But when we talk about Inbound Marketing and all the strategies you can implement to achieve your online goals, we tend to focus on the first two stages: Attract and Convert. And although these are fundamental, you’ve probably already seen them and need to know what happens next. Do you want to know how you can increase your online sales?{{cta(‘bb2971b9-bf36-4c36-8edc-75223dba5208’)}}
Background.
To begin with, you should be very aware that consumer habits have changed. We find more and more e-commerce, not only as an online representation of a physical business, but as the only business. In addition, consumers are very accustomed to finding all the information they need on the Internet. Information they use, among other things, to deliberate on their purchasing options.
For these reasons among others, what used to be done by the sales team, such as cold calling using the same messages no matter who they were addressed to, no longer works. This seller-centric methodology has changed radically with Inbound. Therefore, to understand the Methodology we have to focus not only on Marketing, as we have done so far, but also on Sales.
If you have already transformed the way you manage online marketing to attract and convert potential customers through the web, you should know that you have also taken another step to transform the way you sell the products and/or services of your business.
Inbound Sales.
As we have said, today it is the consumer who has the power. Because he is the one who seeks the information. Therefore, the Inbound Methodology Closing process is buyer-centric. In other words, Inbound Sales teams recognize the need to transform their entire sales strategy to be based on serving the potential buyer, rather than the seller.
In other words, in order to get closer to the potential buyer(buyer persona), not only the marketing team but also the sales team has to know at what stage of the buyer’s journey they are at in order to continue providing valuable information to this potential customer. Start by prioritizing the prospects that are most active in this buying cycle.
The Sales process.
With the entire Inbound process, it is easier to identify which sales opportunity is close to purchase. Following a metaphor, a person suffering from certain symptoms goes to a doctor’s appointment expecting a diagnosis. Once diagnosed, the now patient awaits a treatment recommendation. But ultimately it is this patient who decides to take the medication. And generally, the patient’s response is to follow the treatment if they trust their doctor, right?
Take a good look:
Contrary to what you may think, the sales team can be a great support for the marketing team during the whole Inbound process. Yes, everything. Why? Because there is no one like Sales to gather information about where prospects are in the buyer’s journey (the awareness, consideration and decision stages). To do so, according to the methodology, the sales team can:
1. Identify.
Identifying the right sales opportunities early on can be the difference between a thriving business and one that loses potential sales. As can be seen in the image above, it coincides with the Attraction stage of the Inbound Marketing process. But sales knowledge, based on their tracking of the type of consumption these visitors have on the web, can determine which ones will be more interesting.
Consumers at this stage are in a state of Knowledge (of the web and web content) in their buying cycle. But in this case there are always more active users than others. Recognizing them helps the sales team create a predictable and scalable sales funnel.
2. Connect.
To connect with prospects you have to participate in the conversation. The Marketing team concentrates its efforts on generating content to convert visitors to leads by getting their contact information.
The Sales team can participate in conversations on social networks if, for example, this is the preference of the company’s potential customers, or solve doubts with the technique they feel most comfortable with. At this stage the segmentation of the leads that are obtained is vital, since the needs that bring them closer to the Consideration stage of the buying cycle may vary between buyer personas.
3. Explore.
At this stage of the Sales Methodology, it is important to guide a conversation in which a sales representative is in control. If you have connected well with the segmented consumer type, the consumer as a sales opportunity enters the Decision state of their buying cycle. This may be a good time to introduce your products or services based on consumer needs. If this user has reached this point in his buyer’s journey, it is because he is really interested.
4. Advise.
An Inbound Sales team has to advise potential customers on why your offer is uniquely positioned. The objective of the sales department is, in a sympathetic manner, to allay any fears that the potential customer may have regarding the purchase. Sales understands its objectives and problems well enough to propose alternatives and solutions. Personalizing at all times the response and the sales pitch.
As you can see, the Inbound Sales methodology also covers every step of the consumer buying cycle and not just the last stage.
