Telemarketing Software Featured Article

Every business sells, but not every business is maximizing its sales opportunities. A company might even be wildly successful but still leaving opportunities on the table.

Making the most of sales opportunities requires a good sales culture. It is not enough to have sales staff; a business must also have the right sales culture in place.

Here are six keys that separate good sales cultures from the rest:

Sales is thought of as a way to deliver value to customers. Customers want solutions, not more sales pitches. A good sales culture will emphasize driving value for customers by helping them solve their business problems. As sales guru Neil Rackham has put it, do you drive enough value in your sales calls that customers actually would be willing to pay for the calls?

Sales is managed as a process. High-performance sales operations have analyzed their sales process and uncovered the expectations of clients at each step in the process and where opportunities exist. This allows for better allocation of resources and more effective closes.

Coaching is a necessity. Professional sales is a skill learned through practice, not the classroom. That’s why good sales cultures incorporate a strong sales-mentoring program to help junior sales staff learn the best practices of senior sales professionals on staff.

Use the right tools. While all it really takes is a phone and product knowledge to sell, the process can be greatly helped by having the right technological foundation for efficiency and best practices. Good sales cultures know they need to empower their sales staff with tools like VanillaSoft’s cloud-based sales software, which includes a sales automation CRM, lead management, appointment setting, progressive dialing and next-best routing.

Focus on the right metrics. Too much time spent on forecasting takes away from time spent improving the sales process. Good sales cultures balance analyzing results with coaching optimal behaviors and activities. To know is not enough; sales teams need to balance analysis with improving practice.

Have a clear sales strategy. This includes having an ideal client profile, knowledge of where best opportunities are likely to be, and what differentiators will be most effective in the market.