Our experience in the industry has given us an inside track on sales automation, and we’ve used this knowledge to help countless clients succeed. Keep reading if you’d like to learn what we’ve learned.
March 25, 2022
The problem is… How do you do this? What should you automate? What tools should you use?
1. What Does Sales Automation Mean
2. What is a Sales Automation Tool
3. Why is Sales Automation Important
4. How Do You Create an Automated Sales Funnel
4.1: Phase 1: Awareness
4.2: Phase 2: Consideration
4.3: Phase 3: Decision
5. How To Create Sales Automation—The Conclusions
At The Sales Connection, we work with different clients from different industries; different sized teams that have built different cultures. A common trait they all seem to have in common is a desire to create sales automation.
This is the world we live in.
It is fast-paced. It’s technological.
You have the ability (and opportunity) to automate more than you know. This can help you take your sales to the next level. But before we get to that, let’s cover some of the basics.
Simply put, sales automation focuses on streamlining otherwise time-consuming tasks using:
Today, there’s a long list of such tools—and it continues to grow each day. It’s an exciting time full of opportunities. Yet it’s important to approach this for the right reasons.
Those are, at a fundamental level, to help your sales team achieve more.
Each day they perform certain tasks. If they do so over and over, chances are you’ll want to know how to create sales automation to save them time and maximize their productivity
So what exactly is a sales automation tool? That’s a loaded question. With recent advancements in AI—and the fact the world’s more connected than ever—you can create sales automation for almost any task you can imagine.
Some of the core sales automation tools include:
In most cases, these automation tools just work. Without the need for human interaction, they work in the background whether you and your team are at work or in bed.
This is the question… Do you need it? Is this investment worth it?
In a word, YES!!
As a sales manager, you have a lot on your plate. You have a team to lead. You have a team to expand and grow. Amongst all this, you’re tasked to improve revenue and momentum to build. Yet this isn’t just about you. Your team members also have a lot on their plates. The more you grow, the more they have to do. This is good, but it’s easier to overwhelm those you lead.
If you create sales automation—giving them access to the tools they need—you save them time. You set them up for success. Their productivity increases. In short, they get more done by doing less.
This is a win for you and a win for them. It’s often a win for your customers, as you no longer have to keep them waiting until a human being picks up the phone or replies to their email.
To some extent, every sales team needs to know how to create sales automation. This looks different for everyone, but each team benefits from it. With this in mind, how do you do it…?
The exact tools you need and the approach you should take come down to you. Your industry. Your team as a whole. Each individual inside your team!
True success comes when you tailor your sales automation around your situation.
There is no single solution that helps everyone. Different tools cater to different industries.
What matters is you take the time to understand your needs and then fill these.
In our experience—having worked with countless clients on how to create sales automation—we’ve found the best way to structure this is with a funnel. There are three overall phases to this.
Each phase requires different tools and approaches. Let’s dive a little deeper.
This first phase focuses on capturing and keeping attention. Your audience has a lot going on in their lives. Like you and your team, they’re overwhelmed with messages, options, and opportunities.
It’s relentless!!
You need to create sales automation that caters to both inbound and outbound sales. You need to set your team up for success by making their lives easier with intelligent, automated tools:
If your inbound and outbound sales rely solely on human beings, you’re in trouble. Not only is this inefficient, but it’s a fast way to burn out your team. Help them by adding automated tools that make their lives easier. Make it easier for your prospects, too, giving them what they need, when they need it.
Once inside your automated funnel, you need to ensure you deliver the information your audience needs.
What is your offer?
How does it work?
What are the benefits?
Again, you can provide most of this—if not all of it—without having to rely on an individual. From automated email sequences to time-sensitive text messages and DMs, there are tools that drip-feed your audience with what they need.
No matter what you sell, you have to provide certain information to your prospects. Sometimes this requires a personal touch (ie: a sales call). Many times, you can nurture your audience with automated content.
This final stage of your funnel is where the sale takes place. Often, this does require a real person jumping on a call and closing the deal. Yet it isn’t always the case. It’s important to question this as a sales manager.
Only you can answer that. Either way, certain tools CAN help you save time (and make money). From automated scheduling to an intuitive follow-up sequence, you can create sales automation to help your team thrive.
The exact tools differ from situation to situation. The point is they exist. They exist for you to leverage!
That’s the whole point of this article. If you want to create sales automation, you need to embrace the fact it exists in MANY forms. There’s potential in all phases of the funnel.
No matter what industry you’re in, there are tools to help.
Big team or small… you can leverage sales automation to save time and make money.
Now you know how to create sales automation, it’s time to take a step back and figure out what you (and your team) need. Often, this requires a few foundational steps before you’re ready to dive in.
If that’s the case, you may like to study the following resources:
Building a sales team is a process. Using the right automation tools forms part of this. Yet it won’t fix a broken team. This is why it’s valuable to involve a specialized sales agency like The Sales Connection!
If you’re ready to take this all-important next step, Apply To Partner with US — we can help you create the strategy you need to automate your sales and set your entire team up for success.
Kayvon Kay
Kayvon has over two decades of experience working with high-level closers and perfecting his sales methodologies. He has earned the title of Canada’s #1 pharmaceutical sales representative and continues to share his expertise as a keynote speaker and through his multi-million-dollar coaching program.
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