If you are a regular reader of the blog, by now you know how important inbound marketing is to improve leads and increase sales. We don’t talk about it all the time just to drive you bonkers; we talk about it all the time because it is monumentally important. Trust us, if you want to increase sale productivity, inbound marketing is the way to do it!
Common Thread
In early 2016, the marketing whizzes over at HubSpot, surveyed 47 sales experts asking them for insight for the year, predictions, and advice on how to increase productivity. While the answers varied, there was a common theme that pervaded the responses—inbound marketing. Not only because it helps increase sales, but also because it makes sales professional better in their role and because customers are demanding it.
Productivity and Alignment
What is productivity really? It is the ability to get more done in less time; achieving desirable results with greater efficiency. And who doesn’t want that? Since inbound marketing produces higher quality leads who are more likely to be converted, it is easy to achieve higher sales results with greater efficiency. And, because inbound can be integrated seamlessly into your current sales strategy, you don’t have to overhaul your entire approach. Rather, you can meaningfully boost sales by attracting and nurturing warm leads. Cold calling is an ineffectual use of time; higher quality leads who are more likely to buy makes your marketing campaigns and sales teams more productive.
The Future is Now
If experts are predicting that inbound is going to be more important than ever, you should be listening to them. You may fashion yourself as sales aficionado, but we can all use some advice and encouragement.
Embracing technology is a critical step on the path to increased productivity. First and foremost, it saves time, and secondly, it can significantly reduce expenses. By leveraging websites, blogs, and social media, you can draw prospects to you—at right time—via quality content. Again, this saves time and effort after the attraction stage when moving buyer to conversion and closure.
You can take this a step further by engaging sales experts as leaders. Encourage your top sales pros to become industry experts and promote their knowledge online. Promoting cross-pollination between online inbound strategy and sales will increase your visibility to prospects and leads. The more innovative your approach, the more productive you will be.
Transparency
Shakespeare wrote that “all the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.” And this was about 500 years before the Internet became part of our daily lives. With this “stage” transparency is status-quo—not only can your prospects find almost everything they need to know online, but they can also rapidly spread the (good or bad) word. Keeping your message clean and consistent across channels will encourage trust and respect, making converting and closing less taxing. Now it is imperative that sales and marketing are on the same page and offering customers the best possible experience.
No one wants to sacrifice quality for the sake of productivity. Experts agree that outbound marketing is, well, out and wastes time and money. You cannot be your most productive if you are not making the best use of your time. In a recent blog post about inbound and sales, SalesHub cut right the chase saying, “Stop resisting change. You need to adapt. Implement an effective inbound marketing strategy and soon enough, interested buyers will be approaching your sales team.” This may seem harsh, but change is inevitable, and you must embrace it for maximum productivity.
Learn what your website “must have” to be the best sales tool for you.
