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How to create an effective sales strategy

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How to create an effective sales strategy

Introduction 

We all know what happens when organizations forge ahead without a well-thought-out sales strategy. In a nutshell, it will end in complete chaos and disorganization. Having an effective sales strategy will help organizations scale and grow their business. Poorly planned strategy results in high employee turnover, decreased morale, and business losses. In the current times, sales operations have gone through drastic changes accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is important to adapt to the new normal. In this blog, we’ll guide you in identifying some of the most effective sales strategies, and offer a five-step framework for developing a sales strategy for your business. 

What is a Sales Strategy? 

A sales strategy is a well-defined plan with clear objectives to generate revenue and grow business. It is always better to have an actionable roadmap that is tested and evaluated to achieve your business goals. Moreover, an effective sales strategy will guide your sales reps regarding target customers, sales channels, product positioning, and competitors. 

There are many different aspects to a sales strategy, as one size does not fit all. The reason is that each customer is different. Therefore, a sales strategy plan should be custom-tailored to its organization and industry. 

Types of Sales Strategies 

There are different types of strategies that suit different types of organizations. Here are some effective strategies: 

  1. Understand your product and customer 

Sales reps need to know your product thoroughly to demonstrate the benefits accurately to the target customers. Customers are more likely to respond to sales reps who are passionate about their products and are more likely to trust reps who are confident in what they are selling. 

Knowing your customer and their pain points will enable sales reps to personalize their sales pitch. understanding your customers will help you in providing better service, thereby fueling the growth of your business. 

  1. Optimize social media to boost sales 

In this era, social media is one of the popular ways people consume information. You need to identify which platform your target audience is spending their time and make an effort to connect with them. 

Keep in mind that you need to adjust your brand’s tone depending on the social media platform and not seem out of plan. With a strategic plan, optimizing social media can be a great sales strategy. 

  1. Leverage cold calls and emails 

Cold calls may seem daunting sales strategy at first, but having strategies like a standard template and practicing the pitch before an actual phone call can improve your chances of finding a good lead.

  1. Demonstrate a personalized benefit to your potential customers For your target customers to believe in your product, you need to convince them that your product will solve their pain points. Therefore, a sales pitch can make or break a sales strategy. Offering a demo or a free trial is a great way to demonstrate your product’s value to the consumer. 
  2. Nurture your repeat customers 

By nurturing your existing relations with your customers, you are more likely to ensure that they continue to buy from you. Having loyal, happy customers leverages upselling and cross selling opportunities. 

Moreover, building connections with your customers will urge them to be your brand advocates and recommend your business to other potential buyers.Nurturing and retaining customers is a crucial aspect of sales strategy. 

Framework for building an effective sales strategy for your business 

In order to create a comprehensive sales strategy that is a fit for your business model, you would need a proper framework. The below steps can be helpful to your business: 

  1. Set your goals 

Identifying clear, specific goals is a crucial step in a sales strategy. Otherwise, how would an organization track whether you are executing the right activities to deliver the best results for your business? 

You can set realistic and measurable goals by assessing your company’s resources and by looking at your past data. 

  1. Identify your ideal customer profile 

You have to create an ICP that is a perfect fit for your product’s offering. This detailed profile must reveal their buyer persona – psychographics, location, company size, and buying process. Moreover, you can review your top clients’ behavior – their buying process, demographics, etc., to get an idea about your ideal customer criteria.  A good ICP provides proper guidelines for sales reps to generate good leads and convert more clients. 

  1. Improve your customer’s journey 

Examine your current customer’s buying cycle and see how quickly they turned from prospects to customers. You can do this by reaching out to your customers and having a conversation with them and then using these insights to create surveys.This will help you determine what drives your target audience to make a purchase. 

  1. Create an action plan 

If you want your sales reps to achieve your organizational goals, you need to support them. The tasks and activities to achieve the goals are unique to each team and are dependent on the research you undertook in the above steps. You can set up a sales strategy where each sales rep creates a funnel to demonstrate how they intend to meet their revenue targets along with the timelines. By outlining your action plan, you ensure that your entire team is on track to meet your organization’s sales goals. Scale your business by executing an effective sales strategy. 

By following this framework and executing the sales strategies, we hope your sales teams will have clear priorities and goals to follow and deliver their targets. 

If you need help executing your sales strategy, book a free demo with Awarathon to get started.