A better understanding of buyer needs and an automated stream of relevant messaging to targeted buyers should accelerate the sales process. And this in turn would reduce the amount of deals stuck in the pipeline and improve the effectiveness of your sales organization.
Case studies have consistently shown that unclogging deals and reducing funnel leaks makes companies less reliant on sales teams having to “save the quarter” with expensive, inefficient eleventh-hour deals.
According to CSO Insights’ new report, “2010 Sales Performance Optimization–Going Forward Analysis,” the following are the top four initiatives needed to increase sales effectiveness:
1. Revising/enhancing lead generation programs.
2. More closely aligning sales and marketing.
3. Enhancing sales team communications.
4. Analyzing customers’ buying processes.
The report noted that lead management plays a critical role in developing likely buyers. “We have documented numerous examples where using Lead Generation Management systems have increased the quality and quantity of leads; yet only 16% of the firms we surveyed have these systems in place. This is something nearly all companies would benefit from and is not just for use by marketing.”
Since sales reps are still responsible for generating “nearly half of the leads they pursue,” the CSO Insights’ report suggested that giving sales reps access to lead management automation systems “can help them more effectively generate their own prospecting campaigns.”
Many B2B companies are supplementing marketing automation systems with sales acceleration tools. These tools enable reps to focus on deals in the pipeline with personalized attention via trackable emails and real-time actions. They not only allow sales reps to track ongoing activity and history, but they also provide real-time alerts and triggers to allow sales reps to focus on the prospects that are active and ready to buy.
