What sales tactics is your marketing team using? And how effective is it for your business? Using the right sales tactics can do a lot for your business’s image, awareness and sales, so you should be certain your marketing team is using updated sales tactics.
There are many benefits to having good sales tactics, which includes building customer relationship, trust and loyalty which are key to customer retention and overall product sales.
Looking for proven sales tactics for your team? This article will discuss 10 sales tactics your business can implement to improve sales performance and overall success.
What Do Sales Tactics Mean?
Sales tactics are used by sales professionals of a business to increase customer acquisition and the sales of products or services. Sales tactics primarily aim to reach the target audience and convince them to purchase company products and services. Also, sales tactics are used to retain old customers.
To ensure that products sell, sales professionals in a business should be aware of the various sales tactics and how to strategically plan actions to establish trust, encourage potential customers to make purchases and retain old customers.
Regardless of the industry, there are proven sales tactics that, when practised, ensure your business does not lose customers. But before we discuss the different examples of sales tactics, let’s understand why they are important.
Why Are Sales Tactics Important?
Good sales tactics are important for business success. They advance the sales process, allowing for increased commissions and building stronger relationships with customers. Each sales stage requires specific tactics. Some are important at the beginning of a customer relationship, while others are more effective when applied toward the transaction’s conclusion.
Sales tactics help salespeople to increase repeat business, upsells, cross-sells and improve their sales process. Also, it helps to identify areas for product improvements.
Sales Tactics Example
Examples of sales tactics you can use for your business include the following:
#1. Building a Relationship With Your Customers
When it comes to business, your potential customers will determine what sales tactics you will adapt. Hence, having a relationship with them is advisable.
What does it mean to have a relationship with your customers? It means knowing enough about them in such a way that your sales tactics are tailored to their needs. You’ll need to pay attention to their recommendations and nonverbal habits. If your customers think you care about their wants and needs, they are more likely to purchase your products.
How do you build relationships with customers? By:
- Having personalized conversations with customers to learn their needs
- Following up with a customer to check and inquire about any further assistance or concerns they may have. This will help them remember you when they make their next purchase.
- Conducting surveys with current customers can help you better understand the demographics of your target market and the goals of your ideal customer profile (ICP). Ask them about their most pressing concerns and why they chose your solution as the best option. This will help you understand the demographics of your target market and the aims of your ideal customer profile (ICP).
- Cooperate with other teams, such as customer success or account management teams, to gather more information and feedback about your existing clients and build stronger relationships.
#2. Prepare Your Sales Calls and Emails.
When executed properly, cold calling is a successful sales tactic.
Before you start cold calling, engage in extensive research to personalize the conversation and deliver value to the prospective customer. Depending on what you are trying to sell, the person you’ll need to contact might be the CEO of a company, manager or team leader, so it will best if you do proper research before calling.
In the first 15 to 20 seconds of the conversation, introduce yourself and make a personalized comment that builds up to why you called. Listen to the prospect’s words and use an opening line like this to spark conversation.
Also, to make cold calling or cold emails effective sales tactics and increase sales, use actionable resources to warm up relationships first. Use cold calling and cold email scripts and templates that can help you prepare for any reaction or circumstance that may arise and also help you tailor your approach and drive significant conversations.
#3. Ask for Customer Referrals
Customer referrals are fast and efficient sales tactics that help develop brand awareness and may serve as an automatic lead qualification. The potential new customers receive recommendations from existing clients who have suggested your services to them, giving your business a strong and favourable reputation, which prospective customers look to when purchasing.
According to a 2020 study by Saasquatch, referred consumers spend 13% more money, are 18% more committed to the brand, and have a 16% greater lifetime value than non-referred new customers. Sales cycles for reference customers are typically shorter, and conversion rates are typically greater.
Also, if you want referrals, establish the expectation as early on as possible. After closing the sale with your customer, let them know that you may ask them to suggest you to a colleague or friend interested in your offer. This will put you in a position to be successful if you appropriately set expectations. Your customer won’t be caught off guard or perplexed by the question, and as an added perk, they may already have someone in mind.
