Sales effectiveness is more than just about sales numbers, it’s about optimizing the customer’s experience with your company. The future of selling is drastically different from what it encompassed in the past. Holding on to the same old sales techniques and models is restraining companies from being able to respond to customer needs effectively. Adapting to the new buying cycle is vital now, in the new year, and in the future. Here’s how to be more sales effective in the new year.

Nurturing at every Step

Customers are taking control of the buying process. They no longer want to hear sales pitches and be pressured into making purchases. Rather, they want to be nurtured. They want to feel like their needs are being taken care of, that their questions are being answered, and that their concerns are being addressed. Not only do they want this during the sale, but during each step of the cycle. They want to be nurtured with quality information during the research phase, they want to have real, genuine conversations about their needs during the sale, and they want their feedback and post-sale questions and concerns to be heard, acknowledged, and understood. This should be your first step to being sales effective.

Sales Process

In order to be sales effective, a sales force also needs to have an organized, efficient sales process to follow. Building a sales process you can be proud of requires proper analyses, measuring, and tracking of sales, strategies, and customer expectations using the latest technologies. In the new year, you should be taking advantage of the technologies available to you to create the best sales process that can make your team more sales effective.

Sales Tools

Being sales effective in the new year also means using sales tools every step of the way. Brochures and PowerPoint presentations aren’t how the leading companies sell anymore. Companies need to be using online programs, marketing automation, web-touch selling and social media to generate quality leads worth pursuing, to move prospects further down the sales funnel, and to research your clients in order to better understand their needs. Web-based sales tools allow sales people to gain insight about customer behaviour in order to become more sales effective.

Don’t Pitch

Though consumers must be nurtured at every step, special attention must be taken during the sales pitch in order for reps to be sales effective. This is their time to shine and using the same old pitch they use on every client isn’t going to fly anymore. Sales pitches now need to be tailored to each customer because they need to focus on the customer’s needs, not the company’s benefits. What’s more, sales people shouldn’t be talking at the clients, they should be starting honest and open discussion with them. In order to be more sales effective, they should be empathizing with their needs, listening to their concerns, and answering their questions thoughtfully.

Integrate Marketing, Sales, and Service

Miscommunication or lack of communication between the marketing, sales, and customer service departments can cost you money. These departments must all be integrated to work together to be sales effective. The marketing department should be working with the sales department to target the company’s buyer persona and to generate qualified leads. The sales force should also be working with customer service to ensure the sales they have made close smoothly from delivery to customer service. In order to generate leads and create positive, long-term relationships with clients, all teams must work together to best address customer needs.

Relying on your sales people’s charm and zest isn’t going to bring you consistent revenue anymore. You must be more sales effective. And this means nurturing relationships during each phase of the buying cycle, building a strong sales process, utilizing sales tools, having meaningful conversations with clients, and integrating your marketing, sales, and service departments for best results.