Regardless of what you’re selling, whether your product, service or time, knowing how to sell it is essential to every business. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in. From finance to eCommerce, the ability to sell applies to any sector.
While over one million people in the UK work in sales, we are all technically salespeople. We all have to persuade colleagues, employees, clients, and even romantic interests that our best qualities are exactly what they’re looking for.
If you know how to sell your offering, you’ve got yourself a solid pipeline brimming with potential clients or a consistent demand for what you’re selling. Being able to sell yourself and your work is inherently crucial to your success. But you don’t necessarily have to do it alone (more on this later).
With that, let’s take a closer look at some of the trends we are seeing as the year unfolds.
Working smarter, not harder
With the global pandemic in the rear-view mirror, markets are expanding and saturating quickly. As a result, salespeople have to take a creative approach to reach sales goals. This translates to working smarter instead of harder.
Rather than trying to be like your competitors, working smarter means looking for what clearly differentiates you from your competition. It’s doing the opposite of what your competitors are doing. It’s finding what is distinctive about your brand and driving that key message home.
Automation is everything
The key to working smarter and not harder is implementing systems and processes that can work hard for you. Automating the sales process saves you time, money, and avoids mistakes as it completely slashes the need for manual work.
Automation gives you more time to focus on what’s important: your sales strategy and better personalising your offering.
Video is king
If you’re not including video in your sales strategy yet, it’s time to get with the times. The amount a video can communicate to a potential client or customer is far greater than any social media post or marketing email.
Video is an excellent way to display the value you offer and how your product works – both factors intrinsic to an effective sales strategy.
However, it’s worth considering that in 2022, the market is already saturated with video content, with platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram Reels, and Netflix on the rise. If you’re going to use video to guide people into your sales funnel, it’ll need to be something that really stands out from the rest.
Outsourcing to sales specialists
As a business owner, we’re sure that your time is valuable. You may not necessarily have the capacity to grow a flourishing pipeline of potential clients and guide them through your sales funnel.
This year, a trend that we’re seeing is entrepreneurs outsourcing their sales functions to virtual outsourced specialists. Virtual assistants (VAs) aren’t only suited to administrative and assistant responsibilities. Many VAs are well versed in the sales process and are highly skilled in talking to people, convincing them of the value of what you’re selling, and handling the admin that goes into sales.
Outsourcing your sales process to a remote employee doesn’t mean you lose control of this business unit. Your input, guidance, and expertise will always be required and appreciated. But handing the sales legwork over to an experienced assistant frees up your time to work ON your business and not IN it.
If you are a business owner looking to outsource your sales function to a specialist, contact us and let’s get you matched up with the perfect virtual employee.
