Just as automation changed the game of marketing, automation is now changing the landscape of sales. There was a long time when a good salesperson was required to be diligent. They had to be organized and meticulous because sales is all about timing. Just because a lead isn’t ready to buy today doesn’t mean he won’t be next week, next quarter, or next year. If you wanted to succeed in a sales role, you either had to be blessed with an outstanding memory or you had to establish an effective system for keeping records.
Until the relatively recent transition to the modern digital age, it was very difficult for a colleague or a boss to be able to efficiently access that information. Managers and executives want to be able to see into the future. They want to be able to plan for what is coming. Having a clearer picture of the sales pipeline helps them do that, and having a cloud-based CRM and suite of tools in HubSpot makes the sales pipeline management so much easier. By automating emails and reminders and tracking deals and contact history, you can spend a lot more time actively selling, which is why the Sequences tool is one of my favorite features of Sales Pro. It allows you to build out customzied touches patterns, so you can ensure that every prospect and lead is conatcted in the most effective ways, with the most appropriate language, and at the best possible times. It's also tremendously connected into existing marketing assets and efforts, allowing teams to achieve a new level of sales and marketing alignment.
Customize your touch patterns
Whether you are prospecting new leads or following up with open deals, you can’t just call someone relentlessly until they pick up the phone. You have to pace it out and keep your cool. You may need to try different approaches with varying copy. Even more important, the touch frequency that might be appropriate in one industry doesn’t mean it will be in another. It is very helpful to be able to build customized sequences for these different situations. So if a certain persona responds more often to calls than to emails, you can tailor that specific sequence to be more heavily focused on calls. By ensuring you are reaching out at the best times, you are giving yourself the best possible chance to make a connection.
Tailor your messaging with templates
Just as the frequency and timing of your touches can vary by persona, so too can the messaging of these touches. By building out specific email templates for different situations, you can drastically cut down on the time it takes you to send highly personalized content. The less effort you spend retyping the same emails, the more you could spend pursuing another opportunity. I for one have speicifc templates builts out for responding to leads that reach out on a bottom of the funnel form. I have others for prospects that haven't yet requested a call. Prebuilding email templates like this makes you more effective and takes less time. For some ideas of different email templates, check out this article by Pete Caputa.
Set custom tasks
The power of sequences goes beyond simply sending emails. You can schedule calls. You can set reminders to connect on LinkedIn. You can even customize your tasks to send your lead flowers and chocolate if your heart so desires. The point is, you can take your entire bag of tricks and build them into a sequence that you can easily enroll leads in. Build the system for your whole sales team to follow, and every lead will benefit from the effective practices of your best sales person.
Review sequence performance with analytics
As is the case with digital marketing, the value is in the visibility. You can continually improve your processes by reviewing each sequence’s metrics and making adjustments based on performance. You can see how many people are in the sequences as well as where each specific lead is, and this clarity is extremely helpful to both management and the sales team.
In this digital age we are living in, the more information you have, the better off you are. Embrace technology to provide the organization you desperately need and the visibility management desperately wants. These tools were built to make our lives easier, so you might as well get the most out of them that you can. If you’d like to learn how else you can utilize these tools, you can feel free to reach out to us at any time.
