(888) 815-0802The Ultimate Sales Management Resource Hub: Tips, Tools & Best Practices
Key Sales Management Solutions
In a time when 72% of reps expect to miss quota and 85% of sales leaders have no budget for headcount, it has never been more important to improve results from existing reps. And while investing in the right technology for sales reps is important, it’s just as important to ensure that sales managers have the software they need to drive results. That’s where sales management software comes in.
Sales management software has become necessary for managers to improve rep performance, their sales processes and interactions with buyers. With the right sales management software, businesses can enhance rep performance, make pipeline more predictable, improve sales forecasting and automate tedious sales processes. As a result, managers can drive team productivity, have more impactful conversations and scale greatness across their organization.
However, not all sales management solutions are the same. In this blog post, we’ll look at what sales management software is, how to select the right solution for your business and the factors you need to consider to implement a sales management solution successfully.
What is Sales Management Software?
Sales management software refers to a set of tools used by businesses to manage their sales activities, track customer interactions, improve and scale coaching and make intelligent forecasts.
Sales management software typically includes features such as lead and opportunity management, conversation intelligence, contact management, sales reporting and analytics and sales forecasting. With the right solution, managers can increase team productivity, enhance customer experiences and boost quota attainment.
Why is Sales Management Software Important?
Sales management software is crucial for businesses for many reasons. First, it helps businesses improve their sales productivity by automating their sales processes. One example of this includes the ability of the Revenue.io platform to reinforce training in real time across every conversation.
Second, sales management software helps businesses improve their customer relationships by providing a centralized database of customer interactions. While CRM solutions like Salesforce have been an amazing first step for managers, it’s likewise important to capture actual conversational insights. This is necessary to provide prospects and customers with the personalized interactions that they expect, which results in improved customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Finally, sales management solutions provide businesses with valuable insights into rep performance, allowing managers to make data-driven decisions and improve their sales forecasting. This can help businesses identify new opportunities for growth and action successful sales strategies.
How Can Businesses Benefit from Sales Management Solutions?
Data That’s Trustworthy and Actionable
One of the primary benefits of sales management software is ensuring there is trustworthy data in central repositories. The best management solutions start by offering the ability to capture key data points automatically. This not only gives reps more sales time by automating mundane tasks; it also automatically captures data points that can be used to populate reports and dashboards for managers.
As an example, the award-winning Revenue.io sales management solution delivers hundreds of turnkey reports and dashboards out of the box. So as reps take calls and host video meetings, key insights are captured for managers.
By having trustworthy and actionable data, managers can make decisions that result in more closed won deals.
Empower Reps to Overcome Sales Objections
Sales management software can surface common sales objections and help managers quickly see how top performers are overcoming those objections. That knowledge can then be scaled across sales teams.
As an example, Revenue.io offers conversation intelligence that can automatically surface conversations with objections like “I don’t have budget.” Managers can see how top reps speak to those objections. These takeaways can then be scaled team-wide using real-time guidance during calls.
Better Sales Forecasting
Sales management software provides businesses with valuable insights into their sales performance, allowing them to make data-driven decisions and improve their sales forecasting. By analyzing data on sales activities, businesses can identify trends and patterns that can help them optimize their sales strategies and identify new opportunities for growth. This can result in improved revenue and profitability.
One recent development in sales management software is AI-assisted forecasting. In fact, one of the biggest opportunities that AI offers sales managers is the ability to improve forecasting with next best actions. Forrester’s B2B Benchmark Metrics Data shows that 93.6% of B2B organizations report missing their first-day quarterly forecast by 10% or more. However, advances in technology and changes in the economic climate are driving an increased desire for smarter forecasting.
Companies are increasingly capturing these interactions thanks to AI-powered Conversation Intelligence solutions like Conversation AI. The adoption of Conversation Intelligence is steadily on the rise. From 2021 to 2022, companies investing in Revenue Operations & Intelligence platforms, many of which include AI-powered forecasting, doubled. Simultaneously, Conversation Intelligence, which already experienced robust adoption, went from 38% adoption in B2B companies to a planned 51%.
Streamlined Sales Processes
Sales management software can help businesses streamline their sales processes by automating workflows and providing real-time data on sales activities. This can result in faster sales cycles, improved deal tracking, and increased revenue. By providing sales teams with the tools they need to manage their sales pipelines, businesses can ensure that they are operating at peak efficiency and closing deals as quickly as possible.
Improved Collaboration and Communication
Sales management software can also improve collaboration and communication between sales teams and other departments within a business. By providing a centralized database of customer information and sales activities, sales management software can help sales teams work more harmoniously with customer success, revenue operations and marketing teams.
