Sales is a pivotal facet of any business, big or small. The growth, success and profit of any business depend on the sales. While sales are mostly a tangible aspect, calculated in numbers, a large part of it is intangible. To sell your product or service, you need to know your potential customers as well as track the tastes of your existing customers. This can justify the immense pressure on the sales team and the extensive competition in the market. This is why sales professionals take the help of various sales tools that make their work easier.
A sales tool is a digital tool used by sales professionals to enhance their productivity and consequently, their sales. There are mainly two reasons why sales professionals take the help of these sales tools.
- ● Primarily, these tools help identify prospective customers and how to reach out to them. The tiresome administrative work is removed with the introduction of these tools.
- ● Secondly, the workers in the modern-day office work more efficiently with the help of modern tools and technology. If the company is stuck in the era of traditional methods, there may be no increase in sales, leaving the workers dissatisfied. This may lead to the employees leaving the company as their talent is not being supported by modern tools.
There are various sales tools for small businesses that can seriously improve sales and increase the number of customers. Ask yourself the following questions to find the best sales tool.
Does it allow collaboration?Sales are just the tip of the iceberg. There are a host of other things that need to support sales for the business to flourish. Departments like advertising, PR (Public Relations), Market research and so on, need to work hand-in-hand with the sales department for maximum optimisation. It is only when all the departments work in tandem that sales start to rise. Hence, you should always see whether the sales tools software gives you the option of collaboration. If not, you will be better off looking elsewhere, as collaboration is key to success and better overall management of the business.
Is the technical and customer support efficient?Say, you are using sales CRM software. No matter the brand or popularity of the same, you may run into some problem or the other. This is why you should always check if they have good and responsive technical support so that your problems can be dealt with quickly. You can also talk to their past or current users to get an idea about their support policy. Apart from the technical aspect, customer support should also be present. If you have any doubts regarding any feature of the software or you are unable to understand any feature of the tool, customer support should be good enough to solve them. Therefore it is important to check the availability of credible and quick support offered to the clients and users.
Does it have a customisable dashboard?Most business collaboration and sales tools have the feature of a dashboard. While it is always helpful to have a tool like that, make sure to check if you and your company can work with that specific dashboard. For instance, check if the layout suits your day-to-day work management. If not, be sure to see whether the sales tool has the option of customisation. This will allow you and your employees to tweak it up according to your tastes and preference. Another important use of a dashboard would be for metrics. These can be displayed through graphs and charts that give you an insight into your business growth. So make sure the tool you are going for has a customisable dashboard.
Is it easy to use?If the sales tools software is very hard to navigate and the users are not being able to implement it in their work, you should not choose that tool. Always research whether the software requires separate training or whether it has a user-friendly interface. If it is not user-friendly, it will lead to a new inconvenience for you and your team. Hence it is important to know beforehand if your preferred sales tool has an easy learning curve or not.
Is it within your budget?Once you have taken into consideration the above factors, you need to see whether the tool falls within your allotted budget. It will be careless to keep the price as the main benchmark for efficiency. More often than not, the most expensive ones may not fulfil your company’s needs and demands. Therefore it is important to check which sales CRM, sales intelligence, sales analytics or any such software offers the solutions to your problems at a cost-effective price. You might also find a few free sales tools that often provide you with the required help, even though they might have a limited amount of features. Hence, you should always scope the market and decide the tool according to your needs and budget.
Select the right oneThere are various categories of tools that cater to different aspects of sales. Go through the given categories and decide which one you should go for.
- ● CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software
- ● Sales intelligence
- ● Sales gamification
- ● Sales analytics software
- ● Video-conferencing software
- ● E-signature and Document tracking
Crotle is one such service that offers sales tools for small businesses. It is known for its unique features that create a conducive environment for more productivity. Through features like Organisation management, Task management, Project management and Kanban Boards, it allows the user to streamline a smooth workflow that motivates the workers and results in increased efficiency. Crotle is one of the few tools that have all the necessary business tools to expand your company and increase sales to a great extent.
Sales tools, especially for small businesses, are very important for the proper functioning of a business. Yes, you will survive without using one of these, but you will be left miles behind your competitors. Therefore, you should definitely go for a sales tool if you are looking to enhance your sales, but due research before choosing is very important.