Question: What Tools Does Your Sales Team Need?

The ever-growing list of software designed to help sales professionals do their job can be confusing to navigate. Most products, though, fall into a set of categories. To decide which tools your sales force needs, start by learning about each of those main categories. I summarize them for you here.

CRM software. Customer relationship management software, or CRM, is the most important sales tool you will use. Find the best CRM for your company and then buy other tools that integrate well with it. CRM software gathers customer data from a company’s communication channels to collect information on purchase behavior and history. The data allows your team to understand patterns and increase growth and retention.

Sales intelligence. Sales intelligence (SI) tools provide in-depth, relevant information about customers and real-time data analysis. SI tools can help your team design sales territory mapping, collect detailed company information, ensure data quality, implement industry market strategies, create brand awareness and more.

Analytics software. Once your sales professionals have the information they need, analytics software helps with interpretation. From there, a team can understand current performance and develop insights on growth and outcome. Tools that allow for connection to multiple sources is especially helpful for studying trends.

Lead management. Lead management enables you to match your outgoing message to new potential consumers. Tools in this category answer questions like: What tactics are working for the business? How can visibility be increased? What methods would boost public image? Lead management tools will identify the best leads and help you convert them into customers...

Source: The Staffing Stream