Sales Motivator: Money is good but information is better
A
s a marketer, we are joined at the hip with
sales teams. In many ways, the sales team is
our customer. They rely on marketing for demand
generation, competitive intelligence, market
research, and product information. I have had the
opportunity to work with some of the finest
salespeople who helped companies grow
tremendously. As a marketer, I’ve learned that the
key to keeping sales motivated and engaged is
information. Nothing drives sales more than
reliable, relevant information that gives them a
competitive advantage and empowers them to
stand confidently in front of the prospect, discuss
the business issues and propose solutions.
Providing them with a competitive edge is the
greatest motivator.
Selling is an information game. Providing the right
information to the right customer at the right time
makes all the difference between a win or a loss.
The information about customers, accounts,
relationships, and the execution plans impact sales
effectiveness and their motivation. Ceteris paribus,
here are some ways to keep sales happy and
motivated:
Provide reliable customer information. Sales
professionals never like to visit clients unprepared,
with incomplete information. They want accurate
and current customer information about their
accounts. They do not like surprises. The last thing
a salesperson wants is to walk into client’s office
oblivious to project issues or unaware of
promotions sent to them. They need access to
current, complete and clean information, including
a customer’s profile, interactions, and transactions.
Working with questionable customer data impacts
the productivity of sales teams, and it affects the
customer experience. Access to reliable customer
information that blends data from all CRM, ERP,
marketing automation, and support systems, and
enriched with third-party data, is critical to sales
success.
Connect with influencers and champions faster.
Information about the real decision maker,
including how she or he is organizationally linked
to the other stakeholders, influencers, users, and
budget owners is crucial. Finding the influencers,
understanding their influence in the deal, quickly
connecting with them, and understanding what
drives them is of tremendous advantage.
Traditional CRM, SFA or master data management
(MDM) systems are not designed to capture and
maintain information about relationships. Modern
data management platforms have an inbuilt
capability to discover and manage relationships
using graph technology. Graphical visualization of
relationships and determination of its influence
makes it easy for sales to find the right person in a
complex organization and develop internal
champions in deals.
Have a sound strategy with clear tactics. Clearly
communicating sales alignments, zip-to-territory,
named accounts, global accounts, and product
territories goes a long way in keeping conflicts out.
The faster you can define these arrangements, with
the reliable customer and product information, the
better the sales effectiveness. Longer planning
sessions, misaligned tactics, and account strategy
lead to frustration -- sales professionals take things
into their own hands, diverging from the overall
company strategy.
Continued on Page 13
Strictly Marketing Magazine September/October 2016
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