4 Phases of an Inbound Sales Strategy That Actually Works
Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2024 5:54 am
In Inbound Marketing , Sales Strategies
by Lorenzo Saccardi - June 18, 2020
Today, companies' sales strategies must change because in today's increasingly fast and digitalized context, the classic purchasing paths of consumers, whether they are consumer or business customers, have radically transformed .
A valid support in the effectiveness of the sales force comes from inbound marketing that helps to attract target customers to your brand . This is how inbound sales strategies are born , modeled to respond exactly to the needs and requirements of the prospects you want to attract.
So what are the distinctive features of an inbound sales strategy compared to a traditional strategy?
The Inbound Approach to Sales: How It Changes the Life of Salespeople
The goal of a salesperson should not only be to close deals, but above all to provide a consistently satisfying experience to their prospects, who are often the first point of human contact with the customer.
To achieve this goal, an inbound sales strategy comes in handy. It is important to note that this approach differs from the sales process, which is made up of the steps to follow between the moment of generating a new lead and closing the sale. In fact, each company's sales process is unique and its phases are defined by the product, the type of customer, the sales cycle and other factors. Instead, an inbound sales strategy can be used by any salesperson in any company, because it focuses on providing a personalized and context-focused experience for the buyer.
Regardless of the size of the sales team and the complexity of sales, the inbound sales strategy is mainly composed of four phases:
Identify , in which potential customers are identified that the company canada telegram datacould support in achieving a goal or overcoming a criticality. These potential buyers become leads;
Connect , where you engage with leads and support them in the process of prioritizing the goal or responding to the criticality. Based on the decision, the lead will be qualified or not;
Explore , in which the challenges and opportunities related to the qualified lead are explored, helping them to understand if the proposed offer can be suitable for their context. If so, the lead is transformed into a sales opportunity;
Advise , where the offer is uniquely positioned to address the goals and challenges of the lead now transformed into a sales opportunity and to respond more easily to its professional evaluation metrics. At this point, if the proposed solution is identified as the best for support within its context, then the lead will transform into a customer.
How to actually implement this strategy? What experiences should be provided to prospects at each stage?
1. Identify
The identification phase is fundamental because it establishes the trajectory of the entire strategy. It consists of collecting as much information as possible on each individual prospect, so as to better understand their context and situation. In this way, it will be easier to offer targeted support and resources right from the first call, rather than wasting time trying to understand if the person contacted is actually on target.
During this phase, one concept must be kept in mind: most buyers, when contacted by a salesperson, have already started their purchasing journey by independently researching information based on their needs. Therefore, instead of forcing the prospect into a journey that begins with a phone call and ends with a contract, you must focus on providing them with an experience that helps them advance in their buyer journey.
by Lorenzo Saccardi - June 18, 2020
Today, companies' sales strategies must change because in today's increasingly fast and digitalized context, the classic purchasing paths of consumers, whether they are consumer or business customers, have radically transformed .
A valid support in the effectiveness of the sales force comes from inbound marketing that helps to attract target customers to your brand . This is how inbound sales strategies are born , modeled to respond exactly to the needs and requirements of the prospects you want to attract.
So what are the distinctive features of an inbound sales strategy compared to a traditional strategy?
The Inbound Approach to Sales: How It Changes the Life of Salespeople
The goal of a salesperson should not only be to close deals, but above all to provide a consistently satisfying experience to their prospects, who are often the first point of human contact with the customer.
To achieve this goal, an inbound sales strategy comes in handy. It is important to note that this approach differs from the sales process, which is made up of the steps to follow between the moment of generating a new lead and closing the sale. In fact, each company's sales process is unique and its phases are defined by the product, the type of customer, the sales cycle and other factors. Instead, an inbound sales strategy can be used by any salesperson in any company, because it focuses on providing a personalized and context-focused experience for the buyer.
Regardless of the size of the sales team and the complexity of sales, the inbound sales strategy is mainly composed of four phases:
Identify , in which potential customers are identified that the company canada telegram datacould support in achieving a goal or overcoming a criticality. These potential buyers become leads;
Connect , where you engage with leads and support them in the process of prioritizing the goal or responding to the criticality. Based on the decision, the lead will be qualified or not;
Explore , in which the challenges and opportunities related to the qualified lead are explored, helping them to understand if the proposed offer can be suitable for their context. If so, the lead is transformed into a sales opportunity;
Advise , where the offer is uniquely positioned to address the goals and challenges of the lead now transformed into a sales opportunity and to respond more easily to its professional evaluation metrics. At this point, if the proposed solution is identified as the best for support within its context, then the lead will transform into a customer.
How to actually implement this strategy? What experiences should be provided to prospects at each stage?
1. Identify
The identification phase is fundamental because it establishes the trajectory of the entire strategy. It consists of collecting as much information as possible on each individual prospect, so as to better understand their context and situation. In this way, it will be easier to offer targeted support and resources right from the first call, rather than wasting time trying to understand if the person contacted is actually on target.
During this phase, one concept must be kept in mind: most buyers, when contacted by a salesperson, have already started their purchasing journey by independently researching information based on their needs. Therefore, instead of forcing the prospect into a journey that begins with a phone call and ends with a contract, you must focus on providing them with an experience that helps them advance in their buyer journey.