According to the dystopian futures predicted in movies such as Terminator and The Matrix, technology will become self-aware and take over humankind any day now. Until that day arrives, however, selling technology has evolved to the point (no, not of Skynet-like self-awareness…yet) that many such tools have become incredibly valuable assets for any successful sales team.
With the deluge of helpful sales tools out there (including our own sales analytics and sales reporting product!), it can be difficult to wade through the morass and find the truly innovative and beneficial sales tools. Well, we’ve done the dirty work for you and come up with this definitive list. Here are our 10 favorite sales tools of 2013.
The closing of any successful sale usually concludes with your customer’s signature on the dotted line. Yet, with many companies operating in far-flung reaches of the country or world, it can be difficult to track down a John Hancock in person and in a timely manner. Enter Docusign, the product that enables secure e-signatures to be signed and documented online from any device, including mobile. Sales reps and managers can track the entire sign-off process and efficiently take deals across the finish line.
Social selling has emerged not just as a trend, but as a necessity, and among the myriad social networks, Twitter has proven to be a valuable asset of lead generation and relationship building. Kred, available for free on the Salesforce AppExchange, helps reps create a list of the most influential leads on social media, while broadening the fostering and understanding of Twitter relationships that can be a great source of business.
Sales reps are a naturally competitive species, and when sales managers can effectively harness this competitive nature, they can create an environment that really drives success. LevelEleven is a gamification application integrated into Salesforce that does just that, giving sales managers innovative new ways to motivate salespeople and create a sense of healthy competition.
Knowledge is power, and to gain and share knowledge, online content is king. paper.li is a great content curation service that allows for the easy curation of content online and the subsequent creation and publication of your own personal online newspaper or newsletter in a matter of minutes. Reps can use this to promote their own thought leadership and build relationships with prospects by curating and sharing relevant content.
Sorting through personal schedules and trying to sync up two individuals with barely any open spaces in their respective calendars can be a trying experience. TimeTrade, fully integrated with Salesforce, can end these headaches with simple online appointment scheduling that lets users pick from a handful of availabilities. Reps can send prospects unique links to their own calendars for both sides to book a meeting that works with their schedules.
Just like in live stand-up and radio, the sign-off is a critical element in sales. With as much selling that goes on via email today, it is essential that reps have an email signature that not only provides helpful information but also resonates with the prospect. WiseStamp allows users to customize their email signature, based on the recipient. Being able to create multiple different email signatures and rotate them into use as needed gives reps that much more versatility.
Context is crucial, especially when reps have to work with a huge number of prospects at any given time. It can be hard to keep track of personal information about each contact, a problem that Rapportive looks to solve by embedding rich contact profiles of the people you are emailing right inside Gmail. The tool provides the latest and greatest information on these prospects, and even includes a link to their LinkedIn profile.
Real information about your prospects is constantly evolving, changing how you should approach them. With Newsle, you can be notified anytime someone in your network – a colleague, a client or a potential customer – is within the news. Additionally, the tool works to get rid of the social noise of Tweets or Facebook posts by only presenting ‘real news’.
Much of the challenge in sales is reaching the right people and the right decision makers. Who you know is just as important as what you know. Reachable cuts through the maze of people to connect you with the people you need to know by consolidating your contacts from various sources and social networks.
Sales can be improved by fostering stronger relationships with prospects. Contactually helps to bridge that relationship gap with improved email relationship management. The tool automates the reminders indexed in your emails and alerts you every morning of the most critical people that you have to reach in a timely fashion.
