Recently there has been a rise in the number of vendors who offer Sales Enablement software. This leaves businesses wrestling with questions such as:
- How to find the right sales enablement software?
- How to determine if the sales enablement software is the one for their teams?
- What are the key areas that should be looked into when buying sales enablement software?
This post addresses the critical areas you should consider before investing in Sales Enablement software.
Ease-of-Use
Most vendors will talk of their system’s “ease-of-use.” Take the time to use and evaluate the system to judge if that is true. Don’t rely solely on their claims.
Improves sales efficiency
Find out the extent to which your sale enablement software can integrate with your existing sales processes. How much autonomy does it provide to your sales team? Truly sales-focused software should integrate seamlessly with your sales processes, making them more efficient.
Next-Generation Marketing Avenues
New marketing and sales channels are evolving rapidly. First it was Blogs, now it’s Facebook and Twitter. Find out if your new software caters to the modern marketing channels, and whether your software provider keeps track of new trends and technologies in sales and offers upgrades. It should be able to answer questions like which campaigns are yielding results and which ones are eliciting lukewarm response, which leads are ready to buy and which ones need to be nurtured, etc.
Search Engine Optimization
More than 90% of people research online before making a purchase. So, it is important to ensure that all relevant marketing and sales materials are search engine optimized. Consider if the system can automatically optimize your sales and marketing assets for search engines.
Lead Tracking & Marketing Analytics Across Multiple Platforms
Your system should be able to provide Big data of your prospects and customers. This data should be actionable which helps you to identify which campaigns are yielding results and which ones are eliciting lukewarm response, which leads are ready to buy, and which ones need to be nurtured.
Advanced Lead Nurturing
Does the software that you are considering have advanced lead nurturing capabilities? The buyer today has too many distractions and too many choices. A good system is one that is dynamic, understands buyer behavior and responds appropriately.
Accessibility
How accessible is your new software? When considering a new platform, you need to remember that it will be used by sales staff that may be constantly on the move (hence the need for flexible software). How does the new platform cater to their needs? Does it have a mobile application? Or perhaps a notification system that would alert your salespersons when they have to respond to leads?
To put it simply, a truly next-gen Sales Automation program is one that increases the efficiency and effectiveness of the sales and marketing processes and brings about total integration of the two key functions–across multiple channels, giving the business a holistic view of its prospects, customers and sales and marketing efforts.