To maximize customer referrals as part of your sales tactics, integrate a referral program into your sales tactics and provide training to your team on how to effectively ask for referrals from satisfied customers. Although you can gain organic referrals by offering incentives in the referral program, not all consumers will respond favourably to this method of selling.
Finally, before setting up referral programs as part of your sales tactics, ensure that you offer both structure and consistency to the participants. Your goods or services should be of a good quality that merits referrals. Without being prompted, people are motivated to tell their friends and family about a product if it offers a fantastic and wonderful experience.
#4. Use Social Media to Generate Leads
Social media is an effective way to interact with customers and sell products or services organically. By posting on social media, businesses can gain a following and create a large network of familiar customers. Product demonstrations and positive customer testimonials can also be posted to engage the following. Social media also allows businesses to show “before” and “after” results, answer questions, respond to comments, and update product images.
Why should you add social media to your sales tactics? Well, 75% of millennials use social to interact with brands and companies, and a study in 2021 by Sprout Social found that 90% of consumers are likelier to buy from brands they follow on social media. This is because social media generates data on content that resonates with prospects, allowing businesses to create leads through educational articles, white pages, and other resources.
Therefore, as foolproof sales tactics, use social media to find leads, engage in conversations, and educate potential customers about your brand.
#5. Leverage on Storytelling
Storytelling is a powerful sales tactic that describes a scenario involving how a product or service has benefited other consumers through a narrative. It involves providing examples or case studies, using quantitative data, and addressing potential customer concerns.
Stories truly compel people to take action. In addition to incorporating facts, it is essential to present stories that focus on people, as people are both logical and emotional. Be prepared to talk about previous customers who have faced similar issues, the product or service they purchased to solve those issues, and their success level. You can use anecdotes and jokes related to both parties, which are essential for developing solid, trustworthy partnerships. But most importantly, ensure that the stories shared about customers are 100% accurate to avoid backlash.
Nancy Duarte, CEO of Duarte Design Business, shares proven storytelling sales tactics for leveraging statistics to bring decision-makers on board. Some tips include using pictures to simplify facts, discussing at least one of the six indicators used to evaluate CEO success, avoiding side topics, reducing data sharing to appropriate information, and considering the actions others will be prompted to take.
#6. Invest in Automation Tools
Another thing you can add to your sales tactics is automation tools. Investing in automation software can help your business to keep up with competitors and focus on strategy.
You should utilize your company’s customer relationship management (CRM) software or app to store, organize, and process customer information. CRM systems store, organize, and process customer interactions and services, allowing you to trace customer interactions, such as purchases, transaction dates, and issues. Thus, allowing for quick access to customer information, service tickets, and market trends, reducing the need for manual paper records.
#7. Follow Through With What You Say
Sales representatives should ensure promises made to customers are maintained; that way, the business can maintain customer trust and loyalty. Know that breaking agreements can undermine a customer’s faith in your organization and services.
Suppose a client experiences a delay or issue; informing them as soon as possible is important. It demonstrates the business values their time. Also, you can go further to provide an opportunity to rectify the situation. Such a positive interaction with your company will be remembered favourably, just as a positive interaction with your product will be remembered. Hence, ensure that your product meets or exceeds expectations when advertised.
Overall, customers’ trust in your ability to follow through on promises will increase customer loyalty and encourage repeat purchases.
#8. Keep in Touch With Past Customers
Past customers are loyal. They are trusting customers who are willing to patronize your business again in the future. Hence, building on these relationships can lead to future sales.
To build a meaningful relationship with past customers, viewing it as something other than a business interaction is important. Use the information you have learned about their milestones, such as their birthday or anniversary date, to personalize the conversation and make the customer feel special. This can be why they choose to work with you again or offer a referral if they don’t have the time or budget to work with you.
Once the conversation is underway, introduce new products or recent service updates that may be useful to them. If your company offers an incentive program, inject that discount or reward into the conversation. Most importantly, use your previous history to add depth to the conversation.
