Are you looking to increase your sales growth? The key to building a strong sales team and high sales growth is to have a good sales strategy. So, what is a sales strategy?
A sales strategy is a systematic plan detailing how a business aims to sell its products or services to its target customers. It encompasses a set of objectives, tactics, and processes that guide a sales team in consistently achieving or surpassing their revenue targets. A well-defined sales strategy, often documented in a playbook or template, provides a roadmap for the sales team, outlining best practices, techniques, and steps to approach, engage, and convert potential leads into customers.
Sales strategy is like a guide that tells you how to sell effectively and helps you track your progress.
Let’s explore a sales strategy, its types, how to develop one, and everything you need to know about it.
What Is a Sales Strategy?
A sales strategy is like a roadmap for your sales team. It includes decisions, actions, and goals that show how to sell your organization’s products to new customers.
It gives clear directions to sales reps on how to approach sales, present the products, and analyze the competition.
The 2 Most Popular Types of Sales Strategies
In any industry or company, there are two main types of sales strategies: inbound and outbound. You can pick one or both.
Here’s what they mean:
1. Outbound Sales Strategy:
Companies focus on the seller rather than the customer in outbound sales strategies. Cold calling, purchasing email lists, and cold prospecting techniques are commonly used.
Success is often measured by the number of connections rather than quality.
Meanwhile, outbound teams rely on manual data entry for sales pipeline monitoring and coaching.
2. Inbound Sales Strategy:
In inbound sales strategies, companies base their approach on buyer actions. They capture seller and buyer data automatically for pipeline monitoring and salespeople coaching.
Inbound strategies align with the buyer’s journey stages: awareness, consideration, and decision. Sales tactics are tailored accordingly.
Keep in mind that when choosing the right sales strategy for your business, it’s crucial to consider your customers. Your sales team, responsible for closing deals, also plays a significant role.
Developing a Sales Strategy in 5 Steps
Here’s a guide to creating a sales strategy in five simple steps:
Step 1: Understand and Align with Company Goals:
Make sure your sales goals are in line with the overall goals and objectives of your company.
Stay updated on any changes or trends that may affect your business.
Step 2: Define Your Target Customers:
Identify your ideal customer profile by considering their demographic information, constraints, and pain points.
Understand how your product or service can solve their challenges and provide value.
Step 3: Train Your Sales Team:
Provide training to your sales team to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge.
Create a B2B sales playbook that guides them through various sales processes and scenarios.
Here are some sales or business playbook examples:
- Cold calling script
- Lead nurturing plan
- Negotiation strategies
- Customer success plan
- Prospect onboarding guide
- Sales presentation template
- Sales training curriculum
- Referral program playbook
- Competitive analysis handbook
Step 4: Collaborate with Marketing and Implement Outbound Marketing:
Break down the silos between sales and marketing.
Work together to create brand awareness, attract leads, and align marketing efforts with your sales strategy.
Utilize outbound marketing tactics to identify prospects, pitch your product or service, and generate new sales opportunities.
Focus on B2B sales prospecting, lead qualification, and consultative selling.
Step 5: Check How It’s Going:
The final step in making a sales strategy is to see how well it’s doing – and change it if necessary.
By monitoring various sales measures and indicators, you can see what’s effective and what’s not, whether it’s for individuals, teams, or the whole company.
Some important sales metrics to look at include:
- How quickly you respond to inquiries,
- How many accounts you reach out to,
- How many accounts you make progress with,
- The average amount of money you make per account,
- The number of new customers you get,
- Your success rate in winning new business,
- How much money you lose from customers leaving,
- The overall amount of customers you lose,
- How much revenue grows from existing customers.
- The amount of revenue each salesperson brings in.
Leverage sales intelligence tools to gain insights into potential customers, their behaviors, and market trends.
By following these steps, you can build a successful sales strategy tailored to your company’s needs and achieve your sales goals.
Free Strategic Sales Plan Template
The template of strategic sales plans is a valuable tool for businesses.
Like a step-by-step guide, it provides a structured framework for outlining your sales goals, strategies, and action steps.
Whether you’re a sales professional or just starting out, sales plan templates are very useful and customizable to fit your business needs.
They help you set clear goals, analyze your target market, identify your competitive advantages, and plan effective tactics.
You can get sales plan templates in PDF, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint formats from intelligent sales strategy tools like TemplateLab or HubSpot and take your sales to new heights!
