What To Look For In Your Sales Tools

Sales teams are constantly on the lookout for tools that will streamline processes, generate increased sales, and improve their ROI. The more that you can automate processes and more effectively achieve those all important project milestones, the better it will be for the entire sales department. While no two sales tools are created equally, there are a few characteristics that every sales tool should have to help deliver the optimal results.

Defining Qualities Of Good Sales Tools

Whether it is for email marketing or tracking a consumer’s journey through the sales funnel, the most effective sales tools will have the following characteristics. 

1. Increased Integration Compatibility — While sales processes can differ, they typically follow similar progressions, which means that your chosen tools should be adaptable. In addition to being adaptable, your chosen sales tools need to be compatible with the other technologies that you are already using. Be on the lookout for sales technologies that have the following features:
   • Easy customization based on user preferences;
   • Ability to be seamlessly integrated with existing technologies or processes;
   • A scalable component that is adaptable to current and future company needs; and
   • The capability to function properly with both a small and large team, while simultaneously featuring administrative monitoring capabilities.
2. Email Should Be Automatic And Seamless — There are numerous sales tools that can be integrated with email blasts, however, not all of these technologies create automated and seamless digital communications. In other words, your sales team shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to send, track, or manage email lists and campaigns. In addition, if your sales team is relying solely on only manual emails, then they are more likely to miss out on an opportunity, especially when the communications increase or you are handling multiple lead generation campaigns. Avoid duplicate communications and reduced lead generation capabilities by leveraging the power of email automation.
3. Activity Monitoring Sales Tool — The best sales department will act as a cohesive unit. Your sales team should be communicating with each other to share what tactics are working, what types of consumers are responding best, failures, and successes, so that your team can learn and grow in an effort to deliver higher results. With the help of an activity monitoring sales tool you can track how your sales department is integrating with prospects and customers on both an individual and team level. Look for the following features and benefits:
   • Offers up to date information on sales team communication with each type of prospect group.
   • Effectively decreases the time to close for each consumer by monitoring specific responses to each type of marketing package or email.
   • Tracks individual, as well as entire email list, responses to each component of an emailed marketing package, including the number of recipients who filled out a response form.
   • Provides multiple types of customizable response forms, such as a “contact me” or “RSVP” form that can be linked to a conversion-driven component of your website or blog.
   • Streamlines the collection of leads and helps to categorize them into manageable groups.
4. Provide Focus On The Right Leads — A good salesperson will be able to identify where consumers fall on the sales funnel by leveraging the right sales tool to help them keep track of the numerous variables that contribute to a consumer’s journey. In fact, the right sales tools will help your sales team determine when they need to redouble efforts on leads that are ready to close. If your sales team needs help deciding when or how to focus on the right leads, then you need to find a tool that helps them to:
   • Categorize and sort prospects;
   • Assign different actions in email packages to better cater to a lead’s current position within the sales funnel; and
   • Has a lead scoring tool that makes it easier to customize marketing packages for the optimal conversion results. 
5. Connect Marketing And Sales Departments — The right sales tool should effectively make it easier for you to market your products or services. To this end, you should be able to share multiple types of media files, all contained within one branded message. Through the latter feature you will be able to paint a clear picture of what your business has to offer to consumers. Whether is is through video, audio messages, images, files, or documents for download, your sales team can only be as effective as the marketing materials and collaboration that it has with the marketing department. Look for a sales tool that helps you to unify your marketing and sales departments, so that your audience receives a properly branded message that simplifies their research and buying efforts.
6. Leverage Real-Time Data Analysis — Multimedia marketing campaigns should be created and delivered with real-time insights. These insights can be gained via a sales tool that provides:
   • Comprehensive tracking capabilities for each component of your multimedia campaign.
   • Tracks and monitors the key metrics, including: sent, opened, download, and conversion rates.
   • Leverages an activity log to best determine when each component of the multimedia campaign has been opened, as well as the amount of time that was spent viewing each media, and the total number of times that the entire digital message(s) was viewed.
   • Generates a detailed report that makes it easier for marketing teams to adjust their messaging, while simultaneously enhancing the sales team’s understanding of where each consumer falls in the sales funnel.
7. Easy To Use — This last characteristic might seem like a bit of a “no-brainer,” but you would be surprised at the number of sales tools that are hard to use. No matter its function, a sales tool should be mastered simply. Whether it is through a simple demo or an introductory user tutorial, the tool shouldn’t be cumbersome. It should be intuitive and easy to use by each member of the sales team.

The moral of the story is clear, if you want to effectively increase the capabilities of your team, then you need to be on the lookout for sales tools that feature the above seven characteristics. Above all, remember that your sales tools should be designed to streamline processes, generate a higher ROI, and improve a sales team’s ability to interact with consumers in an effort to improve relationships and increase sales.