How to Choose the Right Sales Management Platform
Choosing the right sales management software can be a daunting task. With so many options available on the market, be sure to select a solution that meets your business’s unique needs. Here are some important factors to consider.
Does it Meet Your Needs?
The first step in choosing the right sales management software is to identify your business needs. Ask yourself questions like: What are my sales goals? What sales processes do I need to streamline? Which features are essential to my business? By understanding your business needs, you’ll be able to choose a solution that meets your specific requirements.
Is it Intuitive?
Another important factor to consider when choosing sales management software is usability. The solution should be easy to use and navigate, even for employees who are not tech-savvy. It should have a clear and intuitive interface that allows users to access the information they need quickly and easily.
Does it Integrate with Your Stack?
Sales management software should integrate with other tools and software that your business uses. Consider the integration capabilities of the software you’re evaluating and ensure that it can work seamlessly with your existing systems. This will save you time and effort in the long run and ensure that your data is consistent across all platforms.
As an example, if your company is using Salesforce, it’s important to evaluate a solution’s Salesforce integration. A lot of tools claim to integrate with Salesforce seamlessly when, in fact, the integration slows down Salesforce and doesn’t sync in real time. Revenue.io was built from the ground up to offer the industry’s most robust Salesforce integration. So it’s a perfect solution for Salesforce customers. But companies using a different CRM might potentially choose a different sales management solution than Revenue.io.
Is it Flexible?
Your business is unique, and your sales management software should be too. Look for a solution that offers customization options, allowing you to tailor the software to your specific needs. This will allow you to get the most out of the software and ensure that it meets your business needs.
Is it Scalable?
Consider the pricing and scalability of the sales management software you’re evaluating. Determine whether the software is affordable for your business and whether it offers the scalability you need to grow. Look for a solution that offers flexible pricing options and the ability to add new users or features as your business expands.
Will it Be Easy to Implement?
If a solution meets all of your other criteria, it’s essential to look at how difficult implementation will be. Did the company give you a timeline? Are there implementation resources in place? How much of the implementation process will be white glove vs. driven by your operations department? These are all important questions to answer before choosing a solution.
How to Successfully Implement Your New Solution
After selecting the right solution for your business, it’s time to kick off implementation. Implementing sales management software can be a game-changer for businesses looking to streamline their drive results. However, without the right plan in place, implementing a new software solution can present challenges. Let’s take a closer look at how to implement sales management software effectively.
Define Your Objectives
The first step in implementing sales management software is to define your objectives. What do you want to achieve with this software? Are you looking to improve sales efficiency, streamline processes or improve customer relationships? By defining your objectives, you’ll be able to create a clear plan for implementing the software.
Train Your Employees
Once you’ve chosen your software, it’s essential to train your employees on how to use it effectively. Work with your vendor to provide training sessions and resources to help your employees get up to speed quickly. Consider setting up an internal onboarding team to assist with any questions or issues that arise during the implementation process.
Allocate Resources
Ensure that you have the right people at your company in place to handle each part of implementation. This cross-functional team might include RevOps, CRM admins, IT and, of course, sales managers.
Establish KPIs
Make sure you have KPIs in place to define what success looks like. Consult with your vendor to set expectations based on the experience of similar companies. As an example, some KPIs might include improving forecasting accuracy by 10% or SALs by 20% within two fiscal quarters.
Monitor Your Progress
Implementing sales management software is not a one-time event. You need to monitor your progress regularly against set KPIs and adjust your processes as needed. Use the software to track your sales activities, analyze your results, and make data-driven decisions. This will help you continuously improve your sales performance and drive revenue growth.
Looking to implement a sales management solution? Revenue.io was awarded with the best sales management solution by G2 based on our customers’ independent reviews and feedback. We’d love to help your sales managers drive more pipeline and revenue.
Sales Manager Solutions
Sales managers need the right tools to drive performance, streamline coaching, and optimize sales processes.
With AI-powered insights, real-time analytics, and automated coaching, Revenue.io equips sales managers with the solutions they need to improve rep effectiveness, increase pipeline visibility, and boost revenue.
These Five Leadership Qualities will Make you a Better Sales Manager
What qualities make sales leaders successful? There are several different ways to successfully lead a sales team. Some sales managers are like drill sergeants, the ultimate task masters set on transforming each sales rep into a singular, elite force. Other sales managers lead from the trenches, taking calls right along with SDRs, and taking the team out to happy hour after big wins. While management styles vary, there are several qualities that all sales managers should possess.
So what leadership abilities do inside sales reps expect from a sales manager?