These templates simplify the process of creating a well-defined sales plan and ultimately increase your chances of achieving your sales goals and growing your business. Best of all, they’re available for free!
Bonus tip:
Looking for a free strategic sales email template to increase your sales?
Check out our Sales Email Template guide! This article is a valuable resource of free strategic sales email templates, compiled and written to help you create a powerful roadmap for your sales success. In addition to strategic templates, this guide also explains how to create a successful sales plan.
B2B Sales Strategy Examples from Successful Brands
In this section, we’ll look at some examples of B2B sales strategies and how to improve them.
First, it’s crucial to set clear goals for your B2B sales strategy.
For instance, if a company wants to sell more digital products and reduce costs, the goal should be specific and measurable.
1. Original Goal: Using a SWOT Analysis and Customer Personas
Increase sales of digital products and shift revenue away from hard copies.
Improved Goal:
Increase digital product sales by 35% in the first two quarters and convert 10% of hard-copy customers to digital subscriptions.
To create an effective action plan, consider using a SWOT analysis and customer personas. However, it’s essential to avoid vague actions and ensure they align with your goals.
2. Original Action Plan: Using the LinkedIn Social Media:
Establish a strong LinkedIn presence, attend educational conferences, and create more content.
Improved Action Plan:
Post two LinkedIn updates weekly, attend the top three education conferences based on past attendance, and create 15 new pieces of content per quarter targeting common customer issues.
Remember, B2B sales plans vary in complexity, but being specific is crucial. Adjust your numbers as needed, but always track your progress and link your strategies to results for success.
Here are three examples of popular & successful companies that use the B2B sales strategy:
IBM (International Business Machine): They are a successful company in B2B external & internal sales through different solutions such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and security.
IBM has been assisting businesses in becoming more efficient for almost a century.
HubSpot: They have a rigorous hiring process and encourage their sales reps to understand their customers’ pain points firsthand. This allows them to find innovative solutions and provide better customer service.
CUFinder: They focus on aligning their sales and marketing efforts, resulting in exceeding revenue targets. They also emphasize experimentation with different sales tactics to find what works best for their unique business.
Develop a Winning Sales Strategy with CUFinder
Do you want to grow your business and drive more revenue? Then, you need a trustworthy method to generate B2B leads, prospect, enrich, connect, and engage potential clients.
CUFinder is the solution.
Its enrichment and prospect engines allow you to effortlessly build relationships with your target audience, handle your sales journey, and more.
So, if you want to develop your B2B sales growth strategy that works well, don’t hesitate to try CUFinder’s Enrichment Engine.
How Do You Create a Successful Sales Strategy?
To create a successful sales strategy, there are several important steps to follow.
1. Understand Your Target Customers:
Start by understanding who your customers are and what they need. This will help you tailor your sales approach to their specific requirements.
2. Set Clear Goals:
Determine what you want to achieve with your sales strategy. Set realistic and measurable goals that align with your overall business objectives.
3. Identify Your Unique Selling Proposition:
Figure out what makes your product or service unique and why customers should choose you over competitors. Highlight these advantages in your sales strategy.
4. Develop Effective Sales Tactics:
Determine the best methods for reaching and engaging your target customers. This may include cold calling, email campaigns, social media marketing, or networking events.
5. Train and Motivate Your Sales Team:
Provide comprehensive training to your sales team so they have the skills and knowledge to succeed. Motivate them by setting sales targets and offering incentives.
6. Monitor and Evaluate Your Strategy:
Continuously monitor the performance of your sales strategy and make adjustments as needed. Analyze sales data, customer feedback, and market trends to ensure ongoing success.
What is Account Based Selling?
Account Based Selling (ABS) is a focused B2B sales strategy that concentrates efforts on identifying and targeting specific high-value accounts or businesses as potential customers. It involves a personalized and highly targeted approach, with sales and marketing teams collaborating closely to tailor messages and solutions to the unique needs of each targeted account. ABS aims to establish deeper and more meaningful relationships with key decision-makers within these accounts, ultimately leading to higher-value deals and long-term partnerships. It’s a strategic approach that prioritizes quality over quantity, making it particularly effective for businesses seeking to engage with a select group of high-potential clients.
Conclusion
“What is a sales strategy?” It’s a question that underscores the importance of a well-thought-out plan for the success of any business.
A sales strategy is a company’s plan to sell its products or services. It outlines how they’ll reach and persuade potential customers to make a purchase. A well-defined sales strategy is crucial for a business’s success in today’s competitive market.