#9. Offer Guarantees and Incentives on Your Products and Services
A guarantee on a product or service is crucial for customers to show confidence in its quality. It is especially important for new customers who have not tried your business’s offerings. You can offer various guarantees, including a money-back guarantee, free trial, lifetime warranty, best-price guarantee, and free samples.
Consistently checking in with past clients is essential for salespersons, as there’s always a chance that the client has a new problem or solution they may benefit from. These follow-ups are most effective when combined with incentives, such as discounts or time-sensitive promotions. Incentives are most effective when offered for a limited time, as a sense of urgency is a powerful purchasing motivator.
To effectively communicate these, it’s essential to understand your customer’s needs and why they chose a particular plan or tier. Researching your existing clients and identifying factors qualifying them for a different plan or tier can help you tailor your messaging.
Also, incentives can be personalized by mentioning the new product or service launch, demonstrating how it will benefit their new service and tying pricing to the desired outcome. To seal the deal, include an incentive at the end, such as half off of the upgraded subscription for the first three months or a holiday discount.
Inclusiveness should be weaved into the narrative rather than presented as a standalone solution. Show customers what they’re missing without the upgrade and reward them for their decision when they’re ready to commit.
#10. Build a Content Library
Hundreds of well-known B2B companies use content marketing. B2B Content Marketing Insights revealed that 62% of top-performing businesses have a documented content marketing strategy, and 57% use it to generate sales successfully. Virtual events, webinars, and online courses are the best results for B2B content marketers.
Sales enablement is crucial for nurturing leads through the buying journey, as buyers need to establish trust and education on your product. This content comes from cross-team collaboration, where valuable customer insights are shared and compiled.
To produce compelling content, cross-team collaboration is essential. Shared and compiled customer insights can be used to produce compelling content that boosts sales conversions. Examples of effective content include case studies, whitepapers, product sheets, demos, reviews, and comparison charts. These content types provide real-life examples of how your business has helped other customers achieve similar goals, providing social proof and educating prospective buyers about your product.
Overall, great sales enablement content helps businesses deliver on-brand, professionally executed content to nurture prospects through the sales pipeline. By utilizing case studies, whitepapers, product sheets, demos, reviews, and comparison charts, businesses can effectively communicate their products and services to their target audience, boosting sales conversions and fostering customer trust.
Types of Sales Tactics
The four types of sales tactics for your marketing business plan are:
Cold Calling and Email Tactics
Cold calling and email sales tactics involve contacting potential customers via phone or email. They don’t have to expect the call or email before you send it. For cold calling to be successful, it requires proper preparation, structure, and strategy. Hence, you should be able to define your target audience. Also, make a strong list for successful cold calls, and ensure your opening statement gives the prospect a reason to stay on the call and listen to your offer.
Solution Selling and Consultative Tactics
This type of sales tactic involves understanding the customer’s problem and presenting your product or service as a solution. Therefore, you must act like a consultant and guide the prospect on how to solve their problems. The product you offer should be the solution to their problem, and you should be able to help them visualize a world without it.
Follow-up and Persistence Tactics
Persistence is essential in the busy business world. Follow-up and persistence sales tactics involve consistently following up with the prospect until a deal is closed. For this, you can use different follow-up channels, such as calls, emails, and text messages. Also, you can use automation tools; they can create real-time email and text sequences for follow-up.
Negotiation and Closing Tactics
This involves using the right negotiation tactics during the final stage of the sales process. The negotiation stage is critical and requires a calm mind. Hence, you should be able to take charge of the negotiation and lead it in a beneficial direction for both parties. Also, creating a sense of urgency can be beneficial as it can stimulate action and close deals quickly.
Sales Tactics in the Business Plan
A business plan guides the company’s expansion and marketing. It also includes a strategy for marketing to prospective clients. The marketing team should ensure their campaigns align with the sales tactics in the business plan, reflecting the brand’s voice and objectives.
Sales tactics should be compatible with the business plan, especially for companies where a single lead interacts with multiple salespeople. A well-organized and collaborative CRM system can streamline the flow of information between sales representatives, allowing them to start from where the previous one left off. Hence, ensuring a straightforward process for moving leads through the pipeline.