I was recently checking out the Outlook Survey by Universum, which surveyed how over 2000 senior executives envision leadership. One of the questions asked which qualities were expected from a leader. Though the survey isn’t specific to sales leaders, many of the qualities listed line up with the qualities that the best sales managers seem to intrinsically possess.
Universum surveyed over 2000 business leaders to find out what the top leadership qualities are.
Are you a sales manager or aspiring sales manager? Here are five abilities that you should nurture in order to be a more successful sales coach.
Empowering Your Team
The number one leadership quality listed in Universum’s survey was the ability to empower your team. This means giving your reps everything they need to succeed, including the right training and the right tools. Sales reps, especially millennials, are always looking for tools that can make their jobs easier and improve productivity, both in their personal lives and at work. The right sales tools that can empower reps to dial more leads, automate manual tasks and have smarter sales conversations. Arm your reps with these tools and it will set them on the path to success.
Coach Constantly
Reps don’t just need training – they need coaching. Training is something that is finite (e.g. a 3-week bootcamp and then off to the races). Coaching, on the other hand, is something that must occur constantly. You should never just sit around waiting for reps to succeed or fail. If reps aren’t on the right track, help them reach their full potential!
At Revenue.io, we’ve labored long to provide sales coaches with a suite of tools that makes it easier than ever to coach reps to success. Call analytics offer a bird’s-eye-view of individual and team success metrics, while call recordings and monitoring tools let sales coaches delve deeply into sales conversations in order to discover new opportunities to help reps succeed.
Transparency
Reps need to know what’s expected of them at all times. This is especially true for reps that are early in their careers. One way to promote a culture of transparency is to make sure that reps are aware of their individual metrics (e.g. dials per day, meetings booked, emails sent, talk time, etc.). It can also be helpful for reps to see how their colleagues are performing. A healthy spirit of competition can be a powerful motivating force in sales organizations.
Leading By Example
Reps respect sales leaders most when they lead by example. Do you want a team that works long hours? Then work even longer hours yourself. Do you think your reps aren’t doing a good enough job at closing deals? Get in the trenches, close a big deal yourself and show them how it’s done. You should do your best to exemplify all the qualities you want to nurture in your team.
Set Goals
It’s important for a sales team to constantly have something their working toward. Sure it can simply be hitting quota. But why stop there? Consider holding contests and offering additional rewards to reps that really hit it out of the park. When reps feel like they are working together as a team to reach a goal, you may be surprised by how much harder they’ll work to cross that finish line.
The 7 Key Attributes of Successful Sales Managers
As every rep, manager and executive knows, it’s often the intangibles that separate good sales managers from the great ones.
Below are seven key attributes I most often find in the best, most successful sales managers. In this case, I’m defining success not only by how well they hit their number, but how well they inspire, empower and prepare their teams for sustained success as well.
1. Creativity
Even with a well-defined sales process, a consistent brand position and standardized tools, successful sales managers are constantly innovating and improvising to get more out of the market and their teams. This goes for everything from objection-handling to internal contests and more. The very best sales managers are both creative and disciplined, meaning they’re able to not only come up with great new ideas to test, but also effectively triage and measure their effectiveness.
2. Consistency
You can’t play favorites. You can’t adjust expectations too often. When your sales reps are facing adversity and a highly-dynamic selling environment (often where “no” is the most commonly-heard answer), consistency on the part of the sales manager is extremely important. Consistency drives trust and credibility for sales managers, which allows them to get away with occasional bursts of creativity without implying that the entire ship is turning a different direction.
3. Curiosity
Great sales managers drive their bosses and often their marketing counterparts nuts. They’re always asking questions – why is it like that, how did that work, why didn’t we try it this way, should we participate in this new user group, etc. Similar to creativity, however, curiosity is best executed when there’s a level of discipline and accountability behind it. Asking questions is one thing – having a productive opinion and volunteering to help identify or execute the answer or solution is quite another.
4. Conflict Management
No matter the size, age, nature or overall make-up of the sales organization, there will be conflict. I’ve heard some inside sales managers describe their culture as somewhat akin to middle school. Ineffective sales managers, this environment, take up the role of that vice principal you remember who was always in charge of discipline. More effective sales managers enforce behavior and discipline standards but do it in a more productive way – leveraging their standards of both consistency and fairness to get the team back focused.
5. Confidence
Don’t mistake this for optimism. Great sales managers don’t need to be glass-half-full people all the time. But they need to exhibit confidence in their teams, their products, their companies and the daily/weekly/regular processes that deliver results. Sales reps look to their managers daily for guidance and direction – not only in where to focus but in how to act. Confidence from the top down drives behavior, effort and results.
