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When we talk about sales, the image usually comes to mind of a salesperson going from door to door, having a coffee with a potential customer, chatting a little about life and presenting the product in an attempt to make a sale. In this classic personal sales process, very important communication arguments are used, such as:
The look, the smile, the gestures, the intonation of the voice and the body expression in general.
With the evolution of society towards the Digital Economy that we live in today, a denmark email list new style of sales has definitely been imposed with the aim of saving mainly time and money .
Non-Face-to-Face Sales were already present in many business areas, as is obvious. But with the Internet, the possibility of any business making Sales in a Non-Face-to-Face manner has become democratized. Now, those who sell talk to Leads via telephone, Skype, Hangouts, E-mail marketing, social networks, chatbots or some other communication technology.
The salesperson is in their office, without a face-to-face meeting, and so more Leads can be attended to on the same day , without transportation and accommodation costs.
A good example of this type of digital transformation could be tourism or travel agencies, which increasingly operate online, with a new concept even emerging in the market in recent years: OTAs (Online Travel Agencies).
The promotional gifts sector for companies and events has also adapted to this new reality, with companies like Gift Campaign operating exclusively on digital channels. And what about the way we now consume informative and cultural content , such as books, music or cinema? We are increasingly buying and consuming through the Internet, in areas that would not always be the most predictable.
When sales are not made in person, the entire process is carried out differently. The term Inside Sales – which in short means selling from within your company – has gained a lot of relevance, as it not only reduces costs but also increases productivity.
In this format, Leads usually already have much more prior information about the product or service in question.
This requires the salesperson to research more about the Lead's reality in order to guide the conversation, saying what is needed and thus creating a relationship, which can be converted into a sale.
As remote communication also changes the sales process, it is necessary for the salesperson to use technological tools to assist their work.
Using technology to your advantage is the key to success in non-face-to-face sales!
Technology has been a great ally for the growth of Inside Sales , with great new solutions every day. A study conducted by Velocify shows that 54% of companies that migrated to Inside Sales in 2014 attribute this evolution to technological advances.
The Internet makes it possible to talk to people who are in different cities or countries as if they were right in front of us.
With videoconferencing tools, it is possible to be in Lisbon and chat in real time with a Lead in Matosinhos , for example.
There are great free tools, such as Skype and Google Hangout , that even allow you to share screens, which is an ideal resource for doing a live demonstration of a product or presenting a solution to the Lead in a more dynamic way.
Salespeople in this type of sale have the opportunity to use a CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) to manage the sales force and facilitate the relationship with the Lead.
You can even combine all the information in the customer file to create a report, for example.
There are several CRM tools on the market that have sales software integration, such as Salesforce , SugarCRM , Highrise , vtiger , Zoho , Agendor , Educational CRM and Microsoft Dynamics 365 ( official YouTube website ).
Betting on a variety of channels to promote products or services is essential to guarantee more and better sales .
Consumers are becoming increasingly familiar with technology and are no longer limited to just one way of searching for products or services. They want to have many options presented to them in a practical and agile way .
Therefore, companies must use different communication alternatives to reach customers and expand their sales and the reach of their brand. In other words, they must become multichannel .
Multichannel handles multiple sales and advertising tools at the same time .
Entrepreneurs and salespeople can work in communication media such as the Internet, social networks and e-commerce , in addition to creating strategies in physical stores with the intention of expanding the spectrum of customers, considering contemporary diversity.
The channels used for the relationship between company and consumer can be traditional or digital . Traditional channels include:
Physical stores – being one of the most traditional sales channels, they require specific marketing strategies to reach the public.
Franchising – when a company is successful, it repeats its sales and distribution strategies in new locations, maintaining its characteristics.
Telemarketing – uses a telephone call center to stimulate sales.
Consultant Network – offers a personalized and intimate type of sales
Business-related digital channels reach an even wider and geographically distant audience. Some examples are:
F-commerce (Facebook Commerce) – the social network is useful when it comes to bringing together a brand’s consumers and also for measuring the target audience’s profile and their needs.
E-commerce (Electronic Commerce) – works like a virtual store where products are presented and sales are made online.
M-commerce (Mobile Commerce) – these are smartphone applications that serve as an option for finding out about and purchasing products and services.
E-marketplace (Online Shopping Center) – this is a channel that brings together products from different companies.
A sales channel is the means by which a company markets products and services, whether online or offline.
One of the biggest challenges for companies and entrepreneurs is finding the ideal sales channel for their products or services. Choosing an efficient channel has a huge impact on the success of the sale, as it is the means by which the customer will interact with your business.
To identify the best and solve this challenge, you need to have a well-defined marketing strategy and understand your business' target audience. You also need to know the particularities of each channel and how they work.
Remember : Sales channels are the means by which products and services are presented to consumers, that is, they correspond to the place or platform that allows contact with the customer.
It can also be the way that allows anyone to become aware of the products/services, become customers and make a purchase. Within this concept there are also advertising channels , which are the means by which we can advertise products without necessarily selling them in that location.
Sales channels are not just a showcase for customers who are already intending to buy, but they are also a form of advertising for other people to see your products and potentially become customers. The importance of choosing them is enormous, as it will be part of the marketing and advertising strategy !
What are the best sales channels?
There is no concrete answer to this question.
Knowing which channel is most efficient for each business concerns the relationship between the company's objective and understanding the public, in addition to knowledge of the sales channels that work today.
It is impossible to say which is the best and which will work for any type of business, as each company has its own particularities and specific needs.
