Regardless of the size of your business, you can use sales call automation to help you achieve your goals. Identifying leads is one of the most cumbersome and challenging aspects of sales, and thanks to advances in technology, there are now lots of tools available to change this fact.
So, in this article, we explain in detail what sales call automation is, why it’s beneficial and how you can get started with sales call automation in your small business today.
What is Sales Call Automation?
Sales call automation enables you to automate the process of sales calls through the use of advanced technology, AI, and a range of other digital tools. The main benefit of sales call automation is that it helps your small business sales team generate leads without investing the same amount of time that was traditionally required for the task.
Therefore, your sales team has more time to complete manual tasks that are focused on closing sales, thus improving your bottom line. When used correctly, sales call automation will improve the efficiency and productivity of your entire business and will free up time and resources that can be spent elsewhere.
The Benefits of Sales Call Automation
The advantages of automating sales within your small business include:
How to Get Started with Sales Call Automation
Sales call automation won’t happen overnight, so you need to develop a process that your entire team can follow. Here are five steps that will help you get started with the process and streamline the operations of your small business:
1. Consider the Best Tools for Automation
Your first job is to do a little bit of research into CRMs that you can use to automate the sales call process within your business. One of the best systems out there is HubSpot, which is a sales hub that provides a broad spectrum of sales automation tools for businesses of all sizes. Some CRMs can be notoriously difficult to get the hang of, making the transition more difficult than it needs to be for your sales team. But HubSpot is super easy to use and incredibly feature-rich, making it a viable platform to kick-start your sales call automation.
2. Prioritize your Clients
Every customer is different, so you need to think carefully about which of your clients will respond well to your change of style. Instead of manually checking in with all of your clients, you can develop a straightforward sales automation process that is powered by a lead scoring system. Lead scoring essentially shows you how your customers engage with you. For instance, if they engage with the first email that you send, they will score more highly than someone who needs to be chased several times before responding.
Ultimately, this process helps your sales team easily identify which customers are close to closing and which need a little more work. This is an important starting point for automation and will save you considerable time and effort as you move forward and track down more leads.
3. Automate the Sales List
Now that you’ve prioritized your clients, it’s time to automate the sales list. One of the most mind-numbing aspects of sales is scrolling through business forums, professional networks, and social media, trying to find people who might be interested in your product.
With an automated lead list-building tool, you can instantly receive numerous individuals that match the criteria that you’re looking for. You can then provide your sales team with a list of highly credible leads for them to chase.
One of the best tools for this purpose is LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator, which helps your business target the right buyers and reveals key insights into your potential client base. Using such a tool will save you and your sales team a lot of time and will help you identify the right type of leads to pursue.
4. Always Follow Up
One mistake that some sales teams make when they transition to automation is that they forget the importance of following up with their clients. Yes, automation makes things easier, but you can’t lose sight of the value of human connection in sales.
Your CRM is more than capable of sending out email after email, but you still need to follow up with your clients and check in with them on a personal level. After all, the best sales teams understand what motivates their clients and how best to manage their relationships. So, don’t view sales call automation as a replacement for the human side of business, but rather as a supplementary tool that will make your life easier.
5. Redefine your Workplace Culture around Meetings
One of the biggest drains on the time of your small business team is sales meetings. And while automating sales calls is all well and good, you need to think about how automation can have a positive influence on your internal policy regarding sales meetings.
CRMs are time-saving in myriad ways, and using them to eliminate unnecessary sales meetings is a great way to increase the productivity of your team. Most CRMs allow you to host remote meetings that automatically sync into the calendar of your sales team.
The time saving of this is potentially huge, as you don’t need to go back and forth to get a date in the diary, and you can invite your sales team to dial in remotely. So, not only will automation reduce the amount of time your team is out on call, but it will also increase their efficiency and productivity in the office.
Final Thoughts
Given the broad spectrum of tools available today, there’s no reason not to automate aspects of your business. Sales call automation will save you so much time, effort, and money, which you can then use for other aspects of running and growing your business.
As explained above, the key aspect of transitioning to automation is using a CRM and encouraging your sales team to automate as much as possible. However, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that automation can replace the human element of sales, or you will quickly find yourself losing clients as a result. (Related: A Comprehensive Look Into Powerful Sales Techniques And How To Apply Them Effectively)