6. Can-Do, Will-Do Attitude
I’ve worked with sales managers who have great ideas but rarely get their hands dirty. The best sales managers lead by example, regularly roll up their sleeves and work right along side you. They join you on sales calls, build the next-month sales promotion, dig through lead list options with the marketing team, and otherwise focus plenty of time and energy not just on managing but also doing.
7. Calm
Not necessarily calm as in quiet or shy. Calm as in patient. Even-keeled. Passionate at times, but generally a combination of consistent and confident, steady when the workday or the last sales call or the economy is roiling. This provides a foundation for the entire team to drive from.
Matt Heinz is President of Heinz Marketing.
Sales Managers: 7 Reasons Your Reps Aren’t Hitting Quota
Why aren’t your SDRs hitting quota?
Your Sales Development Reps (SDRs) have a quota to hit every month. Their success in doing so impacts the company’s bottom line and sales compensation across the board (yours, theirs, your AE’s) — no pressure.
But according to The Bridge Group,only about 65% of reps are hitting quota. If you have team members who are in the other 35%, here are the areas you’ll need to look at:
Lack of customer and industry knowledge
With so much information to learn and retain, it’s easy for reps to focus in on learning about your product. They need to understand its features, functions, benefits, solutions, and how to talk about them. Unfortunately, if they don’t know enough about their customers and industries, conversations with prospects may suffer. This lack of knowledge makes it difficult to recognize and understand prospect pain points, and in turn framing solutions in terms of prospect challenges becomes nearly impossible. They also won’t be able to speak to their prospects using their industry language which puts them in a weaker position. If this is what is holding them back, you can easily bring them up to speed so their interactions with prospects become more effective.
Poor list quality
No list is perfect but some lists are more imperfect than others. For example, lists that are purchased vary dramatically in quality and are often outdated. Lists sourced in this manner often contain incomplete or inaccurate information and will negatively impact rep performance by reducing productivity. Marketing qualified leads (MQLs) are not the same as Sales qualified leads (SQLs). These leads may appear to be fine based on email response rates. If your reps actually speak with these leads, they may often find that the prospect is actually a researcher and not a potential buyer. This may be the case with inbound leads as well. If your reps are challenged by poor quality lists, it will make it more difficult for them to hit quota.
Their pitch needs improvement
A sales rep’s pitch has a huge impact on their success or failure. Whether your reps start with a scripted example when learning their sales pitch or start from scratch to create their own approach, you want to be sure that it’s effective. If they started with a script, have they learned to adjust and adapt their pitch based on who they’re calling? One pitch does not suit all prospects, making personalization even more important. If they developed their own, is it too product-focused or have they learned to focus on the prospect and their current situation? To diagnose this, you can listen to your rep’s calls. Call recordings are an excellent way to do this to ensure you hear enough calls without an inordinate time investment. Fortunately, if your rep’s pitch isn’t up to snuff, sales coaching using recorded sales conversations can easily help them improve.
Lack of motivation
Motivation may be slightly different for each individual rep. It’s important that they be motivated and that you learn what drives your reps. If they’re not motivated, it’s difficult to expect them to meet or exceed your expectations. Feeling that they have a job to do and they should simply do it, won’t motivate them on the long-term. Often, social recognition in front of their peers or a small reward are sufficient to help drive them forward. Some are motivated by receiving ongoing sales coaching. Others motivate themselves by setting personal goals to reach in addition to those that are set for them on the job. Helping reps increase their productivity by sharing new techniques or providing them with additional productivity tools is another way to motivate them. Get to know your reps and you’ll know how to help drive them to success.
Lack of discipline
Discipline impacts a lot of different sales rep behaviors. It means staying focused on activity volume and executing consistently hour after hour and day after day. Do your reps have a daily schedule prepared? If so, does it include proper amounts of the right activities and do they stick with it or get off track? Perhaps they need to make adjustments to their schedule or improve their focus so they consistently perform planned tasks each day? You can help them by comparing their planned versus actual daily and weekly activity. After reviewing it, make recommendations for adjustments and productivity improvements. If they have access to automation tools, make sure they understand how to use them and are taking advantage of these time-savers. Every minute saved will only help them get closer to reaching their goals.
They’re too pushy
Rushing the prospect to schedule a demo immediately can backfire. Reps need to take the time to get to know the prospect, understand their specific needs or concerns, and qualify them before offering a demo. Just because a prospect downloaded a whitepaper, they may not be the right person, it may not be the right time, or there may not even be a need. Perhaps the individual was only doing research “just in case” there might be a future need. Pushing the prospect too fast can also alienate them or prevent the development of trust in your rep. So, make sure that your reps aren’t pushing too hard. When they learn to take the time needed, instead of rushing the process, success will come more naturally.
