakes is good because you know what not to do again.
There you go, those are the 15 tools that must be utilized in 2018 to achieve success in sales and improve your customer base. You must remember that every business has its own pattern and everything might not work how you want them to. Some of the above-given techniques require time to integrate into your business and work through.
