How can you create a data-driven sales strategy? A kind of strategy that brings sales and meets your goals. It doesn’t sound tough as it seems. With a documented plan and a solid process, you can build an effective sales plan. 

Let’s take a look at the top ten effective sales strategies that can help you to meet your goals. 

1. Create a strong value proposition in your messaging 

Many customers are not familiar with what kind of challenges they face every day. Because of that, even if the products can help them, they won’t be able to realize how valuable your product is. Hence, to showcase the true value of your product, you need to develop a compelling and strong message. 

A report from Forrester stated that 74% of customers would like to do business from a company that has a buying vision as opposed to buyers who focus on selling products. 

Having a buying vision doesn’t mean you need to brag about your product’s features and think this will be enough reason for prospects to choose you over your competitors. As it only leads to more competition.

You need to build a buying vision that explains a new series of challenges that aligns with your distinct strengths. This will help you to create a powerful value proposition that will help you to deliver prospects’ needs, develop contrast and create an urgency to change through insights and stories. 

2. Strive to create an urgency to change

Many times companies try to emphasize the features and benefits of their products to the customers. But in doing so, they often miss answering the important question of why the prospects choose you over your competitors and what makes you different. Not answering the question makes you miss the first important step of making a strong impression.

Around 60% of deals got lost in the pipeline because prospects didn’t make any decision instead of losing the deals to the competitors.

To help your prospects make a decision, you need to tell a compelling story letting your clients know why they need to make a choice and why they have to do it now. 

Most companies unknowingly position themselves for a competitive bake-off of features and benefits. They answer the “why should I choose you?” question for their prospects. But in doing so, they miss a critical first step. You need to help your prospect in making a decision and convince them to choose you. Solving these queries will allow you to differentiate your solution and set the right tone for your buyer’s journey. 

3. Learn to tell an inspirational story

When sales reps decide to get on a call with a prospect, generally they focus on telling the right facts. But many times it doesn’t create a huge difference unless you try to weave all the data points into an interesting story. 

You can start by telling stories that connect on a deeper level using metaphors and analogies which will allow you to make your message alive. A good story will paint a clear picture in the listener’s head. And helping your buyers understand what unique value will your products bring to them and also form a strong relationship. 

4. Ask your customers the right questions

Generally, a sales process contains a set of repeatable steps that help the customer go through the buying journey. It contains a number of steps such as qualifying, asking questions, prospecting, negotiating, and signing the contract. In an ideal situation, it would be a great to-do list to follow but in general, that’s not the case. 

A sales journey is no longer considered a predictable progression, where it’s already decided how your customers should buy. Now, customer decision journeys – a number of questions are being asked to solve a particular user problem. 

Hence, following a ‘one-size fits all’ process, try to use a customer-centric model that solves set issues with relevant content, and messaging. 

5. Don’t solely rely on buyer personas  

The aim behind buyer personas is to collect common demographic attributes, behaviors, needs and wants of your target audience to help create a message that speaks to your audience. 

But when the approach taken is imaginary it can fall apart in your messaging in pieces. 

Hence, it’s important to focus on persona-based selling that caters to the actions and behaviors of your target audience which is inspired by their internal characteristics. And laters helps in rapid growth within the organization, inefficient or unsustainable processes, or broader changes that affect the whole industry. 

While creating your value proposition, focus on the challenges within your customer’s situation and find out why their current approach is not working instead of checking out other attributes. 

6. Focus on creating a personalized solution 

In many cases, sales reps create the value proposition based on the challenges their customers tell. And they associate those spoken needs with the available features which result in a generalized solution. 

The generalized solution you provide to your prospect is no different than your competitors. Your messaging sounds the same as others and there’s nothing unique to set it apart.  

To set your messaging apart from others, you need to create a personalized solution for your buyers which you can do by including unconsidered issues that need to be solved. You can do this by letting your prospects know about the missed opportunities they were unfamiliar with and linking those opportunities with their needs. 

7. Go with insights not only discovery questions  

Sales reps follow a generalized approach in the discovery call. They act as an advisor – asking discovery questions, figuring out their needs, and telling them a solution that sounds like a good fit for them. It seems like the generalized approach works for every case but that isn’t true. 

To provide your customers real value, you need to connect the dots, tell a meaningful story and explain them in simple language. 

8. Work together with the marketing team

It’s common to have different goals when there are two departments working for the same vision. However, to achieve your goals and to increase your revenue, it’s a must to work as one team and close the gaps.

Marketing teams develop messaging, tools and generate leads for the sales team. And the sales team uses those tools and makes use of sales acceleration tools benefits and messaging to turn leads into customers. 

In the end, both teams need to work together to meet their goals. 

9. Don’t forget your existing customers

Most of the time the b2b sales team spends a large part of their budget on bringing new clients. And they miss out on the existing customers that tend to bring revenue. 

That’s why try to focus on your retention and expansion strategies as well. Existing buyers require a different type of unique buying psychology approach. If applied properly, they are more likely to do business with you again.

10. Encourage situational training

The majority of the sales training is based on an academic curriculum, a mix of competencies, and a list of calendar-based interest and availability. 

But how does it help to close more leads? 

Many times it doesn’t. In order to keep up with the current trends and situations, reinforce a flexible, on-demand training model that puts out all the new challenges and the ways to solve them. Implementing situational training and other sales training ideas will make your sales team ready to tackle new challenges. 

Let us know in the comments what other strategies you use for your sales process.