They aren’t focused on the customer
“As salespeople, our job is to help. Our job is to understand it may not be to sell my product. It may be that what you need is somebody else, and if I’m doing my job as a sales rep, as a support rep, it may be to push you off to somebody else.” – Howard Brown, Founder and CEO of Revenue.io
Finally, this might be the most important out of the list. It’s extremely important that your reps focus on the customer when working to meet their goals. Empathetic selling produces authentic conversations with prospects and allows reps to discover what their prospects’ true goals and pain points are. If all your reps are focusing on is what to say next, then they’re likely not focused on the customer at all and it shows. If reps are actively listening to prospects instead, they’re more likely to be invested in a meaningful conversation than predetermining the next steps after a call. We can’t emphasize this point enough — our CEO even talked about it here.
15 Questions New Sales Managers Need to Ask In Order to Succeed
Self-improvement guru Tony Robbins once said “successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.” If you’ve just taken over an inside sales team, consider making this quote your mantra. We recently published an eBook entitled The 90-Day Inside Sales Success Plan. Inside, we interviewed some of the world’s top sales trainers, authors and executives. I was happy to see that some of the sales leaders offered new sales managers some sound questions to ask themselves and their team.
Want to lead your inside sales team successfully? Start by asking these 15 crucial questions:
Questions to Help Complete a Gap Analysis
A Sales Guy’s Jim Keenan recommends that you begin by learning “everything you can about the team, the environment, the objectives, your boss, your boss’ boss, the customers, the systems, etc. Then ask the following questions.
- Is this the team I need to hit my goals?
- Do I have the resources I need?
- Does the current strategy support the goals?
- Do I have the right processes to be successful?
Questions to Help Develop a Sales Process
Wendy Weiss, The Queen of Cold Calling™, advocates having a specific process in place in order to make your team more efficient and effective. According to Wendy, the process should include (but not be limited to) asking the following questions:
- What are the parameters that define a qualified prospect?
- Which sales process best practices do we need to prioritize?
- What is the goal for each type of call an inside sales representative is making?
- How many times should reps call any one contact?
- What should reps do with contacts that are never reached and who never respond to a voicemail or email?
- Which cold calling scripts are we using and can we surface them in real time?
Questions to Ask Reps Before Giving Them Feedback
Sales trainer Alice Kemper revealed how important it is to listen to reps’ sales pitch. You can either listen in on calls or listen to call recordings. Before giving reps feedback, it can help to ask them some questions including:
- What did they think went well on the last 20 minutes of conversations?
- What did they think was particularly challenging?
- What will it take to remove or overcome the challenges?
- What actions are they willing to commit to?
Questions to Ask Before Hiring New Reps
Even John Wooden couldn’t have coached a team to victory without having the right talent on board. Part of leading an inside sales team successfully will always be recruiting the right talent. According to QuotaFactory CEO Pete Gracey, before hiring a new rep, managers need to ask themselves these three questions:
- Can I train them to do this job (including using a conversational sales platform)?
- Will they love doing this job?
- Can I tolerate working with them (operative word is tolerate..not love)?
Expert Advice for Newly Hired Sales Managers: 21 Sales Experts Weigh In
“When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.” Ben Franklin may or may not have been thinking about business operations when he wrote that famous line, but it’s just as applicable in our world as it was in the 1700s. I mention it here because our latest eBook is about something that everyone needs, but most people dread: change.
Download Now
Whether you’re the new VP of Sales or an old veteran, transformation is vital to ongoing success. Accordingly, we asked 21 of the world’s top sales experts a single question: what is the most important strategic advice you’d give newly hired managers to help them succeed within their first 90 days?
Their responses were more impassioned and actionable than we ever imagined. We’ve distilled all those amazing ideas into our free eBook, The 90 Day Inside Sales Success Plan. This is an essential blueprint for anyone tasked with change or team improvement.
Learn how to:
- Secure trust & confidence across your entire team
- Assess & refine sales processes
- Have breakthrough 1:1 coaching sessions
- Measure performance
- Master social sales
- Build a killer sales technology stack
Here at Revenue.io, we know how precious this kind of advice is. Through our talented customer base, we have the unique pleasure of meeting the most innovative and thoughtful sales executives in existence. They’re enjoying record-breaking quarter after quarter because they are constantly assessing, refining, measuring and optimizing their sales team. And I can tell you that the reps they manage don’t resist change – they welcome it, because it makes them more successful.
I hope you’ll check out this amazing compilation of diverse and sophisticated advice from some of today’s great minds.
